Giving Future Students the Opportunity to Attend Meredith

Bonnie Scott Truelove, ’71, and her husband, Jerry, have a love for traveling, but their home in Raleigh and her Meredith College friendships always draw them back to the Piedmont of North Carolina.

Truelove has a small alumnae group of friends who gather often and she enjoys the time spent with each of them.

“As I get older I have nurtured these friendships and I am stronger now because of it,” says Truelove. “The sisterhood you feel as a student is even stronger after you graduate and I value that.”

In 2017, the Trueloves decided they wanted to give future young women the opportunity to experience Meredith, so they included a deferred gift to Meredith in their will.

“Our planned gift will benefit someone with a human environmental science major, the same major I had, because I know how beneficial that is,” said Truelove. “My parents afforded me the opportunity to attend and this gift allows me to pay it forward.”

Truelove was a home economics major and while attending Meredith, Marilyn Stuber, Ruby Miller, and Kay Freidrich were these professors who gave her support and encouragement.

“We had a full wardrobe when we graduated, having made tailored coats, pants, suits, and dresses. I would take the bus on Hillsborough Street to the Belk department store downtown, so I could sketch and get ideas for my flat patterns class.”

That experience led Truelove to her first job with Belk in downtown Raleigh, where she worked as a women’s sportswear buyer for 17 years. Then, in 1992, she formed a partnership to open Cameron Clothing Company. A year later she went back to school to teach marketing in public schools. This allowed her more flexibility to travel with her husband, who spent his 31-year career as an industrial insulation business owner.

Truelove always makes time to see her Meredith sisters in between travel time with her husband. The Trueloves have been proud owners of several sailboats and trawlers and currently enjoy cruising on small ships, giving them ample opportunity to explore ports around the world.

The Trueloves’ partnership in all aspects from travel to philanthropy has enabled them to give to Meredith for many years.