MAKE A GIFT
Alumnae Lasting Legacies
Lifelong Friendships and Wise Financial Planning Combine to Create an Amazing Reunion
As students, Patricia Kurtz Ameling ’58 and her roommate lived in Corwin for the first year and then moved to Gibbons. From the beginning, they were seated in Cooper Dining Hall with three other pairs of roommates, eating together every night. Lifelong friendships were formed. Along with many other members of the “great ‘58” they looked forward to and enjoyed many milestone reunions over the years. It was especially meaningful when one friend passed away and three of the classmates met on the Ravine Bridge at the next reunion to spend some time in remembrance; the following reunion, there were two of them to remember the third. For Pat, this represents the importance and joy of reunions, “many memories are shared, new ones created and connections to so many people near and far are celebrated.” In other words, that undefinable, unbreakable bond that connects all alumnae is strengthened.
This past April, the class of ‘58 celebrated its 60th reunion. Pat wanted to make a special gift in honor of this milestone year, and found that a Charitable Gift Annuity was the perfect way to do so. “The merits of this type of gift are many, especially for those who have appreciated stock.” Contributors avoid capital gains tax, receive income for themselves or another beneficiary, qualify for a charitable tax deduction and make a meaningful contribution to the Associate Alumnae of Douglass College, allowing our alumnae community to move forward together. Pat and her classmates together surpassed their reunion participation and class gift goal in honor of their 60th Reunion. “Honestly, giving a Charitable Gift Annuity was an easy decision. It allowed me to help my class and support the AADC while fitting in with my financial planning goals.”
If you would like to learn more about the benefits of a Charitable Gift Annuity, contact Eileen Cotter, Director of Development at 732-246-1600 or ecotter@douglassalumnae.org. Contributions to the AADC are not on behalf of NJC, DRC, or Rutgers. They benefit programs that connect alumnae, foster life-long learning, and make the AADC a best-in-class alumnae organization. All inquiries are confidential and without obligation.
Create a Lasting Legacy: The Joseph B. and Florence Voorhees Cejka Graduate Fellowship
Florence Voorhees, outstanding Phi Beta Kappa senior in the class of 1940, was the recipient of the Mabel Smith Douglass Fellowship for 1940-41. She went on to earn her master’s degree in English from Yale University. The Fellowship she received was created in 1928 by the members of the classes then in NJC to honor their Dean.
Later, Florence, in gratitude for this needed support, “paid back” by endowing the Joseph B. and Florence Voorhees Cejka Graduate Fellowship for graduate study. Since her initial gift in 1995, with future additions by the Cejka Foundation, her generosity and that of her family have funded forty-one Douglass alumnae for advanced studies and Masters in many different fields. The recipients were able to study at Yale, Cornell, NYU, Bowling Green, Williams, UCLA, CUNY, William and Mary, University of Mass, University of Penn, Rutgers, University of Natalin (South Africa), University of Bristol (England), University College (London), Graduate Institute of Geneva, and Sagiellonian University (Poland) – to name but a few. Truly, Douglass alumnae are everywhere.
Florence Voorhees Cejka was a visionary. Few women studied for advanced degrees in her time and for many years afterward. However, today graduate degrees are needed for many professions, but not enough fellowships are available. Through her thoughtful planning in establishing an endowed fellowship, Florence is helping to meet this need today and will continue to assist future generations of Douglass Alumnae to pursue advanced study around the globe.
Create a Lasting Legacy: The Honorable Rosalie B. Cooper ’52 Fellowship
“Judge Rosalie B. Cooper was the most courageous, determined, indomitable woman I have ever known.
She trail blazed for women. She treasured her love for family and law and excelled in both.” — Dwight N. Halpern M.D.
Rosalie B. Cooper ’52 achieved a Bachelor’s Degree from NJC, followed by a Masters of Laws (LLM) in 1953 and a Juris Doctor Degree (JD) in 1954, both from Rutgers Law School. She was the only female student in her law school class where she served on the Law Review and graduated first in her class. She was the first female to serve as an associate attorney at any large NJ law firm, joining the McCarter & English law firm in 1953. In spite of a serious disability which left her confined to a wheelchair for the last 36 years of her life, Rosalie became the first female Assistant Prosecutor and then the first female Superior Court Judge in Ocean County. For her career achievements and her devotion to Douglass alumnae, she was honored by the AADC by being selected to the Douglass Society (now the AADC Society of Excellence) in 1994.
Upon her passing in 2011, her husband, Dwight N. Halpern, M.D., generously created a fellowship in her memory. The Honorable Rosalie B. Cooper ’52 Fellowship provides tuition assistance to a deserving Douglass alumna attending law school. Through this impactful support, five deserving young women have been able to follow in Rosalie’s esteemed footsteps in the legal field. Dr. Halpern also planned for a generous increase to the Fellowship to be provided by a charitable foundation established in his Will. Therefore, upon his passing last fall, an additional generous grant was received for the Fellowship.
Judge Cooper’s passion for the law and belief in the power of our alumnae sisterhood live on through the Fellowship, assisting future generations of Douglass alumnae to achieve their own “firsts” as attorneys and Jurists.