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'You don’t have to be rich to give': These top supporters of Coppin State spent lifetime scrimping and saving (1855 hits)

By Yvonne Wenger•Contact Reporter
The Baltimore Sun

Walking around the Coppin State University campus, Florine Camphor looks like an octogenarian cheerleader, wearing a sequined hat, blue suit and gold shirt representing the school colors.

Nearby, her husband, James, 91, is spinning stories about a scoring record he still holds from his years on the campus basketball team more than a half-century ago.

University leaders say the Camphors — known as “Winky and Peaches” — are celebrities on campus: Everyone knows who they are.

They are Coppin’s top supporters, unlikely philanthropists who spent their careers inside Maryland schools and their lifetimes scrimping and saving.

The couple has endowed $200,000 to the university in scholarships for some 200 students. Their generosity also comes in whispers to a graduate to call if he gets into money troubles and the creation of the “benevolent fund” for homeless students to buy books, food or bus fare. They have organized jazz shows and golf tournaments and nudged their classmates to give.

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