Cedarville University lands $1.5M gift

Cedarville University, in the midst of a strategic 10-year master plan, received the gift from the estate of Helen Z. Elbin, the university announced Thursday.

“The gift will be used to provide scholarships for students and help fund the university’s chapel program,” Cedarville said. “The scholarships will go through the Helen Elbin Trust Endowed Scholarship.”

The university described Elbin as “a long-time friend of Cedarville University and its former radio station, WCDR.”

Elbin died in June 2018 at the age of 91. She lived in West Jefferson, Ohio, the university said.

“We are grateful for the life of Helen Elbin, and for her long-standing commitment to Cedarville University,” Thomas White, Cedarville president, said in the release. “Her estate gift will have eternal impact as students are provided financial resources to be able to enroll and their lives are transformed through Cedarville’s excellent education and intentional discipleship in submission to biblical authority.”

Founded in 1887, Cedarville University is a Baptist institution with 4,380 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 150 areas of study.

“It’s an honor to be counted among a group of women who are working hard to lead their businesses and give back to their communities and other women,” Elrich said in the company’s release. “I’m passionate about developing teams and coaching to build relationships. It’s my privilege to be able to do what I love both as a leader at Solid Blend and as a mentor for others.”

Based in Dayton since 1999, Solid Blend, with 15 employees, focuses on health care water management solutions, Legionella detection, remediation, control and outbreak response.

Elrich is among 12 winners in a category for businesses with annual sales of $4 million to $5 million. Winners are recognized in categories ranging from less than $1 million to more than $50 million.

In addition to her role at Solid Blend, Elrich is a certified executive leadership coach and facilitator for business education enterprise Aileron.