A 100-year-old woman wants to commemorate a significant life milestone by raising $100,000 for charity.
Rosemary Dexter, of Atascadero, Calif., turned 100 on Tuesday, Jan. 7, according to The Atascadero News.
Rosemary, who knew it was “a very special day,” took advantage of the chance to raise funds for Atascadero Loaves and Fishes (ALF), according to NBC station KSBY.
Rosemary and her family started a GoFundMe campaign just before her special day to raise funds for the food bank.
According to the GoFundMe organizers, her objective is to offer “a larger, more efficient space for serving our neighbors” and to “ensure that our community’s growing needs can be met with dignity and care.”
Rosemary matched the initial $30,000 raised for ALF. By her birthday, she had received $67,000 of the $100,000 in donations, and she still welcomes more.
“Join us in honoring her legacy of compassion and community service and in celebrating her 100th birthday by helping us reach our goal,” the event’s organizers stated on GoFundMe. “Together, we can build a brighter tomorrow for all.”
Rosemary spent years volunteering and supporting ALF, which her late husband, Rollin Dexter, co-founded in 1984.
She ceased assisting at the food pantry in her 90s, when the COVID-19 epidemic struck.
“We came here to start the Methodist Church, and he and three other pastors saw that they needed to have some place for people to go get food,” Dexter told the radio station KSBY.
But ALF continues to retain a particular place in Rosemary’s heart. Over the last several months, people of the community have come out to support her and the charity she is passionate about.
“Week after week for the last few months, there have been many more donations, many of them in special envelopes that say ‘Rosemary,'” ALF Secretary and Treasurer Linda Albright explained.
You can donate to ALF via the GoFundMe page or by mailing a check to 5411 El Camino Real, Atascadero, CA 93422.
According to organizers, checks made payable to ALF should include “Rosemary’s 100” in the memo line.