Luckyday Foundation Continues Support with $9.6 Million Gift

Fri, 08/19/2022 - 02:11pm | By: Van Arnold

A faithful supporter of The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) for more than 20 years, the Luckyday Foundation of Ridgeland, Miss., recently made an additional commitment of more than $9.6 million through the USM Foundation to support the Luckyday Scholars Program at the University. To date, the Luckyday Foundation has provided significant financial and programmatic support, impacting more than 2,200 students, making it USM’s most generous benefactor.

"The Luckyday Foundation has left an indelible impact on the University and the communities they serve,” said Stace Mercier, executive director of the USM Foundation. “Thousands of Luckyday Scholars at Southern Miss have been forever changed through the program’s focus on scholarship, community, service, and leadership. We are sincerely grateful to the Luckyday Foundation for their trust, partnership and transformative philanthropy.”

Founded by the late Frank Rogers Day of Jackson, Miss., the Luckyday Foundation funds scholarships for Mississippi high school seniors who are exemplary students and display strong leadership skills and community engagement with leadership programs at USM, The University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University.

The Luckyday Scholars Program was established at USM over two decades ago and provides students opportunities for continued scholarship, engaging in community, experiencing service, and growing as servant leaders through a variety of programming options.

The performance of Luckyday Scholars continues to be astounding, as evidenced by a current cumulative GPA of 3.6. This achievement illustrates that financial support aligned with student engagement and meaningful service can lead to exceptional rates of academic success and ultimately, graduation and career success.

“We are so very grateful to be a significant part of the Luckyday Foundation’s mission of creating a community of scholars who aspire to servant leadership,” said Dr. Larry Sparkman, director of the program. “Through the Luckyday Foundation’s giving and work at Southern Miss, committed Mississippi students are able to attend Southern Miss and are given resources and opportunities to help them flourish as engaged students and citizens during their university experience. The Luckyday Foundation has made a significant impact on the lives of thousands of students through their faithful giving and programmatic investments at Southern Miss.”

Founded in 1959, the USM Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to serving the University community by overseeing fundraising efforts to raise private support for scholarships and other academic needs at Southern Miss.

For more information on supporting The University of Southern Mississippi, call the USM Foundation at 601.266.5210 or visit usmfoundation.com.

For more information about the Luckyday Citizenship Scholars Program at Southern Miss, visit usm.edu/luckyday.