About BEMFC
WHERE WE BEGAN
I have great respect for the past. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.
maya angelou
1953 – Jan. 2021
Jan. 2021 to Oct. 2021
Oct. 2021 to July 2023
WHO INSPIRED US
Before Dr. King, there was his muse and mentor, Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays.
Dr. Mays rose from the heartland of South Carolina to call a generation to boldly envision a future where all children dream bigger goals. In his nearly three decades as President of Morehouse College, he educated and influenced many.
“It is not your environment, it is you- the quality of your mind, the integrity of your soul and the determination of your will that will decide your future and shape your life.”
-DR. BENJAMIN E. MAYS
In 1953 Dr. Mays’ outstanding legacy was erected in bricks and mortar when the Benjamin E. Mays Consolidated School, the first of five public schools in the nation named in his honor, was founded in Pacolet, South Carolina. Not far from his birthplace, the school served African American children during segregation, and later closed and reopened as the Middle School of Pacolet.
Inspired by the school’s namesake, many remarkable alumni went on to pave their own successes in the fields of medicine, business, education, and civic leadership.
The doors to the school that stands today in Pacolet have closed for a new consolidated school, allowing the building to be used by a new entity, the Benjamin E. Mays Family Resource Center. This center will honor his legacy while serving as a beacon of hope that Pacolet so desperately needs.
WHERE WE’RE GOING
1
Get Connected
Our Board of Directors has already partnered with organizations that fit our community’s most needed programs. Some of these will only start if there’s community interest/sign-ups. Staying involved and spreading the word will improve the chances that these services can come to our center.
2
Get Involved
Your donations help us re-open a portion of this 50,000-square-foot building with services that support families and children. Our goal is to begin Phase One of these services in 2023.
3
Watch Us Grow
Once we’re able to grow community interests and afford further renovations to the building, we’ll be able to expand our services to Phase 2. The highest need, but also the highest cost due to renovations, would be an Early Head Start program for children.
OUR SPONSORS
Our Founding Sponsors Helped Make All This Real
