Jim and Linda Balducci: When Orange Calls You Home
Jim Balducci '69 and his wife, Linda, are Syracuse University through and through. They show their love of being Orange in a multitude of ways.
For Jim, orange is the color of greatness—Syracuse University helped shape the trajectory of his life. He literally wears his pride "on his sleeve" in the many orange-colored shirts he buys at the campus bookstore, and there are Syracuse University blankets and decorations throughout his home. You cannot miss him on the road—his Subaru Crosstrek is orange, the interior is black leather with orange stitching, and the license plate reads, "GO SU 44."
Most meaningful to the Balduccis, though, is their support of Syracuse University students enrolled now, as well as those who will attend in the future. As a benefit of their philanthropy, they became members of the 1870 Society (the legacy society), joining visionary individuals who have remembered Syracuse University in their long-term financial and estate plans.
"We wanted to do something that would make an impact on the students but would also ensure our financial freedom during our lifetimes," Jim says. "Making a gift through our living trust was a way for us to do it all."
Jim and Linda are diverse in their philanthropy to the University, with gifts to the School of Education, the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs—where Jim took several courses he loved—and Hendricks Chapel (he used to enjoy a dining service there when he was a student, where "you could get a whole lot of food for not a whole lot of money!").
Then, there is their support of athletics. Avid Orange fans, Jim and Linda have had season tickets to the Dome since it opened in the fall of 1980—even when they lived in California and could only make it back for a few games each season. They fly three University flags outside their home in Skaneateles and have a brick in the Orange Grove.
In addition to being members of the 1870 Society—because they want the impact of their gifts to live beyond their lives—their generosity has also earned them membership in the Hill Society this year. Jim and Linda believe that the University is the backbone of a strong Syracuse, and see their commitment as not only providing opportunities for current and future generations of students, but for the city itself to grow and thrive.
"The people here are very genuine. They are truly the 'salt of the earth,'" Jim says, explaining why he and his wife decided to move back to the Syracuse area after years spent working and living in Chicago and California.
"Until you leave the area, you don't know what you're missing," says Linda, who grew up in Syracuse but left to attend college at Northeast Missouri State. "We are thrilled to be back here and have the University be a big part of our lives now and in the future."
"And who knows?" says Jim, "I may even go back to the University to take more classes."
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