Advancement News
LEFT TO RIGHT: PTA grads placed long-stemmed roses in front of a photo of Devin Gold that will be displayed in the PTA lab; the Gold Family received an honorary diploma at the June 30 PTA pinning in memory of their daughter.
From Heartache to Helping Others
The family of Devin M. Gold unexpectedly lost their beloved daughter and sister in Fall of 2020. At the time of her passing, Devin was only 27 and a few classes away from graduating from the Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) program. Before coming to Harcum, she had been a basketball standout at Council Rock South High School and a Caldwell College (New Jersey) graduate, earning a B.S. degree in pyschology. Continuing her education and fostering her passion for helping others led Devin Gold to enroll in the PTA program in 2019. Her teachers and classmates remembered her as hard-working and consistently kind and supportive of her peers. “Devin was incredibly dedicated to the program,” her sister Kristen said, “and we were all so proud of her focused commitment.” During a June 30 pinning ceremony attended by the Gold family, tinged with the memory of a precious life cut short, President Jon Jay DeTemple said, “Usually at a pinning ceremony, I comment how it takes a whole family for our students to reach this milestone. Today, we have the family, but we don’t have Devin.” In the face of a tragic loss, the Gold Family did a remarkable thing. They endowed a scholarship in memory of Devin to provide assistance to qualifying students who wish to major in the Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) program; to retain and prepare students for PTA professions; and to graduate students with the skills to succeed in their careers. To contribute to this or any existing scholarship or to establish a new one, contact Brooke H. Walker, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, bwalker@harcum.edu, 610-526-6005. GIFTS TO THE FARBER CHALLENGE: OPPORTUNITY DOUBLED “Everybody needs a chance,” said Edith Armstrong Toor, Class of 1950. “Give people an opportunity, and brightness and positivity is the result. If I can give that chance, if I can help someone, I will.” Moved to give to the matching challenge established by the Farber Family Foundation in 2020, Mrs. Toor firmly believes that a great many young people need and deserve more money for college. She feels strongly that giving to education is one of the most important charitable causes. One of the most appealing aspects of the Farber Challenge is that 100 percent of gifts go directly to increase student scholarships, one of the reasons the campaign met 85 percent of its goal within six months of launching the campaign. Edith Armstrong Toor ’50 is giving to the Farber Challenge because the impact of her gift and her ability to provide more scholarship aid for Harcum students is doubled during this campaign. Help Harcum College meet the Farber Challenge by making a gift at www.Harcum.edu/Giving.
8
FALL 2021
Edith Armstrong Toor ’50, a contributor to the Farber Matching Challenge, believes in the value of an education.
