Renaissance Community Co-op Receives Donation from Starmount Presbyterian Church

Startup in Greensboro, NC

Starmount Presbyterian Church gifted the RCC $50,000 thanks to the bequest of Lillian Steele, a Guilford County School librarian and longtime church member.

According to her obituary, Lillian Steele was the first full-time librarian hired by Guilford County Schools. She worked at Bessemer, a community grade school on the east side of Greensboro. She loved her church, Starmount Presbyterian, and she loved the community she served. More than 50 years later, that same community was designated a “food desert” in a city that has been named one of the hungriest in the nation.

When Lillian died in 2014 with no living heirs, the bulk of her estate was simply divided equally and bequeathed to her alma mater, Averett College in Virginia and her beloved church, Starmount Presbyterian. The gift was given unconditionally, but the Starmount Presbyterian congregation felt a strong calling to use a portion of the gift in service to our community.

“We at Starmount have been astounded by the reports of hunger issues in our own backyard, and we felt compelled to share a portion of Lillian Steele’s generous gift to alleviate those needs. We solicited grant proposals and prayerfully evaluated the merits and impact of each project. Personally, I have sensed God’s hand at work during our discernment process. We have been touched and awed to now see that the very community that Lillian Steele served is so intertwined in the work of these three organizations,” said Libby Wilson, Director of Finance.

Starmount Presbyterian Church plans to celebrate the Lillian Steele gifts and its continued commitment to serve the community on “Good Works Sunday” August 7th, both at a worship service at 10 am and a fellowship gathering at Lindley Park at 4 pm.

The Interactive Resource Center and the Out of the Garden Project were also gifted $40,000 each. We congratulate them and are honored to be in such good company!

Update from Renaissance Community Co-op – July 15, 2016 http://bit.ly/2aj0cp2