Lowell Gornall got his college degree through 19 years of night classes he attended while serving in the U.S. Air Force. The more-than-30-year Air Force veteran now attempts to make getting a higher education a little easier for some Symmes Valley High School seniors. He doesn't do it alone however, but with a little help from the Foundation for the Tri-State Community.

Gornall, now in his 80s, has not lived in Lawrence County since he enlisted in the service, but knew that he wanted to help out the region that he thought of as home.

Through a $40,000 gift administered by the Foundation, Gornall provides four scholarships per year to students from Symmes Valley who are headed to college.

Though the scholarships were begun with Gornall's seed of generosity, it was the work of the Foundation for the Tri-State Community that allowed it to flourish, a particular point of pride with Foundation for the Tri-State Community President Mary Witten Wiseman.

"One reason is that he is such an enthusiastic donor, and so proud of what he has been able to do," Wiseman said. "But it's also important because we'd like to encourage more people who have moved away but have a connection to this region to give their money back to the area."

The anonymous benefactors

You may not know their names, but you've probably seen their work. If you've enjoyed the fountain in the City Center, had a pet spayed or neutered, or taken in a show at the Paramount Arts Center, you may have benefited from the Foundation for the Tri-State Community already, and not even been aware of it.

Since its inception in 1972, the Foundation has expanded from its origins as a group created solely to preserve the Paramount Theatre into a multi-million dollar organization that has its sights set on improving the lives of every man, woman and child in the Tri-State.

The Foundation isn't accurately described as a charitable organization, per se, more accurately, it might be called a "charity facilitator," Wiseman said.

"What we do is work with individual and corporate donors, and say, 'What is it that you want to do charitably? What is it that matters most to you, and how can we help you to achieve those goals in the most effective and cost-efficient way?"' Wiseman said.

Our furry friends

One furry example of a gift that has had a long-lasting and far-reaching effect in Lawrence County is the Emma Edith Arundel Endowment Fund. Arundel had a soft spot for critters, and wanted her endowment to make life a little better for our feline friends.

Through her generosity, and the hard work of the Foundation, a gift is made every year to the Lawrence County Humane Society to spay and neuter cats. The LCHS received $1,785.58 last year, and Wiseman estimates that the fund allows 80 to 90 percent of the cats that pass through the shelter to be spayed or neutered.

"It also was about 20 percent of their operating budget, so there's a part of the budget that they don't have to find from another source which is exciting," Wiseman said.

"But more importantly, here was a lady who loved cats, and because of her one gift you have fewerproblems with cats being born that nobody can take care of. But that's a very specific example of how someone can set up a fund that really meant something to them that also takes care of an issue."

Music to their ears

It's not just pet lovers who reap the benefits of the Foundation for the Tri-State Community. The Foundation's work has been music to the ears of the art lovers in Lawrence County.

Through the Foundation, the Ironton Council for the Arts has received several grants from Marathon/Ashland Inc. throughout the years, as well as set up an endowment to help ensure that their organization will continue to enrich Lawrence County with virtuoso performances.

According to ICA President Bruce Brown, support through the Foundation is integral to his organizations' survival.

"Although the ICA has presented a performance series continuously for 24 years through season memberships and private donations," Brown said, "it is corporate underwriters who make it possible for us to offer high-quality performances."

In February, the ICA Board of Trustees used the $500 grant from MAP to pay for a school performance by the Merling Trio, a classical piano trio of music faculty from Western Michigan University, at Ironton High School.

Crossing the Ohio

Though they have accomplished much in Lawrence County, the Foundation for the Tri-State Community is looking for opportunities to do more.

The work the Foundation can do in the county is primarily limited by the fact that there aren't as many non-profit organizations here as in the rest of the areas the Foundation serves. But Wiseman believes it's also a result of the Foundation not being as well known in Ohio as in the rest of the Tri-State.

"I remember one time we actually got two Lawrence County applications in a single quarter, and it was just like 'Wow, this is great,' because that's rare," Wiseman said. "We may get half-a-dozen from Lawrence County in a year, which is certainly less than we get from the other states that we serve."

Wiseman wants the Lawrence County area to be aware that almost any community organization has a shot at monies from the Foundation for the Tri-State Community. After a simple application process begun at www.tristatefoundation.com, a local group could become just the latest in the Foundation's long line of success stories.

Of course, the best way to aid the Foundation's spread into our county is to set up a charitable gift specifically denoted for a local group. Through the work of the Foundation, those charitable impulses can become a living testament to generosity, and an enduring gift for generations to come.