From the proceeds of its recent 5k run on the University of Mississippi campus, the Sigma Chi fraternity made a $60,000 gift in support of the Thomas Hayes Mayo Lab at the William Magee Institute.
The Thomas Hayes Mayo Lab, part of the William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing, helps those battling substance misuse and mental health issues, including depression and anxiety.
Thomas Mayo of Oxford, Mississippi, was a 21-year-old UM junior who died April 14, 2022, from fentanyl poisoning. He was the youngest of Caroline and Cal Mayo’s four children.
“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.”
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/UM Foundation