Schaumburg P.E.O.s bid new beginnings to cherished member

Goodbyes also mean good new beginnings. Twenty-one members of the P.E.O. Schaumburg chapter P-LK recently honored Ruth Jones, a member since 1987, with a luncheon and goodbye gift. Jones, who retired from Little Angels Christian Preschool in Barrington as a preschool teacher, will be moving with her husband to The Villages in central Florida. There she said she is looking forward to continuing her work in P.E.O. as she settles into one of six P.E.O. chapters in the community.

P.E.O. has benefited from Jones’ work throughout the years. A committed member, she has served as an officer in all capacities except treasurer. She has also served on the ways and means, program, and yearbook committees, but the one project she enjoyed most was the Lulu Corkhill Williams Friendship Fund.

“All of our projects are very worthwhile,” said Jones, “but [Lulu] is dear to my heart.” P.E.O.’s Lulu Corkhill Williams Friendship Fund offers temporary financial assistance for persons who may have an emergency such as with medical bills, lifestyle changes and other challenging situations. Jones helped two women receive Lulu grants.

Jones was introduced to P.E.O. in 1987, by her college friend Lynn Jessee. Their friendship may have been cemented when they discovered they shared the same birthday, and it has endured throughout the years. They even moved to the same village and had their first babies within a month of each other. Jessee coordinated the going-away luncheon at Schaumburg’s Bella Napoli restaurant and arranged the going-away gift, an original humorous piece of artwork drawn by member Mary Thrasher and signed by chapter members.

P.E.O. is a philanthropic educational organization founded in 1869. It has helped more than 122,000 women pursue educational goals by providing more than $415 million in grants, scholarships, awards, and loans. More information on P.E.O. can be found at peointernational.org.