We mark August as “National Make a Will Month” by profiling one of our donors who has earmarked funds for Odyssey. “I know that by leaving 75% of my estate to Odyssey through my will, I support a program that helps those in poverty to achieve freedom through education.” Janine Edwards calls Odyssey “one of the most worthwhile charities in the U.S.” and says that by attending our graduations, she witnessed Odyssey’s life-changing impact firsthand.
Read more about Janine below, including why she supports our prison program and says “we are all refugees.” And learn more about planned giving, too!
Janine saw firsthand at a graduation ceremony in the Memorial Union how Odyssey changes lives. ‘I saw for myself people who had gone through your program and now were able to speak in their own voices. I saw the hope they embodied. It’s incredible that you now have more than 600 graduates!”
Through annual giving over the years, Janine has supported not only the core class but also Odyssey Beyond Bars. “Mass incarceration is a terrible injustice,” she notes, adding that Wisconsin has been one of the worst states for disproportionally locking up African Americans. “Odyssey Beyond Bars enables incarcerated people to find their voices, speak for themselves, and fight for their freedom.”
Janine is a former English teacher who became a professor of Educational Psychology and instructor of medical students. She credits her upbringing for teaching her to reach out to help others. “We are all refugees,” she notes, talking about how her mother’s Cajun family was expelled from Nova Scotia and relocated in Louisiana, marked as culturally “other.” She remembers that her mother at age 91 was still feeding neighbors and “taking care of old people.”
We thank Janine for her generosity in helping our Odyssey families now and in the future – and invite you to join her in including Odyssey in your estate planning. August is “Make a Will” month, a good time to consider creating a meaningful legacy for the important people and causes in your life like Odyssey.
And, by combining a current gift with a future one, you can make an even greater impact and help us empower more low-income learners like Char to get a jumpstart on a college education they never thought possible. For more information about planned giving and ways to include Odyssey in your legacy, including in your will or trust or naming Odyssey as a beneficiary of your life insurance or retirement plan, contact Jenny Pressman, Odyssey’s Director of Development and Community Partnerships, pictured here with her son and Odyssey family, at jenny.pressman@wisc.edu or 608-287-8216.
Already included us in your will? Let Jenny know, with our thanks!