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Neal & Mary Clark Ormond Endowment Fund

Established 2011

Neal and Mary Ormond
Neal and Mary Ormond

Neal Ormond III and Mary Clark Ormond, in the firm belief that educators are key social ingredients in every community, established a fund in their names in 2011 to encourage exemplary teachers and other educators of School District 129 to pursue ongoing professional development and to reward effective teaching and learning strategies.

Neal Ormond has lived in Aurora almost his entire life.  In his professional career he served as a vice president of the Quaker Oats Company, and he retired in 1995 after nearly twenty years as vice president of Human Resources for W. W. Grainger, Inc.

He has gifted the community for nearly half a century by founding and leading such organizations as the A+ Foundation for West Aurora Schools and the West Aurora Sports Boosters, and serving as a long-time board member and president of School District 129 and chairman of the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley.

For more than fifty years he has volunteered innumerable hours coaching youth and high school basketball, tennis, softball, cross country and track and has served as the radio and television Voice of the West Aurora Blackhawks sports teams.

A native of Chicago, Mary Clark Ormond served as head of the Aurora Public Library in the 1970s and as a volunteer has served as president of such organizations as the Aurora Historical Society, the Tuesday Garden Club and the Aurora Festival Association.

She was a co-founder of the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame and the Fox Valley Garden Club.

She served on the board of the Community Foundation for twenty years and remains involved with the scholarship program.

A dedicated gardener, she has worked on projects throughout the community with especial devotion to trees.

Being a part of the Community Foundation scholarship committee is the highlight of my year. For many, a scholarship from the CFFRV is the reason they are able to continue reaching for their dreams and changing the future of our world. I hope each recipients knows just how inspirational they are to those of us who are lucky enough to read their stories.

Jessica Breugelmans

Scholarship Committee Member and Board Member

YEP was a great experience to have in high school. I became a more confident person, someone with a lot more perspective. Coming from a small school, YEP allowed me to branch out into my community, meet students from other schools, and learn about their backgrounds. I made some great friends and still keep in touch with them today.

Abby Vagnoni

YEP Alumni

Grant funds from the Community Foundation helped provide updated technology. These upgrades were transformative. By creating new time saving processes, it turned us into a more efficient organization.

Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry

Grantee

I am incredibly grateful for the generosity of the Zari Foundation Scholarship and the Community Foundation in supporting my education. I am majoring in mechanical engineering with a concentration in aerospace engineering at the Rose-Hulman Institue of Technology. In my spare time, I volunteer on campus, in the community and I’m also the principal violist in the symphony orchestra. I hope to make an impact on the next chapter of space exploration by eventually working at a groundbreaking aerospace company such as SpaceX or NASA.

Taytum Newell

Albert M. Zari Scholarship Recipient

YEP has made me realize the importance of being involved in my community, and how to make a difference. There are a lot of problems in the world but if we can do everything that we can to help the world will become a better place. YEP has helped me realize this and encouraged me to help more people in the future.

Madi Porter

YEP Member

Give your gift of time and see what it means to the people you impact. Helping others is what life is all about.

Neal Ormond

Donor & Fund Advisor

Education is important to us. We support causes that touch our lives and align with our values. We believe in paying it forward. We are here for a short time,, and it is the next generation that will take on what we leave behind.

Michelle Emanuel

Donor and Past Scholarship Recipient

Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley

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