At Cobb Community Foundation, we often talk about the long-term impact of generosity. But sometimes, the clearest examples are found not in numbers or financial plans, but in the life of a single person. Jennifer’s journey is one of those stories.
Jennifer was only three years old when she arrived at Calvary Children’s Home.
At that age, most children are learning colors, making friends, and beginning to understand the world around them. Jennifer was entering a completely different reality — one shaped by instability and uncertainty far earlier than any child should experience.
There were house parents who cared for her each day and adults who encouraged her education. There was structure, stability, and a safe place to grow up. Over time, those experiences changed the course of her life.
Founded in 1966, Calvary Children’s Home has spent decades serving children across Metro Atlanta who cannot safely remain at home due to difficult family circumstances. The organization provides long-term residential care focused not only on meeting immediate needs, but on helping children build stable futures.
Jennifer became one of those success stories.
After growing up at Calvary, she went on to graduate from college and later earned her certification as a child protective investigator — dedicating her career to helping vulnerable children navigate difficult situations of their own. She later got married, with members of the Calvary community, who had supported her through childhood, walking her down the aisle on her wedding day. It’s a quiet but powerful reminder that Calvary was more than just a residence in her life — it was a lasting source of family, support, and belonging.
It is the kind of full-circle story that quietly captures the deeper impact of long-term community support.
Because Jennifer’s story did not change in a single moment. It changed through years of encouragement, years of mentorship, and years of people showing up consistently in her life.
And behind that support were generations of donors who believed children deserved safety, dignity, and opportunity.
That includes philanthropists like Willard Grogan. In the later years of his life, Willard faced ongoing health challenges and spent years in and out of hospitals and care facilities. With encouragement from his caretakers and family, Judy and Marshall Ivey, along with his financial advisor, John Gray, Willard began thinking seriously about putting in place an estate plan that would help others long after his lifetime.
He knew he wanted to help children. Many options were discussed and studied: a mobile dental van, other children’s homes, and a camp for underprivileged children. But his ultimate wish was to help the very place that he and his Bikers for Christ buddies would deliver gifts to every year at Christmas: Calvary Children’s Home.
Kelly Holloway, the attorney who helped prepare Willard’s estate planning documents had connections to a community foundation in Athens and suggested partnering with Cobb Community Foundation to hold and manage the fund. Through that partnership, Willard established an endowment designed to provide an ongoing stream of support for Calvary Children’s Home for years to come.
After his passing in 2013, that legacy continued. Since 2014, representatives from Cobb Community Foundation and Willard’s family have personally delivered annual grants from the fund to Calvary. As of 2025, Willard Grogan’s fund has provided just under $325,000 in support to help care for children growing up there.
That is the power of a legacy gift.
Fund Advisor, Judy Ivey, and Calvary Childrens Home Executive Director, Snyder Turner at the Willard Grogan House
At Cobb Community Foundation, we have the privilege of seeing stories like this unfold over time — moments where generosity becomes something lasting and deeply personal for future generations.
Legacy giving allows individuals and families to continue supporting the causes they care about for years to come. It transforms generosity from a moment into something lasting.
At Cobb Community Foundation, we help donors create charitable plans that reflect their values while remaining flexible enough to meet changing community needs over time. Some donors choose to support specific nonprofits like Calvary Children’s Home. Others support broader causes connected to children, education, housing, or community wellbeing.
Estate gifts can include retirement accounts, securities, real estate, trusts, donor-advised funds, and other assets — not simply cash. And thoughtful planning helps ensure a donor’s intentions continue being honored for future generations.
That matters because organizations like Calvary are doing deeply long-term work.
A child may arrive at Calvary carrying fear, uncertainty, or trauma.
But years later, that same child may walk across a college graduation stage.
Begin a career.
Build a family.
Help someone else.
Jennifer’s story reminds us that futures can change when communities invest patiently and intentionally in children.
Willard Grogan will never meet the young people whose lives he shaped by his generosity.
But through legacy giving, he still becomes a part of those stories.
Years later, the impact of his decision can still be seen in the life of someone like Jennifer.
If you have ever wondered how your own values and generosity might continue helping others long after your lifetime, we would be honored to talk with you.
To learn more about legacy or planned giving through Cobb Community Foundation, click here or contact our team at CCFTeam@cobbfoundation.org
