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Donor Stories

Bequest

Helene Whitlock Alley

Helene Whitlock Alley

The late Helene Whitlock Alley knew first-hand about the struggles people with type 1 face. As a young woman, she played an active role in helping her brother manage the disease, and found the experience "heart rending, frightening and inspiring."

As an adult, Mrs. Alley became a longtime supporter of JDRF. She believed that those who are able to “should help when they can to find a cure for diabetes."

Those weren’t just empty words for Mrs. Alley, and that became clearer than ever last year, when JDRF learned that it would be receiving its largest bequest ever – $7.6 million – from her estate.

Mrs. Alley designated the bequest in memory of her late brother, Theodore Whitlock Jr., and her late father Theodore Whitlock.

This remarkable act of generosity arose from great tragedy. Mrs. Alley and her husband, Reuben, both 88, died tragically in a fire at their home in Annapolis, Maryland in March 2007. Married for 58 years, they were a devoted and inseparable couple. They are survived by their son Robert, a well-known illustrator of children's books, his wife, and two grandchildren, all of Barrington, Rhode Island.

Mrs. Alley was an accomplished tennis player, horsewoman and swimmer. In a recent article about the bequest in The Washington Post, she was remembered as an “unassuming retiree and a devoted wife.” To those descriptions can be added another: a truly exceptional benefactor of research aimed at finding a cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications. When making her commitment to JDRF, Mrs. Alley expressed her hope that one day no child would have to endure the many "restrictions and complications of diabetes." Thanks to her generosity, that goal is closer within reach.

Suzanne Ritchie

Suzanne Ritchie

One may assume that creative thinking is more likely to happen in a less structured environment, but Suzanne Ritchie, a San-Francisco-based attorney and JDRF volunteer, has found the fresh and stimulating within her profession. "I find different ways of approaching everyone," she says. Perhaps she owes some of her ingenuity to the challenges in her life, which have led her thinking in new directions. At UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, she switched from wanting to pursue a career in politics to estate planning, when a course in wills and trusts captured her imagination. She proceeded on the trajectory of estate planning law, working with private firms and the IRS. Then in 1995, a fateful day added another dimension to her life and career. On December 7th of that year her son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. "It was our day of infamy," she says. The news caught the family by surprise. "When I came home, I threw out all the sugar in the house. I was really ignorant about the disease."

In time Ms. Ritchie and her family adapted, and after years of working independently, she decided to use her expertise in estate planning to help JDRF. She volunteered for her "night job," speaking to chapter boards about the benefits of planned giving. With characteristic clarity of thought, she simplifies complexities into small components that her audiences find easy to digest. For instance, she'll tell them that planned gifts fall into two categories: gifts that let you change your mind and gifts that don't. To the grandparent worried about the relevance of their gift if JDRF finds a cure, she'll recommend a will, which can be revoked. "There's a gift for everyone, whatever your age, income, or assets," she says.

Gift Annuity

David and Roz Ingber

David M. Ingber

David M. Ingber, CEO of Philadelphia-based United Metal Traders Inc. and a JDRF volunteer, says his charitable gift annuity with JDRF was the best investment he has ever made. Not only is the annuity a perfect vehicle for tax and business purposes, it supports a highly successful organization with an impressive record of discoveries, all addressing an urgent need. "I can't think of a more worthy cause to give to," says Mr. Ingber.

When his grandson, Andrew, age 9, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1998, Mr. Ingber was determined to do his part to bring about a cure. He raised funds for JDRF, and he trooped twice a year for Team Andrew, his family's Walk team. Five years ago, Alan Berkowitz, Director of Planned Giving, approached Mr. Ingber about increasing his commitment to JDRF and becoming a planned giving advocate, and Mr. Ingber accepted. In addition to his public speaking engagements for JDRF at board meetings and trade conventions, Mr. Ingber attends conferences on type 1 diabetes at research universities.

Charitable Reminder Trust

Mike Kelly

Mike Kelly

Since he retired in 2002 from a successful career as a marketing executive, Mike Kelly of Kansas City, Missouri, has been able to devote more time to pursuing his favorite leisure-time activities, like skiing and fishing. But perhaps his most rewarding occupation these past few years has been his unstinting focus on helping JDRF find a cure for type 1 diabetes.

Mr. Kelly, who does not have diabetes, wanted to honor several longtime friends with the disease as well as act on his deeply-felt concern for the health and well-being of children. "I have been overwhelmed by the courage of children with diabetes," he says. "They're robbed of a normal childhood the rest of us take for granted."

To accomplish his philanthropic goals, Mr. Kelly chose to support JDRF not only through a charitable remainder trust, but also to actively assist JDRF as a hands-on volunteer advocate. Asked by the JDRF Kansas City Chapter to join its board of directors, Mr. Kelly quickly decided he could best put his marketing and communications savvy to work as a member of the Chapter's Government Relations Committee. It was an ideal match. His responsibilities have included advocating for federal funding of diabetes research among the Kansas Members of Congress (the chapter serves the entire state of Kansas as well as western Missouri), a process that involves maintaining a continuing dialogue with the lawmakers and their staffs.

"I was used to getting things done quickly in the business world," says Mr. Kelly, "but I soon realized that in politics, it's a more gradual relationship-building process." He believes JDRF grassroots advocates are so effective in meeting their goals--for example, in increasing the federal Type 1 Diabetes Special Funding Program nearly five-fold--"because we band together to form a powerful collective force." As a result, asking over and over again is essential to gaining long-term federal support. "We deliver our message strongly," he says. "We don't take no for an answer. We say thank you, and then we come back again."

Mr. Kelly counts among his proudest accomplishments his role in JDRF's successful campaign to pass the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is currently serving as a Volunteer Campaign Coordinator for the signature JDRF grassroots program, Promise to Remember Me, in which children with diabetes and their families visit members of Congress in their home states to ask for increased federal support of diabetes research. "The Promise campaign has some critical goals this year," he says, mentioning the push to increase the special type 1 federal funding. "We have to keep the fight up," he says. "We've had tremendous successes over the years, but the political and economic climate changes from year to year, and we can never take anything for granted." The Promise campaign is currently under way, and anticipated to conclude in May 2006.

As for the other component of his commitment to JDRF, Mr. Kelly established his charitable remainder trust in 2004. It enables him to bequeath a set amount of money each year to beneficiaries of his choice, several of his close friends. After their lifetimes, the remainder goes to JDRF and two other charities he has selected. "My charitable trust is great because I can take care of those I love and also maintain my commitment to finding a cure for diabetes," he says. "It's the best of both worlds."

Life Insurance Policy

Rich Rosenberg

"I try to educate people about how they can satisfy their giving without sacrificing their money," says Rich Rosenberg, wealth management advisor with Merrill Lynch, in Oak Brook, Illinois, and a JDRF volunteer.

Mr. Rosenberg became involved with JDRF when his son, Kevin, 15, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 10 years ago. At that time, Merrill Lynch made a contribution to JDRF, and Mr. Rosenberg raised funds himself by participating in the Walk. He then joined the JDRF Illinois Board, which sets the pace among JDRF's U.S. chapters, bolstered by savvy business executives who raise funds for the foundation. "JDRF is a phenomenal charity," says Mr. Rosenberg. "It makes Kevin believe a cure is getting closer," he says.

Mr. Rosenberg's professional credibility among board members makes him an excellent advocate for planned gifts. He believes his presentations draw a big response because of people's fundamental wish to leave a legacy of how they want to be remembered. Planned giving provides them this opportunity without hurting their current financial position. And if anyone requires more persuasion than that, Mr. Rosenberg can offer an incontestable argument: "Everyone makes charitable contributions either voluntarily or involuntarily when they give taxes," he says. "Most people feel better, however, when they give to a voluntary charity because they can have some impact."

Alan Berkowitz
National Director of Planned Giving
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
120 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005-4001
1-877-533-4483
plannedgiving@jdrf.org

JDRF recommends that you consult your tax or legal advisors
prior to making a planned gift.