Agape Series Fund- J.L. Garrett & Family

Jim Garrett and Alice Klamer see generosity as a way of life and a way of loving. That’s why they named their family fund with the Niagara Community Foundation the Agape Series Fund – incorporating the ancient Greek word for love that is found in the Bible.

Their fund, established in December 2020 with money that Garrett jokingly told his children was originally saved for a sports car, is meant to continue growing long after Garrett and Klamer are gone, and continue to benefit some of the children’s charities that are dear to the couple’s heart: Red Roof Retreat, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Youth Unlimited, thus Garrett and Klamer also established sub funds in 2021/22 for each of these charities as well. 

The work of these organizations, and the way they care for vulnerable children and families and give young people meaning and hope, are important to Garrett and Klamer, and they want to be able to support this work for many years. They also expect their adult children to help make decisions about future disbursements from the main Agape fund, so establishing the fund now gives them a chance to talk with the next generation about their priorities, and the importance of generosity. That generosity is something they saw modeled by their own parents, and a gift they want to pass on to their children that they think is even more important than money itself. 

Garrett said agape love is the highest form of love – doing something with absolutely no expectation of return. Garrett and Klamer, who through their faith, consider themselves to have been richly blessed and they want to always pay it forward.

“I am hoping that this will be important to our children and grandchildren,” Garrett said, “and that it will be a meaningful way for us to continue to help others.”