Fran McKinnon Fund Glove House Duffle Bag Program
When circumstances force a person to leave home quickly, it’s reassuring to have a safe place to go. Glove House provides just such a place for many of our community’s most vulnerable young people. Thanks to funding from the Fran McKinnon Fund, these transplanted young people also get a duffle bag full of personal items to help them feel more comfortable in their new home. Just a little something a friend might provide.
“My mother was a great friend,” reflects her son, Eric Welles, who together with his brother, Henry, and step-father, Rob, created the fund. “I think she’d be particularly honored to be remembered in this way.”
Fran was a transplant herself, moving to Elmira from her home in the much bigger city of St. Louis, MO. It wasn’t long, however, before she was completely “smitten” with her new community. “She loved being part of it,” says Welles. “She was very generous with her time, her talents and her concern for others.” When Fran died in 2003, the men in her life decided to exercise philanthropy on her behalf here in the town she loved so much.
“We knew we wanted to honor our Elmira roots and my mother’s memory by giving something back,” explains Welles. “We were not sure exactly how; she’d had so many good experiences.” They decided to let the Community Foundation determine the areas of greatest need each year and left the Fran McKinnon Fund at our discretion. In addition to a cherished memory Welles reports they have the comfort of knowing their money is well-spent, improving the lives of others.
