GENERATIONS OF SUPPORT

The Garner Foundation Makes Giving Back a Family Tradition

After growing up just blocks from Barry University, Kimberly Topping Morris has fond memories of riding her bike on the campus and attending events there, including the Miami Herald spelling bee in sixth grade. Now a member of Barry’s Board of Trustees, Kimberly feels right at home. It’s not surprising, since members of her family have lived in Miami Shores for more than 100 years, and their involvement with the University spans four generations.

“I’ve always thought of Barry as interwoven into our community,” she says. “The faculty and staff respond to what’s going on in the communities around us, and the students who go there are excited to be there. I want to be involved to help Barry be the best it can be, keep serving local Miami but also attract students from across the country and internationally.”

Kimberly’s great-grandfather, James G. Garner, was a Miami banker and businessman who believed in investing locally and giving back. Even before he started the nonprofit, family-run Garner Foundation, he donated Garner Hall, an integral part of Barry’s campus today. Since its founding in 1987, the Garner Foundation has consistently enhanced and expanded its relationship with Barry, including making a lead gift for the Adrian Dominican Institute for Mission and Leadership, supporting Barry athletics and being one of the first to fund Opportunity Scholarships that support each student recipient with a partial scholarship every year for four years.

Kimberly’s uncle, Gerald “Jerry” Moore, is now the managing director of the Garner Foundation, which focuses primarily on education but also assists local hospitals, youth groups and general community development. A familiar presence at Barry, he served on the Board of Trustees for more than 20 years. His brother, James Moore, an avid golfer, has played in Barry’s golf tournaments since they began. And Kimberly had the pleasure of watching her mother, Janice Moore Topping, graduate from Barry after she went back as a nontraditional student.

Kimberly, an attorney who does regulatory compliance consulting, is excited to be following in her uncle’s footsteps and serving on the Barry Board. “It’s very personal to me,” she says. “When I think about Barry, I see an interesting mission and focus. They really get to know their students, many of whom are the first in their family to go to college. It’s a wonderful place. Barry has a lot to offer, and it’s worth believing in.”

The Garner Foundation is a family affair, including siblings Janice Moore Topping (Kimberly’s mother), Anne Moore Paulk, Gerald W. Moore and James W. Moore.