Those of you who have followed the CR for awhile likely know that our summer contest* is named for Robert and Adele Schiff, whose names are also on a foundation that gives the magazine a great deal of support. We wanted to take the opportunity to say a little more about them, in particular about Adele, who passed away in late April.
The Robert C. and Adele R. Schiff Family Foundation has greatly contributed to education and health-care organizations in the Cincinnati region. For example, the picture above was taken by our managing editor when her son needed treatment at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, an institution that’s benefited from the Schiffs’ generosity. The foundation has also supported a number of early childhood education centers, including two that bear their name. Here’s an article from 2016 about the Cincinnati Early Learning Center’s thirty-fifth anniversary, celebrating how it helped more than twelve thousand children in families “at or near poverty levels” be ready for kindergarten.
Adele wasn’t just a philanthropist (though she was that in spades); she was a loving mother, grandmother, and friend, “the life of the party”: in a remembrance published in the Cincinnati Enquirer, her family—including her son Jim, our colleague in the English department here—spoke of her as a woman with a “joyful spirit [and] sense of humor,” and a big heart. As her obituary says, “Adele was a vibrant, caring, observant, and loving woman, who valued and adored her family. She possessed many skills and talents, but perhaps her greatest gift was her ability to engage with others, make them laugh and make them feel loved.”
We’re thankful for Adele’s life—and grateful for her generosity.
* This is also your reminder that there are only a few more days left in the contest, which runs through July 15. See more here about the guidelines and the three $1,000 prizes each for a story, poem, or essay.
