JACKSON — A recent $50,000 anonymous donation made to the Mr. and Mrs. E.H. Sumners Foundation will go toward college scholarships for deserving students in five Mississippi counties.
“In 30 years, we’ve had two people to make a donation to it. It was a nice little surprise,” said Winona attorney John M. Sumner, nephew of the Sumners and attorney for the foundation’s trustee, Regions Bank of Jackson.
According to the bank, the $50,000 donor “was very interested in giving back to the community and felt that through a gift to the Sumners Foundation, the gift would benefit many individuals. ... The donor is impressed with the work this Foundation has done,” the bank said in a prepared statement.
Students from Carroll, Webster, Montgomery, Attala and Choctaw counties are offered scholarships by the foundation to attend one of five of the state’s institutions of higher learning. The qualifying schools are the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, Mississippi Medical Center, Millsaps College and Holmes Community College.
By the end of the year, some $92.5 million in scholarships will have been distributed to these colleges and universities to assist students from the five counties.
Sumner said his uncle, prior to creating the foundation, operated a lumber mill.
Sumner said donations to the Sumners Foundation are tax-deductible.
Donations may be mailed to Trustee for the Mr. and Mrs. E.H. Sumners Foundation c/o Regions Bank, P. O. Box 23100, Jackson, MS 39225-3100.
