Inspired by her husband, Rosalind Carr hopes to inspire others to give to Lincoln Littles

Rosalind Carr wants you to know that an ordinary family can make an impact. “You don’t have to have inherited wealth,” she said. “You can live a frugal life and have enough money to do something like this.”

Since 2022, Rosalind has made a Lead Donor gift in her late husband Jim’s memory to the Lincoln Littles campaign. She hopes her gifts will encourage others to support Lincoln Littles’ annual Giving Campaign, which provides tuition assistance to families in need of early childhood education and supports providers, teachers, businesses and the community.

Jim and Rosalind raised their family in a home near East Campus. Jim, a beloved chemistry professor at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, loved to teach and to learn. “You asked him a question and he’d find the answer,” Rosalind said. 

“He loved blowing stuff up for an audience,” laughed Rosalind. He would volunteer and donate his time generously. Among other places, he was a regular at fundraisers for the childcare at their church, First Plymouth Congregational Church, as well as in classrooms taught by teachers in his Kiwanis Club. “He probably had 40-years-worth of T-shirts from judging school science fairs in Lincoln and the state.” 

As Rosalind reflected on Jim’s qualities, she extols his patience, his ability to find the answer to any question and to explain it in a way you’d understand.

Jim died in July, 2020 after living with Parkinson’s Disease. “He never lost his chemistry,” Rosalind said. “If you asked him a chemistry question, you could see his demeanor change and he could answer it.”

Despite being a single-income family for most of their 50 years of marriage (Rosalind worked for about 10 years to allow their girls to attend any college they wanted without incurring debt), Jim and Rosalind have long supported their favorite causes. They made donations that reflected on Jim’s passion for singing in the church choir and Rosalind’s knack for quilting. They supported theatre, civic engagement nonprofits, and those that help with basic needs.

But they also liked to inspire others. Because they believe that everyone needs a home to flourish, they originated the “Friends of Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln Fund” at Lincoln Community Foundation in 2017 with the intent that others would give to it as well. 

After Jim’s death, Rosalind created her legacy plans with LCF to set up a fund to support organizations that provide quality early childhood education to local children from birth to age 5. 

“Jim always liked to work with little kids,” she said. “He loved how they were so curious and asked such good questions.” She believes this sort of legacy is exactly what Jim would want.