Stories: Fundholder Stories

On the outside, Marissa Norwood was like any other 12-year-old girl: She loved vanilla milkshakes, her dogs and her family. She was an ace at card games, and she never missed the opportunity to give a good hug. Unlike most seventh graders, though, Marissa was...

As Mark Mathews' mother, Barbara, neared the end of her two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer, she looked at him and said, "I've got a lot more stuff to do." "She wasn't accepting of the fact that maybe she had an illness that was going to shorten her life,"...

What began as one man's dream has snowballed into a community-wide effort to control Summit County's cat population. In 2007, Cecil Smith consulted his financial advisor about using a large part of his savings to spay and neuter local cats. His advisor,...

As the eldest child of two Italian immigrants, Rose Mary Picciotti grew up with a challenge before her: to learn English and set an example for her four siblings. The lifelong Akron resident met this challenge head on, becoming not only fluent in the language...

Lifelong Akron residents Mal and Sue Ames are acutely aware of the staggering need for food assistance in the greater Akron community.  Local residents seek out assistance an average of 52,012 times each month, which, "at times, is overlooked," Sue said....

A fund established at Akron Community Foundation will permanently support the passion of local veterinarian Dr. Margaret Thorp. The Margaret Thorp Crown Point Development Endowment Fund was established in 2010 by Crown Point Ecology Center, which shares...

Betty Sandwick opened a fund at Akron Community Foundation to support the Akron Art Museum forever in her and her husband's name. "(My) grandmother was one of the founders of the Pasadena Playhouse," Betty said. "She took me when I was 3 years old to see Lily...

When Barb Hudak's niece Katie was diagnosed with autism, it shattered the confidence of the entire family. "To show you how really sophisticated we thought we were, we said, 'What is it?' Then we said, 'Just tell us where we go to get it fixed.'" Soon, they...

In 2007, Summit County Pest Control Association Vice President Jim Sanor was brainstorming ways the association could attract local students to the field of entomology. He was curious about how scholarship funds were created at area colleges, so he contacted...

Judy Read's eyes lit up when she talked about meeting her husband, Roger, more than a half century ago. "We almost didn't meet," she said. Both attended King School and graduated from Buchtel High School. Since they were a grade apart, the couple didn't cross...