March 18, 2015 5:00 pm
Published by Michael
Over the last four years, Benson said Meloun worked with the foundation to support the endowments of the organizations close to her heart on top of her other giving, making sure they had the long-term support they needed to sustain their efforts.
After her parents emigrated from the Netherlands, settling in Albany, N.Y., Meloun was born in upstate New York and grew up with a younger brother, according to a history provided by Meloun to the Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County for a previous event in her honor.
Meloun attended a two-year business college with plans to become a private secretary.
Meloun’s dedication, love and sense of pride for this community were apparent to all who knew her, according to nonprofit leaders who worked closely with her.
Meloun had a life-long habit of helping those in need, especially children, women and families, and she said that desire to give grew even more acute after the loss of her husband, according to the history she provided BGCHC.
The philanthropist was most interested in supporting nonprofits within the health and human services field, but she also felt strongly that the community needed access to certain quality-of-life necessities, such as a symphony.
Benson said Meloun was also heavily involved with supporting organizations like Four Seasons hospice, Blue Ridge Community College, the Children and Family Resource Center, Pardee Hospital and the Boys and Girls Club.
The theme of her giving was, “how do we take care of each other,” according to Benson.
Even with her overwhelming generosity to the community, Benson said Meloun never wanted credit for her giving. Occasionally, she would allow organizations to use her name if they believed it would encourage others to give, but Benson said in recent years the two talked frequently about her desire to return to anonymity.
After seeing each other at various functions around the nonprofit community, Sue Fazio, who founded the local Boys and Girls Club with her husband, was tasked with seeking funding from Meloun nearly 20 years ago.
It didn’t take long for the two to become friends, and Fazio to this day refers to Meloun as her mentor.
“I went to ask her if she would give us $25,000 for our counseling program at the Boys and Girls Club, but I said the truth is I don’t want just 25 I’d like a three-year commitment, too, because I can’t prove that it’s going to work without some time,” Fazio said. “But, I said, actually more than your money, if you give us money, I’d like your commitment to come into the club at least once a month and make sure we’re spending your money like you want it to be spent, because I am making this up.”
Fazio said that was during a time when organizers were still figuring out what the Boys and Girls Club would become.
Meloun committed and even attended interviews for counselors at the club, according to Fazio.
“She also came once a month, just like she said she would, to check in and she sat in on the programs, and then because we were doing what she wanted, she started bringing her people in that she knew,” Fazio said.
Julia Hockenberry, assistant executive director of the club, said it was not uncommon for Meloun to swing by with a friend she had invited over for dinner to show off the club before sitting down to eat.
“She used to talk about us in the plural our Boys and Girls Club, we at the club; she felt some ownership at the club here after a while,” Executive Director Kevin Lauritsen said.
The director said he has always admired Meloun’s sharp wit and her capacity to remain optimistic while still maintaining a realistic approach to everything she laid her hands on.
“Every once in a while, I’d say, oh, goodness, and I could see the problem and she’d say, ‘Kevin, that’s not going to get you anywhere,'” Lauritsen said.
It was that sentiment that Fazio said set Meloun apart from typical donors Meloun wasn’t just there to give her money, she gave her time.
Over the last four years, Benson said Meloun worked with the foundation to support the endowments of the organizations close to her heart on top of her other giving, making sure they had the long-term support they needed to sustain their efforts.
After her parents emigrated from the Netherlands, settling in Albany, N.Y., Meloun was born in upstate New York and grew up with a younger brother, according to a history provided by Meloun to the Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County for a previous event in her honor.
Meloun attended a two-year business college with plans to become a private secretary.
Meloun’s dedication, love and sense of pride for this community were apparent to all who knew her, according to nonprofit leaders who worked closely with her.
Meloun had a life-long habit of helping those in need, especially children, women and families, and she said that desire to give grew even more acute after the loss of her husband, according to the history she provided BGCHC.
The philanthropist was most interested in supporting nonprofits within the health and human services field, but she also felt strongly that the community needed access to certain quality-of-life necessities, such as a symphony.
Benson said Meloun was also heavily involved with supporting organizations like Four Seasons hospice, Blue Ridge Community College, the Children and Family Resource Center, Pardee Hospital and the Boys and Girls Club.
The theme of her giving was, “how do we take care of each other,” according to Benson.
Even with her overwhelming generosity to the community, Benson said Meloun never wanted credit for her giving. Occasionally, she would allow organizations to use her name if they believed it would encourage others to give, but Benson said in recent years the two talked frequently about her desire to return to anonymity.
After seeing each other at various functions around the nonprofit community, Sue Fazio, who founded the local Boys and Girls Club with her husband, was tasked with seeking funding from Meloun nearly 20 years ago.
It didn’t take long for the two to become friends, and Fazio to this day refers to Meloun as her mentor.
“I went to ask her if she would give us $25,000 for our counseling program at the Boys and Girls Club, but I said the truth is I don’t want just 25 I’d like a three-year commitment, too, because I can’t prove that it’s going to work without some time,” Fazio said. “But, I said, actually more than your money, if you give us money, I’d like your commitment to come into the club at least once a month and make sure we’re spending your money like you want it to be spent, because I am making this up.”
Fazio said that was during a time when organizers were still figuring out what the Boys and Girls Club would become.
Meloun committed and even attended interviews for counselors at the club, according to Fazio.
“She also came once a month, just like she said she would, to check in and she sat in on the programs, and then because we were doing what she wanted, she started bringing her people in that she knew,” Fazio said.
Julia Hockenberry, assistant executive director of the club, said it was not uncommon for Meloun to swing by with a friend she had invited over for dinner to show off the club before sitting down to eat.
“She used to talk about us in the plural our Boys and Girls Club, we at the club; she felt some ownership at the club here after a while,” Executive Director Kevin Lauritsen said.
The director said he has always admired Meloun’s sharp wit and her capacity to remain optimistic while still maintaining a realistic approach to everything she laid her hands on.
“Every once in a while, I’d say, oh, goodness, and I could see the problem and she’d say, ‘Kevin, that’s not going to get you anywhere,'” Lauritsen said.
It was that sentiment that Fazio said set Meloun apart from typical donors Meloun wasn’t just there to give her money, she gave her time.
