For Buffalo State Senior Service Award Recipient, Giving Back Is a Way of Life
Buffalo State University alumna Karen Penfold, ’69, recalls watching the CBS drama The Millionaire as a child. Each week, a fictitious benefactor named John Beresford Tipton gave away $1 million—tax-free. Viewers saw only Tipton’s arm as he reached for the check and handed it to executive secretary Michael Anthony, who made the deliveries on his behalf. Penfold said she will never forget the looks on recipients’ faces when Anthony handed them their checks.
“I wanted to be Michael Anthony,” Penfold said. “I wanted to give away money that changed people’s lives.”
And she has. At the upcoming 50-Plus Club Luncheon on July 21, Buffalo State will honor Penfold with the Senior Service Award for years of philanthropic gifts, active volunteerism, and community service as a trustee and board member in support of Buffalo State’s mission.
Over the years, Penfold and her husband, Richard, have given to numerous causes, organizations, and individuals, but Buffalo State holds a special place in her heart. During her senior year, Penfold worked in the Financial Aid Office and saw firsthand how critical financial support is for students. She has provided the university with generous support for more than 20 years through the establishment of the Karen Kostecky Penfold All College Honors Scholarship Fund, as well as an unrestricted leadership gift to the university for its 125th anniversary and support of numerous other projects, including the Burchfield Penney Art Center and the Great Lakes Center. Penfold also served as an alumni ambassador, a member of the Buffalo State Foundation Board of Directors, and a member of the steering committee for the foundation’s successful $10 million Endowing the Future campaign, to which she also substantially contributed.
“Buffalo State means a lot to me,” said Penfold, who received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2009. “The faculty members foster a positive feeling that opens your world. The education and experiences I had there set me up for anything in life.”
Penfold was certain she wanted to study education—growing up, she would often enlist her sister, cousin, and neighborhood friends to play school and be her students—and knew many teachers who’d attended Buffalo State. While she was a student at St. Mary’s High School, the school hosted local colleges and universities to give presentations on their offerings. At the event, Penfold and fellow classmates were chosen to welcome representatives at the doorway, with each assigned to a different school.
“I got Buffalo State, so I listened to Buffalo State’s presentation over and over and over,” Penfold said. “I loved it.”
During her senior year at Buffalo State, Penfold got engaged to Richard—at the time, a student at Canisius University—right before he was drafted and stationed in Germany. (The two met in high school.) They planned their wedding through letters, were wed immediately following Penfold’s graduation, and began married life in Germany.
Penfold is confident that her Buffalo State education made her a desirable job candidate. Soon after she arrived in Germany, she was hired as a substitute at the school for military dependents in Schweinfurt.
“I worked almost every day of the week, covering classes in various grades,” she said. “I received a lot of wonderful compliments from the students about how I made learning fun. All that experience from Buffalo State came in so handy.”
The Penfolds returned to the United States after Richard’s service concluded and founded C.I.D. Group Inc., an environmental and solid-waste services company. Penfold oversaw the company’s charitable donations and found she enjoyed that aspect of the business.
In the early 1970s, Penfold was injured in a car accident and required hospitalization. She made a full recovery and received a $5,000 settlement—and knew exactly what she wanted to do with it.
“We really needed to share these blessings that we had,” she said. “I had what I needed to be Michael Anthony.”
After raising their family and selling C.I.D. Group, the Penfolds continued their philanthropic work.
“My focuses for giving back became medical causes, education, and anyone who came along with a story I liked,” Penfold said.
Penfold has served as a trustee for St. Bernadette Church and as a volunteer for the American Heart Association, Vive La Casa, the Kenmore Mercy Foundation, the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society (now the Buffalo History Museum), and many other local organizations. She has served on the boards of St. Mary’s High School, St. Francis High School, Canisius University, the Immaculata Academy Parents Guild, the Sisters of Mercy Development Council, Kenmore Mercy Hospital, the Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, and the Hamburg Rejuvenation Project. She received the Woman of the Year Award from the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Red Jacket Award and the Pioneer Investors Award from the Buffalo History Museum, the Elaine M. Mack Community Service Award from Hopevale Inc., and the Sister Mary Mechtilde Memorial Award from the Kenmore Mercy Foundation.
“Sometimes it’s a stretch to do what you want to do for people, but it always has its rewards. It’s a joy to know you’ve helped your brothers.”
Penfold is currently actively involved with the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, Buffalo Peace House, and Gerard Place—run by fellow Buffalo State alumnus David Zapfel, ’85—which provides housing and supportive programs for homeless and single-parent families, literacy classes, vocational job training, and food distribution programs. Penfold is also head of Gerard Place’s advisory board.
“She’s down-to-earth,” Zapfel said. “She believes that what goes around comes around.”
“Seeing the looks on people’s faces when they get what they were hoping for means the world to me,” Penfold said. “Sometimes it’s a stretch to do what you want to do for people, but it always has its rewards. It’s a joy to know you’ve helped your brothers.”
About the 50-Plus Club
The 50-Plus Club honors Buffalo State alumni who have passed the 50-year landmark since graduation. This year’s annual luncheon, held in the LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center, takes place Sunday, July 21, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The price is $25 per person. Please register through the Alumni Association website.
Photos by Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer.
