Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund

Established by an anonymous donor, this fund supports the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Penn State York. The Fund is intended to honor OLLI founders Charmaine Kissinger, Olive Padden, and the late Gussie Petron, three women who were bored and ready to make more of their retirement. They met by chance at the Jacobus Library and called themselves a “cog in the wheel of learning.” They began talking about what could be done to provide adult learners with educational opportunities and more. Their mantra of “curiosity never retires” and their thirst for knowledge and mental stimulation, led them to create OLLI. The member group has grown from a handful of people to more than 500. The idea of offering courses of interest during the day for adult learners without the stress of tests, requirements, and official textbooks appealed to them. OLLI at Penn State York is one of more than 100 lifelong learning institutes across the nation.