The 64th annual campaign begins Tuesday, Jan. 29, with a goal of raising $210,000 to help students such as Devan Cox, who’s now a senior serving as the school’s student body president and set to graduate in May.
Devan Cox was a freshman at Methodist University when his mother was diagnosed with cancer four years ago. He was afraid he might have to put his college career on hold, but funds raised through the school’s annual Loyalty Campaign for Student Scholarships proved instrumental.
“She wasn’t able to work,” Cox said of his mother. “So the scholarships have meant the world to me.”
The 64th annual campaign begins Tuesday, Jan. 29, with a goal of raising $210,000 to help students such as Devan, who’s now a senior serving as the school’s student body president and set to graduate in May. The campaign culminates with a celebration that will be held on Feb. 26 on the Methodist University campus. In the month leading up to the celebration, 120 community volunteers will personally reach out to more than 1,500 individuals and businesses in our community to ask them to make a gift to the Loyalty Campaign for Student Scholarships.
Though the main fundraising efforts for the Loyalty Campaign are conducted in the month leading up to and weeks following Feb. 26, a gift may be made year-round to the Loyalty Campaign.
This year’s Loyalty Campaign chair is George Breece, executive director of the National Association for Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics. His wife, Dr. Dena Breece, is a Methodist University alumna and professor in the Reeves School of Business. The Breeces are longtime Methodist University supporters; George Breece remembers seeing his dad write checks to Methodist. He has continued to support the school both as a way to honor his father and to help the university in its mission.
“I am honored to serve as the 2019 Loyalty Campaign Chair and to promote the importance of making an excellent education attainable for deserving students,” George Breece said. “Contributing to the Loyalty Campaign is a sound investment to make in the lives of these talented young people who represent our future.”
The the Loyalty Campaign was originally about raising funds to help the college operate, but in 2005 the focus shifted to student scholarships, something to which MU dedicates more than 26 percent of its budget each year. With more than 95 percent of Methodist University students receiving financial aid, many students would not be able to attend the university without scholarships such as the ones funded through the Loyalty Campaign. In the 2017-2018 academic year, the university awarded $24 million in scholarships and financial aid to students.
Donations to the Loyalty Campaign can be made at methodist.edu/giving or by phone at 910.630.7200 or 800.488.7100, ext. 7200 or by mail to Office of Advancement and Alumni Affairs, Methodist University, 5400 Ramsey Street, Fayetteville, NC 28311-1498.