After visiting nearly 180 countries, Rich and Fran Juro give back to their Nebraska community through a donor advised fund.
When their son was in preschool, his parents, Rich and Fran Juro, say he learned to read by watching the Electric Company on PBS. Today, he works as a pediatrician in New Orleans.
Rich and Fran met in New York when Fran was attending summer school at Columbia University. “She asked me for directions, and I said I am going that way, so I’ll show you,” said Rich. They married in 1964 and moved to Omaha in 1966.
The couple both worked in the family grocery business, Rich as a buyer, and later CEO, and Fran in human resources. Fran’s father, Harold Cooperman, started the No Frills Supermarket chain.
The Juros generously support several community organizations, including Nebraska Public Media, with gifts from a donor advised fund managed by the Omaha Community Foundation.
“I read about the funds and decided it was a very good option for tax savings. It keeps our giving organized and it’s an easy process,” said Rich.
“We decided to give together,” said Fran, whose parents set an example for giving. “Public television is available to all, and it doesn’t cost anything.”
As they raised their family, Rich listened to NPR’s Morning Edition on the way to work. Fran enjoys Antiques Roadshow and Masterpiece on television and loves to read.
The couple has traveled the United States and the world, visiting nearly 180 countries, including North Korea. They’ve even been to the North Pole on a Russian ice breaker ship.
“We’ve met a lot of interesting people,” said Fran. On one cruise, they ran into documentary filmmaker Ric Burns, the younger brother of Ken Burns.
When they return from their latest voyage, a cruise to Singapore and southeast Asia, Rich says he’ll be looking for more programs that expand his world and help him learn. “Learning is underrated,” he said.