by Calculated Risk on 5/17/2009 03:55:00 PM

Here is a photo of the Doris "Tanta" Dungey memorial bench on the campus of Illinois State University (another photo below).

Click on photo for larger image in new window.

This bench was paid for by your donations to The Doris "Tanta" Dungey Endowed Scholarship Fund setup by our very own Bacon Dreamz.

The scholarship received over $26,000 in donations and is fully endowed, although more contributions are welcome (see above link).

Tanta's niece Kate spoke at the dedication of the bench (Kate is a junior journalism student at ISU), and Tanta's parents also attended. Note: "Tanta" was a family nickname for Doris, and means "Aunt" in several languages. Tanta also has a nephew Erik who helped with the Mortgage Pig Wear charity.

For those visiting the campus, here is a map (from Cathy) showing the location of the bench.

This was one of Tanta's favorite spots - just outside Milner Library.

There were many donations to other charities in Tanta's name. OSU has received about $4,000, and the Normal Community High School’s Drama Club about $1,800. Thanks to all!

The Mortgage Pig wear for Charity raised over $3,500 for charity (I'm wearing a Mortgage Pig sweat shirt as I type!). Note: the Mortgage Pig Wear is closed for now.

And here is an excerpt from an email from the University of Maryland Medical System (to Cathy):

My name is Nichole Barbuzanes and I work in the UMMS Foundation office ...[and I wanted to] touch base with you regarding donations that have been made in your sisters memory. I am very sorry to hear about her passing but from the numerous ... contributions it is clear that she was loved by all.

So far we have received 45 contributions in her memory, including ... a $40,000 gift from the Denver Foundation from an anonymous contributor. The total is therefore $44,775. WOW!

When our Wall of Honor is updated in the next year ... your sister's name will be included. ...

Sincerely,
Nichole Barbuzanes
Contributor Relations Coordinator
UMMS Foundation

And a second photo of Tanta's bench.

Thank you to everyone for your nice emails, comments and donations to these charities. A special thanks to Bacon Dreamz and Cathy.

Best to all.