Dale Schroeder, a modest carpenter from Iowa, saved $3 million and paid for the college education of 33 students. They are all scholarship recipients. Schroeder had been with the same employer for 67 years. According to a close acquaintance, this basic carpenter didn’t have much.
Dale owned only two pairs of jeans. One pair was worn to church, while the other was worn to work. He drove about in a rusted Chevrolet pickup, demonstrating how unsophisticated he was. But it’s incredible that Dale saved all of that money and utilized it to help 33 students attend college.
Schroeder died in 2005.
Nobody knew Dale, an ordinary carpenter, had saved $3 million. Nobody expected him to accomplish anything, but he saved all of his money to help others have a better life.
Dale’s family was impoverished, therefore he was unable to attend college.
He’s never been married and has no children.
In 2005, just before Dale died, he talked to his lawyer friend, Steve Nielsen, about his life savings and what would happen to them.
Steve said, “He wanted to help kids like him who probably wouldn’t have been able to go to college without his gift.”
“I asked Dale, ‘How much are we going to talk about?’ He replied, “Oh, not quite $3 million.” I almost lost my balance.”
People who wanted to be teachers, doctors, or therapists recognized that going to college was all they needed to achieve their dreams thanks to the scholarships he provided.
After 14 years, the fund ran out of funds. The 33 people who received money from Dale are known as «Dale’s Kids,» and they want to help others.
Dave wished for it to happen.
People who received scholarships from Dale recently gathered around his old lunchbox to discuss how his assistance improved their lives.
And to think they never got the chance to meet him!
«Growing up in a single-parent household with three older sisters meant that paying for all four of us was never an option.» It nearly gave me the impression that I had no control as if I could say, «I want to do this, I have this goal, but I can’t get there because of the money.» Kira Conrad explained.
She had always wanted to be a therapist, but her financial situation prevented her from doing so. She was well aware that it was impossible.
She planned to tell everyone at her high school graduation party, including her friends and family, that she wouldn’t be able to go to college because of her financial situation.
Then Kira got a phone call that changed her whole life.
It was Steve, and he told her that Dale’s scholarship fund would pay for $80,000 of her college costs.
Kira started crying. It never occurred to her that a total stranger was helping her go to college so she could reach her goals. Except it did.