Donors attend dinner event benefiting Dawn Staley Champions Fund
Donors got a firsthand look at the impact of their philanthropy at “A Celebration of Dawn Staley” on Sept. 3, a dinner at Colonial Life Arena that featured not only the venerated coach, but also a student recipient of one of the many educational initiatives supported by the Dawn Staley Champions Fund.
Four initiatives supported by the Dawn Staley Champions Fund — The Gamecock Guarantee, the Richard T. Greener Scholarship, the Women’s Basketball Leadership Fund, and CarolinaLIFE — all seek to maximize the potential and increase the overall well-being of first-generation students and those from underrepresented and economically disadvantaged communities by supporting them through their schooling and preparing them for life beyond graduation. Each fund supports leadership training and community service to spread the impact on campus and off. Staley championed these principles throughout her career, using her platform to speak on creating access and equitable opportunities for students who need them.
Staley has not been shy about her background. As a first-generation student herself, she found her scholarship to play basketball at the University of Virginia nothing short of life-changing. It opened doors of Olympic proportion and allowed her to invest in her own players’ lives, teaching them to excel not only on the court, but also in the classroom and community.
“Growing up in the projects, beating the odds is just incredible,” Staley said. “You don’t get the opportunities afforded to everyone. You have to make the right choices. And everywhere I go, I want to be known as the odds-beater.”
Staley believes big dreams, combined with hard work, will take students far — sometimes even around the world.
Jayla Byars, a junior from Greenville, South Carolina majoring in biological sciences, hopes to study abroad in South Korea as she works toward a career in cosmetic dentistry. These plans were nothing more than pipe dreams before her acceptance to the University of South Carolina, but receiving support from the Gamecock Guarantee and TRIO programs has allowed her to focus on her studies and accomplish goals that seemed impossible only a few years ago.
The Gamecock Guarantee is a need-based financial and academic support program for academically talented first-generation students from South Carolina. The program offers not only scholarships, but also access to services that bolster academic achievement and further enrich the undergraduate experience. The nationwide TRIO program provides mentorship opportunities and informative services that help first-generation students and their families prepare for life at college.
As the first person in her family to attend a four-year college, Byars was worried about the social transition to higher education. Starting down a new path requires courage and resilience, but staying on it requires community. She found that community within these programs, through mentors and tutors who encouraged her to stick with her studies and meet her goals.
“They just welcomed me in,” she said. “A lot of first-gen students don’t have community, but this becomes their community.”
Once a mentee, Byars has given back to the program that has invested so much in her by now becoming a TRIO mentor and encouraging other students in her same situation to persevere.
“To the donors, I would say, ‘Thank you.’ You’re helping students like me with potential,” she said. “I’m very grateful. I would not be able to go to college without these funds.”
The impact of these donors and their generosity is not lost on Staley, who continually emphasizes the importance of giving back and dreaming big. She hopes the students receiving this support will go on to change not only the course of their own lives, but also the lives of others in their generation by doing something “unimaginable.”
“Dream even bigger. Dream the unimaginable dream,” Staley said. “Whatever you put your mind to, you can do it.”