Morganton Day School pivots athletic funds to disaster relief

Morganton Day School’s athletic program signed over a $2,200 check to the Community Foundation’s Burke County Disaster Relief Fund after the success of the school’s annual golf tournament.

This year’s tournament on Oct. 19, set to benefit the school’s athletic program, pivoted when staff members decided to use their efforts for a helpful cause.

“It just felt off to be raising money for us when so many in our community were impacted,” said Lyndsay Brisson, coach and athletic director at Morganton Day School. “We had so many golfers already signed up, so we decided to just pivot rather than taking the funds for our athletics program. We wanted to give back to the local community here in Burke County.”

The donation was made Thursday, Oct. 31.

According to Dr. Melanie Mikusa, Head of School at Morganton Day School, the money raised during the tournament came from participation and direct donations.

“People trust the Community Foundation, as we do. We know they do such incredibly good work. We knew that was the organization we wanted to work through,” Mikusa said.

According to JJ Musgrove, president/CEO of the foundation, the board made the initial investment of $100,000 in unrestricted funds and was able to get the relief fund up and running in three days.

“It just shows that we live in a community and region that really looks for ways to support their own. A community that answers the question, ‘if not us, then who?’” Musgrove said.

Musgrove specified that the money in the Burke County Disaster Relief Fund can only be used for nonprofit organizations.

“It’s all staying in Burke County. … We’ve been very clear about that. Either supporting nonprofits that are doing specific work in Burke County or ones that may be outside of Burke County, but are doing the work in Burke County,” Musgrove said.

Brisson believes changing the direction of the fundraiser aided to its success.

“I think that we had a higher turnout because of it. People were looking for ways to support the community, but also, I think people were ready to just have fun again,” Brisson said. “It’s an outlet to know that you have permission to have fun knowing you’re doing something to give back to the community.”

According to Mikusa, the Student Action Council also showed up the morning of the tournament to support the school’s efforts.

“The learning that takes place there is learning for a lifetime. They’re able to see philanthropic action as very important and they’ll take that into their adult life and continue to give back,” Mikusa said.

Erin Feduke, fundraising and programs coordinator at Morganton Day School, mentioned Morganton Day School’s history of giving back to the community.

“Morganton Day School has a history of giving back for as long as we’ve been around,” said Feduke. “We just really believe here at the school that everybody has an opportunity to make a difference. It’s something that we really try to put into our culture here.”

Musgrove spoke about the current state of the community.

“We’re really in Phase 3 and Phase 4, which is recovery, and recovery is going to be years and years,” Musgrove said. “We will continue to make grants out to nonprofits that are either trying to rebuild or so they can continue their missions, or ones that are directly involved with relief efforts.”