Jennifer Zoul Walker, Alpha Kappa
Charitable giving has always been an important part of my life. Not only because I work in the charitable sector, but because I believe in and have seen the power philanthropic giving can have on those who benefit from the gift, as well as the personal impact giving has on the giver. Annually, my husband Robert and I consider where we will make charitable gifts and to which organizations we want to focus our financial support. The opportunity to make an estate gift arose after we had our first child, Grace. We knew we had a responsibility to document our wishes for the care of our daughter in the event something should happen to us. As we began the process of drafting our wills, we had no difficulty agreeing on who and how Grace should be cared for in the future. Our struggle came when we considered to whom we would make a charitable gift. Since we both have several organizations we care for, we decided to take a percentage of our estate and split it into two, giving each of us the opportunity to allocate our percentage to the cause(s) of our choice. Our last big marital compromise.
Being a planner, I quickly made a list of organizations I support. From the list, I thought it would be easy and fun to determine which causes I wanted to support with one final gift. But for me, it wasn't easy or fun at all. To be honest, it was stressing me out. How could I choose? All the organizations on the list held a special place in my heart for one reason or another. And I wasn't happy with the idea of splitting my gift among all or a handful of the organizations...I wanted to make one last significant gift.
Frustrated, I put the list down promising I would come back to it later. A few days went by and my mind continued to think about the list of organizations, but I was no closer to my answer. After a week of putting off the decision, I sat down with the list once again. In the doodles on the paper I had written the word IMPACT. Yes, in capitals. I wanted to make a gift that could really make an impact on an organization. A gift that says,"You have made a significant, positive difference in my life. I hope this gift does the same for the work of your organization." That is when I knew the single organization for whom my gift would be given. The organization that taught me about friendship, leadership, responsibility, fun, the value of education and service to others. An organization that gave me a Purpose and continues to challenge me to live that Purpose each day of my life, no matter who is watching, because I am a life-long member.
I circled the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation on my list...smiling to myself that I had made the decision much harder than it had to be. The answer was clearly on the page the whole time. It was the first organization on my list.
Alpha Gamma Delta shaped me into the woman I am today...a mother, wife, friend, sister, daughter, professional, Christian, community supporter, etc. It is an honor and privilege to give the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation an estate gift. It is the least I can do for all that she has given to me. My love and loyalty to Alpha Gamma Delta forever.
Jennifer Zoul Walker, Alpha Kappa
