YOUR STORIES, YOUR IMPACT / 6
I give because of the education my family and I received. > Lucile Cayford Leard ’59
Lucile Leard: A Lifetime of Service F or Lucile Cayford Leard ’59, the University of La Verne runs deep in the family. Her two older brothers attended the university, as well as three of her children, a niece, and a nephew. Impressed by her brothers’ positive experience at what was then called La Verne College and encouraged by its association with the Church of the Brethren, Leard decided to enroll. She loved her time here, pursuing a double major in vocal music and elementary education, singing in the choir, performing with the drama club, and playing on the basketball team. Leard also participated in the University of La Verne’s first-ever Summer Service, back when it was an innovative pilot program to make good on the university’s core value of civic and community engagement. Today, the annual program continues to provide countless students with community service opportunities to help them learn what it means to be a socially responsible citizen. The lessons Leard learned at that first-ever Summer Service never faded. Her La Verne
Lucile Cayford Leard ’59 with her son, Rodney Leard ’85, at the 2022 Celebration of Gratitude, an annual event that celebrates the generosity of our Giving Society members.
education was her key to a fulfilling career as an elementary school music teacher, and she has never hesitated to give back to the community that gave her so much. In 2014, she established an endowment for the Interfaith Fellows program through an estate gift, providing students opportunities to create and implement interfaith programming. She also supports the University of La Verne’s scholarship fund by naming it as the primary beneficiary of her qualified individual retirement account (IRA). A donor for 33 years and counting, Leard can take extra satisfaction from the fact that her legacy gifts will continue to benefit students for many generations to come. She likes to tell people: “I give because of the education my family and I received,” and encourages other alumni to pay it forward as well.
Lucile is a member of the Veritas Society, which recognizes donors who provide support beyond their own lifetimes.
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator