The Alice Hagen Education Endowment Fund was established to support Mentor Chippewa, a non-profit organization that provides area youth with meaningful one-on-one time with caring individuals who provide encouragement and guidance through school-based programming in the Chippewa Valley. 

Alice's desire to help young people comes from her 46 years as a school secretary and witnessing three generations of students moving through the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District. According to Alice, she graduated from high school one week and the very next week she went to work, thanks to a positive recommendation from her business teacher.

"I really enjoyed my job and all of the contact I had with the students," said Alice, who began working at the high school in 1961, then moved to the former junior high school for a time, and was relocated to the newly constructed Chippewa Falls Middle School in 1977. It was not unusual for students to just stop by the office to chat with her.  

Because of her kindness and concern for students, the guidance counselors at the middle school encouraged her to volunteer as a mentor. Alice went on to mentor two students, each from a single-parent home, and who did not have contact with the other parent.

"It showed me that not all students have a happy home life like I did," Alice said. "There are young people who will benefit from a little extra assistance. It's important to invest in the future. I feel fortunate that I'm able to do that."