THE REBECCA R. GIBBS MEMORIAL CHARITABLE FUND

Rebecca R. Gibbs Memorial Charitable Fund

On Sunday, May 16, 2021, during its morning services, Ascension Memorial Church of Ipswich announces that the Rebecca R. Gibbs Memorial Charitable Fund ("RRG Fund") is operational. The RRG Fund was established in Rebecca's memory by her surviving husband and AMC parishioner, Glenn Gibbs.  

Rebecca was born on the North Shore of Massachusetts, where she lived for most of her life. She earned a Master's degree in health care management from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1992, and served as an executive director for physician organizations in Melrose and Salem for more than a decade. After moving to Ipswich with her husband Glenn in 1994, she gave birth to her daughter Anna in 1996 and her son Ben in 2001. She was an active parishioner at AMC until her death in 2010.

 Following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2002, Rebecca continued her career in health care until the cancer metastasized three years later, after which she focused on being a devoted mother, wife, friend, and member of the Ipswich community. To her love of reading, music, animals (especially felines), animated Disney movies, hiking, weekend getaways, and family gatherings, she added two new interests: birds and bonsai. She took great pride in winning a prize for her bonsai tree at the 2009 Topsfield Fair, just five months before her death. Rebecca left her children with the values of compassion, bravery in the face of hardship, and the strength of unconditional love.

During her seven+ year journey with cancer, Rebecca and her family were enormously blessed by the love and support of the Ipswich community.  

The purposes of the RRG Fund are two-fold:

(1) to provide aid to families and individuals of the Ipswich community who face circumstances that require financial assistance. By doing so, the RRG Fund seeks to reduce the financial stress on families and individuals coping with health, housing, relationship, or other personal issues, allowing them to focus more of their energy on the issues themselves.

 (2) to annually recognize an individual, group, or nonprofit organization working to improve the lives of persons in the Ipswich community. By doing so, the RRG Fund will raise awareness of needs in the community, and acknowledge those who are addressing them.

According to AMC Rector Bradford Clark, the purposes of the Fund align perfectly with the church's community outreach mission. “There will always be pressing needs within our local community worthy of our love and attention. The RRG Fund seeks to address these needs in the same spirit of loving care and service which lies at the heart of our parish community. It will allow Ascension Memorial Church to extend our circle of compassion even wider.” 

The uses for which the RRG Fund can be put are broad, and include a range of health care, housing, education. and other living costs, including unexpected household expenses.