Mrs. Anderson once gave away a three-story mountain vacation home to a friend she knew would enjoy it. Giving is just part of Mrs. Anderson’s nature.   “I like to give things away,” she said, her eyes twinkling as she smiled. “I’ve always been that way.”

The late Mr. and Mrs. Newton Anderson were active and contributing members of their church, First Presbyterian in downtown Macon. Over the years, they also gave time and money to many local charities, including United Way and the March of Dimes.

“We both always enjoyed working for charities,” Mrs. Anderson said.

So when she needed a smaller place to live than the large home where she and Newton had raised their two sons, Mrs. Anderson was delighted when her son John suggested she donate the house and land to the Community Foundation of Central Georgia.

“The Community Foundation is the best thing that ever happened to Central Georgia,” she said. “We can all benefit from it.”

Though she loved her former home and found it hard to leave, the idea of making a gift of the property dovetailed perfectly with Mrs. Anderson’s love of giving.

She handed over the deed, and the Foundation sold the property and established a donor advised fund, through which Mrs. Anderson chose the charities that benefited from her generosity.

“I wanted to make a fund where I could give some money away,” she said.

The initial recipients from that fund include the Mayo Clinic, Heifer International, Elam Alexander Academy, and the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina where her son Bob is pastor.

There’s a personal story behind one of the most meaningful donations, which she made to honor the Tuskeegee Airmen. Once, when Newton Anderson was flying a B-24 aircraft during World War II, he experienced an engine failure and was forced to make an emergency landing on the Tuskeegee Airmen’s landing strip. As the plane touched down, a second engine died.

“Those Tuskeegee Airmen rushed to the plane and pulled Newton and all of his crew out. They saved his life and the lives of his crewmen, and he never forgot it,” Mrs. Anderson said. “He always admired them, said they were the best fighters we had.”

“I am just crazy about the Community Foundation,” she said, “the staff are always ready to help when I call them.”