Mississippi College Launches 2009 United Way Drive
Mississippi College faculty and staff hope to exceed the $14,423 they donated to United Way agencies in metro Jackson last fall.
United Way in the metro Jackson area supports more than 50 human service programs in Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties. There are ample opportunities to help those less fortunate, leaders say.
"Please enhance the lives of many Mississippians who truly need your support," President Lee Royce says in a new letter to the Christian university's 500 faculty and staff members. "As Acts 20:25 says, \'It is more blessed to give than receive.\'"
Needs are widespread for the Magnolia Speech School, the Shelter for Battered Women and Children, Goodwill Industries, Christians in Action and dozens of other Jackson area agencies served by United Way.
Shari Barnes, the director of MC's Community Service Center, is again working with Royce to spearhead this year's United Way effort at the Baptist-affiliated university. She hopes to see contributions reach the $15,000 level in 2009.
The campaign at MC should wrap up in late October.
Magnolia Speech School Executive Director Anne Sullivan appreciates any contributions to the school, whether it comes from the United Way campaign or other donors. Over the past 53 years, the Jackson-based school has served 3,000 hearing impaired and language disordered children from Mississippi and others states.
When Ms. Elizabeth Matthews turned her living room into a classroom to help seven deaf children learn to talk in 1956, it launched the school. Its students primarily come from Mississippi, but the campus at 733 Flag Chapel Road has also enrolled children from as far away as California and Pennsylvania.
An MC graduate and former communication professor on the Clinton campus, Sullivan is delighted United Way partnered with the Magnolia Speech School for more than 20 years.
The school uses United Way funds for scholarships. The donations reduce student tuition charges based on income levels. The Magnolia Speech School presently enrolls 69 kids in the classroom and serves 79 deaf babies at their homes.
"United Way gifts comprise around 8 percent of our budget. They have been a great partner to us," Sullivan said. "We are teaching children to understand and use spoken language,"' she said. "As they grow up they become contributors to their communities as citizens."
Goodwill Industries is another United Way recipient with a big wish list that is growing amid tough economic times. Nationwide, there were 64 million people making donations to Goodwill that operates 2,300 donation locations in North America. Goodwill includes retail stores in Ridgeland and Pearl plus locations in Jackson and Hattiesburg.
The funds are mainly used to train people with disabilities who need services. "We teach classes to help people get a GED," said Don Simpson, vice president of human resources at Goodwill.
"We always appreciate United Way," Simpson said. "It's been a great service to Goodwill."
Active in developing United Way campaigns since 1993, Royce believes Mississippi College employees will come through again this fall and assist those in need.
"It's a way of life in Mississippi, which traditionally ranks among the top states in the nation when it comes to charitable giving," Royce said.
MC's participation rate among its 500 faculty and staff last year was more than 29 percent. The university's participation rate was the best among area colleges, but Royce says the university can do even better in 2009.
To spur more gift-giving, MC faculty and staff making a donation will be eligible to win restaurant gift cards with a value of $25 each. "Giving to those less fortunate has always been an important aspect of MC's heritage," Royce said.
MC faculty and staff seeking to make contributions to the United Way campaign or with questions should contact Shari Barnes at sbarnes@mc.edu or 601.925.3267 or stop by the Community Service Center in the B.C. Rogers Student Center.
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