200 Years – 200 Women Campaign: Q&A with donor Cheryl Nilsen
The 200 Years – 200 Women Campaign commemorates Bath Township's bicentennial by honoring women who have made a positive impact in the community. Gifts enrich the Bath community for current and future generations – a fitting tribute to a wife, mother, grandmother or friend who has made a lasting difference in your own life. To learn more about this historic campaign, we talked with Bath Community Fund Development Committee member and donor Cheryl Nilsen.
Q: What originally drew you to support Bath Community Fund?
A: My husband, Jim, and I both grew up in Bath, along with our siblings. We were all schooled in and graduated from the Revere Local Schools. We both have fond memories of all our adventures in the Bath community when it was considered "out in the sticks" by our Akron relatives. We were drawn to support Bath Community Fund because of its mission and how it will impact current and future generations, including our grandchildren.
Q: How have projects funded by Bath Community Fund impacted you personally?
A: When our daughter and son-in-law moved to Bath with our grandchildren, one of the first things they did as parents was to immerse their children in the "culture" of Bath, Ohio. One of our grandchildren's memorable experiences that first summer was the weeklong camp at Crown Point. The culminating adventure was to "sell" the abundant produce they harvested to their loving grandparents. The produce, sunflowers and sales pitches were so memorable! In the last six years, Crown Point has received numerous grants from Bath Community Fund to support its youth education programs, helping dozens of children experience the same outdoor adventures as our grandchildren.
Girls on the Run also has a special place in our hearts, as our granddaughter was a part of this organization when she first moved to Bath. Bath Community Fund has continued to support this wonderful program and inspired us to do the same.
Bath Community Fund has also been so generous in supporting many other nonprofits dear to my heart, including Hale Farm & Village and Bath Volunteers for Service.
Q: Why should Bath community members make a gift to the 200 Years – 200 Women Campaign?
A: This campaign has been a focus and passion for Jim and me. What better way to honor, memorialize and celebrate the women of Bath, Ohio, than to donate to Bath Community Fund in the names of our moms, wives, sisters, daughters, granddaughters, friends, aunts, neighbors and teachers?
Q: How has making a gift to the 200 Years – 200 Women Campaign helped you honor the important women in your own life?
A: Jim and I adored our moms, who were both pioneers in the Bath community. Jim's mother, along with a friend, started the first preschool in Bath. My mom was an early "women's libber" because she chose to work when most mothers of the '50s and '60s were stay-at-home moms. She was the school secretary at Bath Elementary when Gene Glick was principal, then at Richfield Elementary when Jim Nelson was principal, and then finally retiring as the secretary to the superintendent to the Revere Schools. The 200 Years – 200 Women Campaign was significant in giving us the opportunity to not only support Bath Community Fund, but to honor the wonderful and significant women in our lives.
To learn more about the 200 Years – 200 Women Campaign and see a full list of donors, visit www.akroncf.org/200women.
Who has impacted your own life?
This Mother's Day season, consider honoring the special women in your life with gifts in their names to Bath Community Fund. The women you honor will receive a card informing them of your thoughtful gift (the amount will not be disclosed). You will also be recognized in our list of generous donors.
For online gifts, please select "This is a campaign gift" on the giving form. You may also choose to set up a payment plan by selecting "Contact me about recurring billing." A member of our finance team will reach out to you to set up your payments.