CONCORD, N.C. — More than 100 people took to the golf course Saturday. It was all part of an annual tournament fundraising to help students attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). A Charlotte-based foundation is hoping to take some weight off students so they can focus on their education.
Daryle McNair is the President of the McNair Foundation Inc. and a proud alum of North Carolina A&T State University.
“It’s almost like a family reunion,” he said.
Folks teed off at the Rocky River Golf Club in Concord at the 5th Annual McNair Invitational Golf Tournament. It's a fundraiser to provide scholarships for North Carolina students who attend or plan to attend a historically black college or university.
“When it comes to funding, if we can provide scholarships it will help minimize the debt students have once they leave school,” said McNair. “If we minimize the debt they will be more successful in life. They are more able to give back a little more to their colleges and universities.”
McNair said this is one way to support HBCUs that have historically been underfunded.
“We do this to support our students and it’s a way to minimize inequities in HBCUs communities,” he continued.
Craitaija McFadden won a scholarship in 2021 while attending Livingstone College.
“This a school grounded on the principals I came from. This is a school that accepts me for who I am and doesn’t take me away from being anything else but achieving to be successful,” said McFadden.
She said she is inspired to see so much support for HBCUs across the course.
“You literally have so many people that are here who can show you I can be a doctor, I can be a dentist, I can be a lawyer, a sheriff -- like anything I can put my mind to,” said McFadden.
Like many alums swinging in action, McFadden said she wants to pay it forward as she continues her path in education.
“The students who feel they don’t have anyone in their life, the students who don’t feel like they have a light shined on them," she said. "I was once that person so I want them to know you can do what you want to do."
The foundation plans to award five scholarships and provides educational assistance to deserving future HBCU students.
Cyril Daniel is a North Carolina A&T State University alum and said it is important for him to give back.
“We have to be able to bring the students in, and we have to be able to fund these institutions and that is what it is all about because you are going to get a lot of these institutions,” said Daniel. “That is what it is all about and I want to do my part. The more that I give back, the more alums help as well the better and we continue to make our HBCUs grow."
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.