Without those loans, Richard might not have been able to complete his last two years at Guilford College. And if Richard wasn’t attending Guilford those last two years, he might not have met Claire, his bride of 55 years.

So when the postcard arrived last November reminding the Volpittas they could use their Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) to make a tax-free, charitable gift to Guilford, Richard and Claire never hesitated. They got in touch with their financial advisor and arranged to make a generous gift to the College.

“We always like to give here and there to Guilford and this postcard was just the nudge we needed,” said Claire.

Retirees cannot keep retirement funds in their accounts indefinitely. The Internal Revenue Service requires individuals or couples like the Volpittas to take an RMD from their traditional retirement savings accounts (such as 401Ks) each year, once they reach the mandatory age for making withdrawals. The SECURE Act signed by President Biden in December requires retirees to begin required minimum distributions if you turn 73 on or before Dec. 31, 2023.

The Volpittas donated $10,000 to the College’s General Scholarship Fund, ensuring future students who might be in need like Richard was in the 1960s will be able to stay in school and complete their degree.

“This is something we’ve been wanting to do,” says Richard. “I had an opportunity to stay in school and we want others to have that same opportunity. “Guilford was so good to us and we want that for others.”

These days the Volpittas are retired and living in Ridgewood, N.J. After retiring from the Navy as a lieutenant, Richard made a career as an underwriter in New York. Claire spent 40 years in a classroom as a teacher.

“Guilford prepared me so well for teaching,” she says. “The Education Department had the best professors.”

Claire calls her life with Richard “the perfect love story.” It’s a story that might have never played out if Richard didn’t receive those loans – and if Claire’s then-boyfriend didn’t decide to make the trip from New York to Greensboro to visit Claire in 1964 for Guilford’s homecoming.

Claire didn’t want her boyfriend to stay at a hotel, so she asked a friend to help find an empty dorm bed on campus for him. The friend came through and found Claire’s boyfriend a spare bed – in Richard’s room.

Claire didn’t know Richard at the time but a week after homecoming she walked up to him and thanked him for letting her boyfriend crash with him.

As Claire tells the story, Richard gave her “a polite cold shoulder” and hurried away. A week later, Richard showed up at Claire’s room in what is now Binford Hall and asked her out on a date to Guilford Dairy, an ice cream shop across the street from the College’s main entrance.

Three months before Claire graduated, she and Richard got married. “I guess you could say Guilford’s played a big part in our lives,” says Richard. “We hope (our gift) plays just as big a role in someone else’s life, too.”

It’s not too early to plan for your required minimum distribution in 2023 to be designated for Guilford College. While many people wait until year end to take their distribution, it can be taken at any point during the year that is advantageous to you. If you are considering taking a required minimum distribution, please contact Kim Berry in the Advancement Office at (336) 316-2352.