MORGAN CITY – The SLCC Foundation will honor the Hugh & Byrnes Young Foundation as its 2019 Benefactor of the Year during a ceremony at the college’s Young Memorial Campus in Morgan City later this month. Moreover, the College plans to recognize the H & B Young Foundation’s widespread impact throughout the Morgan City and St. Mary Parish communities.
The Young Foundation has disbursed more than $17 million to its local community since 1999, with $5 million in funding and property to the SLCC campus in Morgan City. It is estimated that the Young Foundation has invested another $10 million since its original establishment in 1955.
“I cannot think of a more deserving honoree this year than the Hugh & Byrnes Young Foundation,” said Lana Fontenot, executive director of the SLCC Foundation. “This year’s ceremony is much more than expressing our gratitude for their investment into our College; it is about celebrating their overall investment and decades-long support for this community.”
The Foundation has supported the College for several decades through funding for student scholarships, program equipment and supplies, as well as donations of land and property for SLCC’s expansion. The College’s new Maritime and Petroleum Safety Training Center, which opened in 2017, sits on five acres of waterfront property donated by the Young Foundation.
The Young Foundation has also assisted the City of Morgan City, local schools, St. Mary Outreach, local churches, and the Community Concert Association. Additionally, the foundation has established and operated a Youth Center at SLCC’s Young Memorial Campus to provide educational and fun after-school activities for junior and senior high school students.
“As we continue the example of the Young brothers in giving to Morgan City, we are always seeking to mine the diamonds-in-the rough found among our youth and to offer hope where little has been found,” said Brenda Ayo, chair of the H & B Young Foundation board of directors. “We are passionate about doing real and permanent good throughout our community so that Morgan City can shine as a great place to live, to work, and to grow.”
The ceremony is the third for the SLCC Foundation, where an outstanding partnership is recognized each year. Previous honorees are Lafayette General Health and Elder Outreach. This year’s ceremony honoring the H & B Young Foundation will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 23 at the Young Memorial Campus at 900 Young Road. The public is invited to attend.
The South Louisiana Community College Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization organized for the purpose of engaging in educational, scientific, literary, benevolent, and charitable works in support exclusively for the campuses of South Louisiana Community College. The SLCC Foundation secures and manages unrestricted and restricted assets to continually support and enrich the academic and scholarship programs at South Louisiana Community College. The SLCC Foundation is managed by a 21-member board of directors.