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WCU Stories

fiscal year 24

WCU donors shatter fundraising record with more than $35.8 million in FY24

The WCU Foundation received more than $35.8 million in gifts and pledges during the recently concluded 2024 fiscal year. That represents $23.2 million more in commitments over the previous fiscal year’s $12.6 million.  

planting day 86

Annual Planting Day event recognizes philanthropic impact of WCU giving societies

Members of WCU’s leadership giving societies gathered during an annual celebration of philanthropy and heard about the impact of their generosity directly from one of the more than 1,645 recipients of scholarships supported by their donations.  

frank and becky brown

‘Fill the Western Sky’ contributions continue Brown family legacy of support for WCU

A Cary couple with deep family connections to the founders of WCU is taking steps to ensure that students of the future will continue to have access to enhanced educational, athletic and extracurricular activities.  

hunter library

Lifelong love of libraries leads to couple’s philanthropic support of Hunter Library

A North Carolina couple’s lifelong affinity for libraries has inspired them to direct gifts and pledges totaling $25,000 to provide a boost for initiatives and services provided by Hunter Library.  

karen lunnen

Gifts in honor of retired physical therapy professor support WCU program, students

Three WCU physical therapy students will gain valuable hands-on experience this summer providing pro-bono treatment and services to residents of a community in Honduras with limited access to health care.  

trevor arrowood graduation

New scholarship for criminal justice students honors memory of alumnus, police officer

Family and friends of the late Trevor Arrowood, a Polk County native who died in 2021 after a three-year battle with cancer, have established a scholarship fund for future students majoring in criminology and criminal justice.  

senior toast

Senior Toast celebrates student philanthropy, ongoing engagement with WCU

More than 50 soon-to-be graduates raised their glasses in a celebratory salute to their forthcoming designation as alumni.  

kenny messer

Gratitude for education, experiences at WCU inspire decades of support for Catamount athletics

Kenny Messer, who grew up in rural Haywood County plowing tobacco fields behind a mule, providing philanthropic support to WCU is a way to show appreciation for an institution that saved him from a future of staring at the back end of a pack animal.  

one day for western cover

Nearly 1,150 donors make gifts to WCU on ‘One Day for Western’

Nearly 1,150 donors made gifts and pledges totaling more than $494,000 during the second annual ‘One Day for Western,’ an all-in day of giving designed to provide financial support to multiple areas of WCU.  

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