Honoring the life and spirit of Lauren Washam Bradshaw MCAS '05
Lauren Washam Bradshaw graduated from the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences at Boston College in 2005 where she majored in Political Science with a minor in Fine Arts.
For Lauren, life was all about people – friends, family, strangers, everyone. Everywhere she went she made deeply held, life-long friendships.
In June 2019, Lauren was diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. During almost a year of difficult and demanding treatments, Lauren met each challenge with grace, strength, and positivity. Her example of love, courage, and hope under the most challenging circumstances is truly inspirational.
Lauren died on May 12, 2020. Her life was too brief, but while she was with us, she was a brilliant example of life at its finest.
This scholarship is an opportunity to memorialize Lauren and recognizes a student who exemplifies the character and values of Lauren Washam Bradshaw '05, who:
- had an innate talent for connecting personally with people, bringing everyone together and sparking happiness
- focused intently on others, affirming their lives, encouraging their interests, sharing their sorrows, lifting their spirits, and celebrating their joys
- was a beacon of hope and encouragement
- embraced and exemplified the Jesuit spirit of service at Boston College and sought opportunities to serve
- was passionately committed to social justice
- spent a lifetime making others’ lives better, through career, friendship, altruism, unmatched wit, and love
- touched so many lives and inspires us daily to Live Like Lauren
Thank you for supporting the Live Like Lauren Memorial Scholarship Fund and ensuring that Lauren’s zest for life and memory endures at Boston College and beyond.
Contribute to the Live Like Lauren Memorial Scholarship Fund
Click below to make your gift to The Live Like Lauren Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Giving Information
There are many ways to make your gift. Choose the option that works best for you. Please consider increasing your impact by establishing either a monthly or annually recurring gift to support the Live Like Lauren Memorial Scholarship Fund. Using the online giving form, you can have your credit or debit card charged each month or annually. For assistance, please contact Anthony Burke at 207-756-4170.
By phone
Call Anthony Burke at 617-552-8035
NOTE: You can also make a donation, update your contact information, and talk about your BC experience with a BC student volunteer. Keep an eye out for a call from our new phone number, 617-552-2015. Thank you!
By U.S. mail
To send a check, please make your check payable to "Boston College," note “Live Like Lauren Memorial Scholarship Fund” on the memo line, and mail to:
Boston College
Office of University Advancement
Attn: Anthony Burke
Cadigan Alumni Center
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Online Gifts
Every gift supports a current or future student who embodies the character and values of Lauren Washam Bradshaw ’05.
Recurring gifts increase your impact and combine the ease of installments with the convenience of automatic renewal.
IRA Charitable Rollover Now Permanent
Under recent federal legislation, you can use your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to make a gift to your favorite charitable institutions, including Boston College.
Who is eligible and what are the guidelines?
- You must be 70½ years of age or older at time of distribution
- Total charitable gifts cannot exceed $100,000 per taxpayer each year
- Transfers from traditional and Roth IRAs must be made directly from the account administrator to Boston College
What benefits will I enjoy?
- Satisfy your required minimum distribution
- Avoid federal and, in many cases, state income taxes
- Provide critical support to the BC department, school, or initiative of your choice
How can I make my gift?
- Contact your IRA administrator to request that a charitable distribution be transferred to Boston College
- Instruct your IRA administrator to indicate the donor’s name on the check and specify that the gift is an IRA charitable distribution designated to the Live Like Lauren Memorial Scholarship Fund to ensure gifts are properly recognized and recorded
Send your check to:
Boston College
Office of Gift Processing
Cadigan Alumni Center
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Boston College Tax ID: 04-2103545
Note: The IRA charitable rollover is federal law; state and local law may not provide the same benefits.
Examples to help you:
To assist donors interested in making a charitable gift from their IRA, we have provided the following examples, In either example, be sure to designate that the funds are to be designated to the Live Like Lauren Memorial Scholarship Fund.
- Sample Request from Plan Owner (typically the donor or their representative) to IRA Administrator
- Sample Letter from Donor Informing BC of IRA Transfer
Questions? To discuss your giving options in confidence, please contact the Office of Gift Planning at 877-304-SHAW or giftplanning@bc.edu.
If you prefer, simply fill out the form below and a member from our gift planning team will reach out to you shortly.
For Securities Held by your Bank or Broker
1) Simply provide your broker with detailed instructions of the gift that you would like to make to BC, including the name of the stock and the number of shares to be transferred from your account to Boston College's at:
Fidelity Investments, National Financial Services Corp.
DTC (Depository Trust Company) #0226
Account #201973114, Trustees of Boston College
Reference: Donor's Name
2) Then, please contact the Boston College Office of Gift Processing at 617-552-3440 or uagifts@bc.edu to let us know the name of the stock and the number of shares that you will be transferring to the BC account at Fidelity. This information will help us provide you with proper gift acknowledgment on a timely basis. Please indicate that your gift should be designated to the Live Like Lauren Memorial Scholarship Fund.
For Securities Held by You
If you hold a stock certificate, please send it to us with a stock power form. For safety and simplicity, you should send the certificate and stock power form in separate envelopes.
1) Send your certificate(s) without any endorsement, assignment, or other notation to:
Office of Gift Processing
Boston College
Cadigan Alumni Center
140 Commonwealth Avenue
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Attn: Stock Gift Administration
Please enclose a letter including the designation of your gift for the Live Like Lauren Memorial Scholarship Fund.
2) Download and print out a stock power form, one for each separate security, if applicable.
3) Sign the stock power exactly as your name appears on the certificate and leave the rest of the form blank.
4) Mail the signed stock power in a separate envelope, along with a copy of the letter that accompanied the certificate, to the address above.
Note: Your gift is valued in accordance with IRS guidelines. Gifts of securities that are held for more than one year may be deducted at the full market value.
For wire transfers, please contact Blair Pekala at 617-552-3464 or uagifts@bc.edu for our Bank of America account number and ABA Routing number.
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ”
This scholarship was established by Lauren’s family and friends to keep her inspiration alive and enable her life to impact future Boston College students. Preference will be given to students with demonstrated financial need who have worked to ease the struggles of their communities or loved ones, or who have faced adversity in their own lives with courage and grace. The scholarship is now endowed, and we continue to raise funds. The scholarship will live on in perpetuity and be awarded yearly to someone who embodies the Live Like Lauren spirit.
Contribute to the Live Like Lauren Memorial Scholarship Fund