Faculty and Staff at Mississippi College Close Out 2014 United Way Campaign

A young student at Magnolia Speech School.

Magnolia Speech School students will benefit from United Way campaign dollars from Mississippi College employees and other supporters around metro Jackson.

“We greatly appreciate what you all do,” says Julie Crump, the school’s director of development and communications.

Located on Flag Chapel Road in Jackson, the Magnolia Speech School will serve a little more than 100 students in January, from kindergarten through the 8^th grade. United Way contributions, Crump said, will be used to offset tuition costs for students.

In late December, just days before the Christmas break, Mississippi College faculty and staff continued to make donations. The campaign on the Clinton campus and at the MC School of Law in Jackson stood at a little over $20,000, leaders say.

“Much good takes place through gifts to United Way,” President Lee Royce says. “Our gifts mean so much to so many throughout the year, particularly at Christmas.”

United Way supports more than 50 human service programs in Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties. Many of the programs provide help to less fortunate Mississippians in the region.

The Magnolia Speech School will receive about $25,000 from the United Way campaign of metro Jackson, Crump said. While United Way funds going to the school were cut from a year ago, “it is still wonderful to see the support from the community and United Way.”

MC’s United Way campaign started in October and was still going on campus just hours before the Christian university’s December 19 commencement.

The Shelter for Battered Women, Goodwill Industries and Stewpot are among the area groups gaining support from United Way drives. Stewpot serves meals to the homeless in downtown Jackson and offers overnight shelters to men and women, among more than a dozen services.

President Royce has been an avid United Way leader for more than two decades.

Shari Barnes, director of MC’s Community Service Center and Heidi Lewis, the associate director, have stayed on the go receiving United Way donations this fall.

In recent years, 5,000-student Mississippi College has led United Way giving among metro Jackson colleges and universities. The Baptist-affiliated university is home to more than 500 faculty and staff members.