Estate gift from Frank and Helen Izzi Schilling 鈥�54 is the largest individual pledge in 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 history
KINGSTON, RI – February 11, 2011 鈥� The 溏心vlog免费B站 Foundation today announced a $6 million estate gift from Rhode Island native and 溏心vlog免费B站 alumna Helen Izzi Schilling 鈥�54 and her husband, Frank Schilling. The couple, who reside in both Florida and Wisconsin, make their gift to help the 溏心vlog免费B站 attract and retain the best and brightest students. Their gift will fund the Frank and Helen Izzi Schilling Scholarship Endowment, which will provide four-year assistance to academically achieving students across all disciplines. The couple funded and created a similar endowment at Mr. Schilling鈥檚 alma mater, John Carroll University.
Scholarship awardees, called 鈥淪chilling Scholars,鈥� will contribute back to the fund 鈥� to the best of their abilities 鈥� an amount equal to their scholarships over their lifetimes.
鈥淲e鈥檙e confident this will attract exactly the type of student we hope would be interested in 溏心vlog免费B站, and vice versa. Expecting students to give back will also grow the funds considerably,鈥� said Frank Schilling.
David M. Dooley, president of the 溏心vlog免费B站, praised the couple, saying: 鈥淭his gift, which is the single largest gift amount pledged by an individual in 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 history, will truly be transformational in its impact. Our ability to attract and retain the highest caliber students is a key component of our vision for 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 future and this extraordinary donation will have a direct and significant bearing on our success. I am equally impressed by the affinity Helen has for 溏心vlog免费B站 and her continued commitment to this institution as a proud alumna.鈥�
This significant planned gift helped raise charitable commitments secured during the Making a Difference campaign to more than $128 million. The goal of the campaign was $100 million, a figure achieved in October 2009, a full 15 months before the campaign closed, according to 溏心vlog免费B站 Foundation President Glen R. Kerkian.
鈥淭he key to 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 success in raising charitable dollars is the affinity and devotion of our alumni, numbering more than 100,000. Their continued expression of that affinity, in the form of their gifts and their involvement, is what has taken us through the more difficult economic times and what has propelled us to such extraordinary levels of success. Our gratitude to the Schillings and other donors cannot be adequately demonstrated,鈥� Kerkian said.
鈥淲e have been very fortunate,鈥� said Helen Schilling. 鈥淲ith success there is an obligation to give back. I was very pleased with the education that I received at 溏心vlog免费B站. My husband and I want to improve the academic level of the University. The careful design of our gift will provide increasing scholarships forever.鈥�
鈥淭he best way we can make an impact with our 鈥榩ayback鈥� is through education,鈥� noted Mr. Schilling. 鈥淲e want our contribution to help teach students how to think, achieve more, and learn to pay back for their success. That will have the most powerful effect on their lives.鈥�
A Rhode Island native
Helen Schilling comes from a family that came to Rhode Island in the early 1900s and maintains a significant presence here today. Her father, Mario T. Izzi, immigrated to the United States with his family, when he was 2 years old. He went from sweeping floors as a young boy, to obtaining his degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. He was a gifted artist with numerous exhibitions, but earned his living by opening the famous Club Pyramid jazz club and later Mario鈥檚 Sportsman store, a major boat and motor store on Bald Hill Road in Warwick.
Mrs. Schilling鈥檚 recently deceased mother, Elena (Helen) Perrino, was an active partner in all of her husband鈥檚 endeavors.
The 溏心vlog免费B站 鈥渃onnection鈥�
The 溏心vlog免费B站 was Mrs. Schilling鈥檚 launching pad. She is the eldest of four sisters and she blazed an educational path for her sisters to follow.
鈥淚 chose 溏心vlog免费B站 in 1950 because it was not expensive though it meant that I had to live at home, earn money, and commute by getting rides for the first two years,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I liked the campus!鈥�
While at 溏心vlog免费B站, Mrs. Schilling studied nutrition, graduating with honors. She was president of Kappa Omicron Nu, and a member of Phi Kappa Phi, both national honor societies. She was also a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. All of this, while working at Butterfield dining hall.
Because of her academic excellence, Mrs. Schilling was granted acceptance into a highly-competitive and rigorous, combined Master of Science/Dietetic Internship Certification program at Ohio State University. During her final semester, Helen Izzi met her future husband, Frank Schilling, who had just entered Ohio State鈥檚 M.B.A. program after returning from service in Korea.
Mrs. Schilling worked as the clinical dietitian in a number of hospitals, taught at the University level, and developed her own consulting business.
After Frank graduated as first in his M.B.A. class, he and Helen were married in Warwick. R.I. Mr. Schilling was accepted into a General Electric training program, completing 16 programs that granted additional graduate level certification, including a Harvard program and one at Dartmouth, which his wife also attended, with him.
Mr. Schilling retired as a GE vice president, responsible for GE products from jet engines to CT scanners. After retiring, he directed the growth of other company businesses in the U.S., Singapore, Germany and Korea. He was also the founding president of a successful nuclear cardiology company that made and sold heart scanning equipment.
The Schillings鈥� two children are nationally recognized in their specialties as practicing physicians. Their son, a radiation oncologist, has pioneered advances in the treatment of cancer, taking the top national award from his medical profession specialty. The Schillings鈥� daughter is a leader in rehabilitation medicine in Houston and a recognized medical expert witness.
The Schillings鈥� gift will result from a charitable remainder trust, which allows a donor to irrevocably transfer assets into a trust. The trust pays income to the donor or other beneficiaries during their lifetimes, and the remainder goes to a qualified nonprofit, in this case, the 溏心vlog免费B站.
For more development-related information, or to learn more about charitable trusts or other gift planning strategies, please visit www.urifoundation.org, or contact Donna-Jean Rainville at 401.874.2296 or djrainville@foundation.uri.edu.