Over three million dollars has been donated to the Marion Foundation. On Sunday, February 5, 2023, Ruth Elaine Drips unfortunately passed away at the age of 87 at Summit Pointe Assisted Living Facility. Drips was an alumna of the high school and she was known for her selflessness. This was carried on throughout her life based on her thoughtful donation. She didn’t have any children to inherit the money. Still, her experience with the high school was so special to her, that she decided to donate her money to the Marion Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps the Marion District. According to the Marion Foundation News Release, Kissling said, “…a note in the 1953 Marion High School Quill [the yearbook] described her as having ‘The mildest manner and the gentlest heart.’”
The Marion Foundation was created for support that the Marion District couldn’t achieve on its own. They help run fundraisers like Start School Right and the Holiday Giving Project, as well as giving scholarships and grants to Marion students and teachers. Elisabeth Kissling, executive director of The Marion Foundation, explained that this is the biggest donation they have ever received. Kissling said that there are lots of small donations made throughout the year, varying from shoes to help the Start School Right program to money for scholarships, but none have ever been as significant as this one.
Three million dollars is a lot of money to work with, and the money will go towards scholarships for Marion students. Drips had specific directions that she wanted the money to go towards scholarships, but it has been up to a committee of school board members and staff from the building to decide how the money will be given out. Two years ago, 32 scholarships were given out, and most recently, last year, 55 scholarships were given out. There will be even more this year with this growing rate, and especially with this gigantic donation.
Every year, there are a certain amount of scholarships that are handed out. When a student applies for a scholarship, a committee of employees who work at the Marion Foundation matches the applicants with whatever their needs and criteria are. “There are some people who just want to pay for a student going into nursing, some people just want to pay for a student going to school in Iowa,” said Kissling. It can be a complicated process, but there is a lot of thought and careful consideration that goes into it.
Drips had the kindness in her heart to give her life savings to a public high school. The high school that she graduated from, that thousands of students have graduated from after her, and the thousands of students that will continue to graduate from. Her donation of over three million dollars will not go to waste. Her legacy of selflessness will continue to live on through the scholarships that are given with her generous donation.
