Member Profiles

Mary Beth Griggs and Peggy Wood

Moms have a way of passing on wonderful things to their daughters. The recipe for the world's best sweet rolls. The most engrossing novel. And how about also . . . a passion for helping OSU students?

Women's Giving Circle founding member Peggy Wood, '61, has been a terrific recruiter for this exciting new program, and three years ago her daughter Mary Beth Griggs, '85, also came on board. They were one of the circle's first mother-daughter pairs - which we hope will become a great OSU tradition!

Peggy, a retired financial executive from a Portland advertising and public relations firm, has been extensively involved as a volunteer OSU leader for many years, including service with the OSU Alumni Association and the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees. She's seen what a powerful impact private philanthropy can have at the university, and she believes there's something very special about the Women's Giving Circle.

"We get requests for things that nobody else pays attention to because they're smaller - things that can fall through the cracks," Peggy says. "Many programs can really help students or a professor but don't take a huge amount of money."

Mary Beth concurs, observing that for many women, the Women's Giving Circle is an affordable way to make a big difference at Oregon State. "I love that we get to vote," she says.

Peggy's commitment to the program led her to sponsor a Women's Giving Circle luncheon this March at Destination OSU, the annual gathering of OSU friends and alumni in Palm Springs. And this year Mary Beth - a stay-at-home mom of five who lives in Lake Oswego - decided to increase her Women's Giving Circle gift to $1,000.