Alumnae Are Making More Scholarships Possible

For fellow alumnae Marilyn Charm LM ’68 and Dolores Donahue LM ’52, the San Francisco College for Women at Lone Mountain is more than just their alma mater. It is their intellectual home—where outstanding professors challenged them to think critically, lifelong friendships were formed, and religious beliefs and values solidified to create a foundation for their careers and personal lives.

Charm’s experience at Lone Mountain launched a lifetime of learning that has gone full circle. Charm spent 48 years teaching in the public schools and at Convent of the Sacred Heart. Charm serves on the Lone Mountain Alumnae Board and is back on campus taking classes through the Fromm Institute. “Everything begins and ends with education,” Charm believes.

Donahue, a former member of the Lone Mountain Alumnae Board as well as the USF Board of Trustees, enjoyed an early career as a teacher but after raising her daughters, pursued a career in real estate. Donahue found that her liberal arts education served her well in both fields and in recent years as president of a family foundation.

Now the women, each in her own way, are honoring their education by making planned gifts to the Lone Mountain Legacy Scholarship in gratitude to the Religious of the Sacred Heart.

Charm explains, “I have included the legacy scholarship in my will because I believe so much in the power of a teacher. My donation will help educate and inspire future educators who will rouse young people to have faith in their capabilities. Education offers hope for a better and more just world.”

Donahue, who recently created a life-income gift with USF, shares, “As I reflected on the many blessings in my life, I realized the impact of my education and the Religious of the Sacred Heart. A charitable gift annuity seemed like a perfect way for me to make a gift to the scholarship that honors the RSCJ and also benefit from guaranteed income payments during retirement.”

Donahue will also enjoy tax savings, and the principal will go to the scholarship fund. She says, “I believe that my gift to the legacy scholarship will enable more students to receive their graduate degrees in education froma Jesuit Catholic university.”

Charm adds, “My bequest would give USF a wider scope in how they approach these prospective educators, and it could push a young person to choose to become a teacher.”

Charm and Donahue hope that their gifts will motivate other alumnae to make gifts too. If you are interested in learning more about how you can leave USF in your will or make a planned gift, contact the USF Office of GiftPlanning at (415) 422-4163 or email giftplanning@usfca.edu.