Sigma Chi gift supports work of the Thomas Hayes Mayo Lab
The Sigma Chi fraternity chapter at the University of Mississippi has donated the $60,000 proceeds of a recent fundraiser run on campus to support the work of the Thomas Hayes Mayo Lab at the William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing.
The Mayo Lab helps those battling substance misuse and mental health issues, including depression and anxiety.
Thomas Mayo, of Oxford, was a 21-year-old Ole Miss junior who died April 14, 2022, from fentanyl poisoning. The Sigma Chi chapter organizes the annual fundraiser in memory of their former fraternity brother.
“I believe this event helps keep us all together,” said Coy Stiles, the chapter president. “It keeps us in touch with the Mayo family and gives us a way to make something positive out of a tragedy by helping other people.”
This year’s fundraiser attracted nearly 100 participants for a 1-mile run and more than 500 for a 5K event.
Mayo’s parents, Caroline and Cal Mayo, expressed gratitude for the support.
“Thomas cared deeply about people, and he would want his legacy attached to a cause that helps other people navigate the difficulties life sometimes presents,” Caroline Mayo said.
Cal Mayo said, “Our dream is for the fund to provide continuous financial support for the Thomas Hayes Mayo Lab, which will serve as the engine generating educational information and structures to assist students of all ages – elementary school through graduate school – and communities to understand and address the various mental health problems that impact all of us.”
Stiles, a junior finance major from Memphis, Tennessee, said he hopes the donation will make a difference in the lab’s programs.
“I hope it helps with an event or program that will help the community as a whole, or students or students’ families,” he said. “We want it to make a difference for as many people as possible.”
To make a gift to the Thomas Hayes Mayo Lab Fund, click here, or contact Brett Barefoot at bmbarefo@olemiss.edu or 662-915-2711.
By Bill Dabney