01.30.2008 -  James and Tomilea Allison did not waste any time instilling in their young daughters, Leigh and Devon, the value of philanthropy.

“I am sure that somewhere deep in the (Bloomington) Herald-Times photo archive, there is a photo of Tomi and the kids working at the Hilltop Garden Center,” Jim recalled. “Thanks to parental influence, chiefly Tomi’s influence, they were both exposed to community activities at a very early age.”

This experience had a particularly profound impact on Leigh.

“She always wanted to help anyone she saw who needed help,” Tomi said. “That was just her personality.”

Leigh attended Monroe County Community Schools and Earlham College before graduating from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She began her career working at South Central Mental Health (now Center for Behavioral Health) before moving onto Chicago Commons, a settlement house on the Near-West side of Chicago that works with individuals, families and communities battling poverty, discrimination and isolation.

Leigh and her husband, Aaron Neal, were living in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park when their daughters, Allison and Isabelle, were born.

It was also around that time that the Neals decided to relocate to Bloomington.

“Leigh is from Bloomington and Aaron is from Liberty, Indiana, so they both knew this type of community,” Jim said. “They thought it offered the right values for children – not just education, but general culture and ambience.”

While Aaron began his new job as a systems analyst at Indiana University, Leigh decided to combine her creative and business talents by designing and creating jewelry for her business, Dream On Jewelry. She would often sell her jewelry at the Bloomington Farmer’s Market.

“She was always looking to express herself in some art form, so this became her artistic outlet,” Tomi said.

Her imagination was not limited to Dream On Jewelry.

“She was also a craftsperson. She would do craft projects with the Girl Scouts, and birthday parties were a grand production,” Tomi said. “She always had the kids doing crafts so they could take something home from the party.”

Creativity was just one way in which she influenced Allison and Isabelle.

“She always made time to do her community work,” Tomi said. “She volunteered and took the girls to Community Kitchen.

“"Leigh dearly wanted to raise children who would learn to care about others. She had a physical condition that made childbearing risky, but she went ahead with no ill effects. So it was very important that she spend a lot of time with them. For her, taking them to Community Kitchen was part of bringing them up right.”

Leigh Allison Neal passed away on Dec. 10, 2007 at the untimely age of 46.

“She was confident that she had instilled the right values in them already,” Jim said. “She said that months before she died.”

To honor Leigh and her legacy, the Allison Family established the Leigh Allison Neal Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation. The Leigh Allison Neal Fund is an advised fund, and the annual grants will support Leigh’s interests in hunger relief and sustainable agriculture.

Jim, Tomi and Aaron will serve as the advisors, and they will provide input on where to direct the fund payout. Allison and Isabelle are successor advisors, and the family would like to include them in the decision-making process as well.

When the family was considering the best way to establish a memorial fund, the Community Foundation immediately came to mind.

“We really like the idea of something going on and on in her name, even when she couldn’t do it any more,” Tomi said. “And she was raising her children to do the same.”

Advised funds allow donors to address ever-changing needs in the community. This flexibility was also appealing to the Allison Family.

“You never know if one agency will be there forever, but the need could be there for a long time,” Tomi said.

“The Community Foundation is a wonderful resource. This community is very fortunate to have it,” Jim said. “This fund would have pleased Leigh very much.”

The Leigh Allison Neal Memorial Fund not only perpetuates her interests in hunger relief and sustainable agriculture, but also carries on her affinity for the Bloomington area.

“This community is the people. IU enriches the community, but the community itself has life, too,” Tomi said. “The Community Foundation is a way that people who appreciate the community and appreciate the variety can help that variety continue and people to flourish.

"Leigh wanted to relocate her family to Bloomington because of the people, and Aaron agreed."