History

The Robert and Helen Remick Charitable Foundation Trust has contributed $10 million dollars to over 100 charitable causes since 2000. Beneficiaries are mostly located in Cottonwood and Jackson counties and nearby areas.

The Remick Foundation’s four original trustees were given virtually unlimited discretion in selecting charitable causes to support.  Bob Remick’s will simply directed them to use his wealth to support causes dear to him.  During their lifetime, Bob and his wife, Helen, supported groups and endeavors that assited young people and persons-in-crisis.  The couple also believed lively and unique expressions of creativity benefits communities.

Art education, scholarship funds, historical organizations, parenting classes, environmental programs, small towns and government agencies, performing arts groups, schools, and alternative instruction programs are a few examples of various organizations which have received gifts from the Remick Trust. These gifts demonstrate the diverse ways life may be made better for those who live in our communities.

Like his artwork, Bob’s legacy may be a suggestion to others about how to live life’s passions and interact with others.
In a retrospective collection of his work, Bob made the following statement about his artistic accomplishments:

“In my opinion viewing and studying a work of art is much like meeting a stranger. If one can learn to know everything there is to know about this person the first five minutes with him, there is little interest in seeing that person again. Therefore, I now aim to suggest rather than declare. By doing so something is left to the viewer and the work of art remains somewhat of a mystery.”

The full impact of his generosity may remain a mystery as well but we believe the Robert and Helen Remick Charitable Foundation Trust is Bob’s best and, most enduring, work of art, touching all of us in southwest Minnesota and beyond for many years to come.