Stories: Fundholder Stories

In July 2005, while people were prepping their barbeques for Independence Day, Larry Soper, enslaved by drugs, was planning his suicide.   "I Googled the least painful ways," he said. "There were chat rooms even. It was a very dark place." For years, the...

Losing a child is every parent's worst fear.  For Steve Comunale, it became a reality in February 2006 when his 27-year-old son, Stephen A. Comunale Jr., died after a year-long battle with cancer. Although grief-stricken, Steve was determined to...

For Marilyn Meyers Buckey, success is the product of smart succession, both in business and philanthropy.  Through her family's funds at Akron Community Foundation, Marilyn and her daughters have assumed their forefathers' tradition of working hard,...

Steve Shechter, son of a grocer and third-generation Akronite, never considered himself a philanthropist.  That all changed in 2013 when he sold his business and established a fund at Akron Community Foundation. Now, Steve and his family can give to the...

Everett Shumate had a heart for Hudson. In the 1930s, he grew up as one of the few African Americans in the small town.  After graduating from Hudson High School, Everett joined his father as an employee of the Peterson Nut Company, and for five years,...

Conservation of nature has been an important focus of the Allard family for many generations, both in general and also specifically to Allardale Park in the Medina County Park District. Before the park became the go-to place for Medina County residents to...

Although most people study history in school, it was at the dinner table that longtime Akron native Marna Becker started gathering her vast knowledge of U.S. and world history.  Becker grew up listening to her father talk about the stories he learned in...

For four days and nights, Harry Donovan was lost at sea. His entire crew had been attacked, so there he sat, stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where hope seemed as distant as the shoreline. Deliverance came in the form of a U.S. landing ship. Its...

When Mary DiDonato thinks of home, she thinks of her mother, a kind and caring woman who served others while never asking for anything in return.  Mary has many fond memories of her mother's charity, including how she started every day by serving...

New Year's Eve is a time of reflection and planning for many, including the Mike and Susan Zeleznik family.  On Dec. 31, 2012, at the end of what had been a rewarding year, the Hudson residents chose to express their gratitude by planning for the future:...