The Scott County Community Foundation is pleased to announce the establishment of a new endowment fund to benefit Scott County, the Nathan and Alice Bridge Memorial Endowment Fund. The donor, Matt LaMaster, is a graduate of Scottsburg High School and currently lives in Chicago. He chose to honor his grandparents? legacy through a donor-advised fund, in which the entire family can become involved in charitable giving to the community.
As lifelong residents of Scott County, this is a great way to continue the spirit of giving that the Bridges instilled in their family and support local charities recommended by the family,? said Community Foundation Executive Director Jaime Toppe.
?They loved the land, and were committed to their faith, family, and community,? shared LaMaster. ?Some of my fondest memories are of Sunday evening meals, where the extended family (including my uncle, four aunts, and an ever increasing amount of cousins) would discuss events of the day. Often these conversations would end with Grandpa Bridge exclaiming, ?I?m going to get a board 8 feet long, and 20 feet wide,? or (much to my Grandma Bridge?s disdain) ?I?m going to Louisville and am going to find a ???? the rest cannot be repeated here.?
LaMaster shared that both grandparents had an unending curiosity and devout commitment to multiple causes. Nathan was a farmer, Mason, and Scott County councilman who was ?always willing to lend a helping hand (along with an earful of politics) to his fellow neighbors,? said LaMaster. Alice was involved in everything including church events, correspondent for the local paper, Sunday school teacher, and lay minister at Wesley Chapel. She also served on the Scott County Library board of directors, was a Farm Bureau Women?s Leader, and a member of the old Harmony Chapel Extension Club. She was one of the first members of the Scott County Hospital?s Guild when it began in the 1950s.
?Beyond their causes, they were the root and trunk of a mighty tree that has reached far into the world,? said LaMaster. ?Each one of us is an acorn from that tree, which carries along, and keeps alive the brilliant memories of Nathan and Alice.?
By establishing an endowment fund at the Community Foundation, LaMaster hopes that donations will serve as the root and trunk of the endowment ?tree.? With an endowment fund, the original gift is not spent; instead, only a portion of the earnings may be granted each year, allowing the fund to grow and live in perpetuity. As the fund grows, the family will be involved in recommending grants to charitable organizations within Scott County that were supported by Nathan and Alice.
?In this way, the fund will live indefinitely providing charitable grants or ?acorns? to those in Scott County,? said LaMaster. ?I invite you to join in contributing to the memory of an unforgettable couple to honor their enduring legacy.?
To send your tax-deductible gift in memory of Nathan and Alice Bridge, you may mail to the Community Foundation at PO Box 25; Scottsburg, IN 47170. You may also stop in the office at 60 N. Main St., Scottsburg. For more information, please call 752-2057 or visit www.www.scottcountyfoundation.org.
