Alumna and Longtime Staff Member Creatively Gives Back

As a dedicated Saint Mary’s staff member for more than 30 years, Addie Stefanac Cashore '70 assisted alumnae and friends of Saint Mary’s in countless ways. As her June 2020 retirement approached, Cashore reflected on how she wanted to honor her own legacy at Saint Mary's.

Cashore is the middle of three generations of alumnae. She remembers driving up the Avenue with her mother, Mary Beth Mies Stefanac ’33, and meeting staff legends Marion McCandless ’00 and Helen Carroll ’26. Cashore cherished the relationships she formed as a student, especially meeting her future husband, Tom, at a dance in Le Mans Hall just three weeks after her first semester began. Years later, Cashore was thrilled when her daughter Annie Cahore Borjas ’04 chose to attend Saint Mary’s, continuing the family tradition.

When Cashore began working at Saint Mary’s in Alumnae Relations in 1989, she worked side by side with Sister Basil Anthony ’46, who was “not the fearsome, larger-than-life Dean of Students I remembered from my student days. She provided historic perspective and wise counsel for my transition nine years later to the Development Office.”

Wanting to maximize her 50th reunion gift, Cashore reflected on her knowledge of appreciated assets. “I realized I could accomplish my philanthropic goal of a significant gift through a charitable gift annuity [CGA]. I looked at the rate of return that I was getting from an investment portfolio I inherited in 1996 and saw that I could match or exceed that rate by gifting it to Saint Mary’s to create a CGA.”

“As Director of Donor Relations,” Cashore said, “I took pride in helping to build and nurture relationships through meaningful stewardship and recognition of our donors’ generosity, regardless of the amount of their gifts.”  And, now, Cashore is able to make a significant gift of her own, to support the next generation of Saint Mary’s women.

March 23, 2021