MCares Fund Receiving Positive Feedback at Mississippi College

Mississippi College supporters strongly endorse President Blake Thompson’s creation of the MCares Fund to help students struggling with financial hardships in light of COVID-19 challenges.

Leaders say the emergency assistance fund is a perfect fit for the university’s mission to serve others, from the Clinton campus to countries worldwide.

“It’s just the right thing to do, and I’m proud of Mississippi College for taking a leadership role in this area, and modeling respectful and informed support,” says Steve Price, director of the Christian university’s Writing Center.

“In the best of times, issues of food insecurity and housing impact college students at an alarming rate,” says Price, an English professor. “Rather than ignore the issues that are amplified during a crisis like COVID-19, MC is working to support students.”

On April 16, Dr. Thompson launched the MCares Fund as well as supplied details of prorated refunds to students for housing and food costs.

MC Law professor Matt Steffey applauds the MCares initiative. “It can provide a helping hand to those students hardest hit by COVID-19. It allows other members of the community to reach out, help and show their support in a safe and effective vehicle.”

The move allows the community to “come together and give life to the Christian ideal of those with the means caring for those in need,” Steffey said.

Among those planning to donate to the new fund is social work program director Laurie Lawson. The MC graduate heads the nonprofit 4C’s organization in Clinton assisting needy Mississippians.

After paying for room, board, and tuition (even with loans and grants), many students lack sufficient resources to carry them through the semester, Lawson noted. “I would encourage people to give generously,” she said. “It is a great fit to MC’s mission – forward thinking and continued compassion.”

In the midst of the pandemic, the MCares initiative helps students during a time when at least 22 million Americans suddenly lost their jobs.

“Our students and their families are hurting right now,” says Wayne VanHorn, dean of the School of Christian Studies and the Arts. He and his wife will contribute to the fund. “God blesses us so that we can bless others. In tough times in particular, MC shines bright.”

MC senior Sam Brown of Rose Hill salutes President Thompson’s proposal getting the backing of the Board of Trustees. “Dr. Thompson has always framed Mississippi College as a family and a close knit community. This is a perfect display of that, especially for those who are worried about the financial costs of their higher education.”

Taking online classes at his home near Meridian, Brown lives 90 miles from the Clinton campus. Other MC classmates are thousands of miles away across the USA and other countries as coronavirus cases surge.

“We are all separated right now,” says Brown, a Christian Studies major. “It is a comfort to see a chance to come together to care for our fellow members in the MC family.”

The MCares Fund is open to people in the university community and beyond to give.

“We are an institution that relies on our Christian faith in times of crisis, so please continue to pray for the university and the entire Mississippi College family,” President Thompson said last week.

More information is available at mc.edu/MCares or by contacting the university’s Advancement Office at 601-925-3257.