Celebrating Mary Black Foundation’s History: 2009
Mary Black Foundation Becomes a Private Foundation
2021 marks the 25th anniversary of the Mary Black Foundation’s role as a private foundation in Spartanburg. However, the Mary Black Foundation has a legacy that extends beyond the last 25 years. In fact, the Foundation was originally formed in 1986 – 35 years ago – to support the Mary Black Memorial Hospital and related community programs.
The sale of the nonprofit hospital to a for profit company, in 1996, led to the reconfiguration of the Mary Black Foundation and its significant growth in assets. In the 25 years since the Mary Black Foundation separated from the hospital, it has provided over $62 million in grants to support health and wellness initiatives throughout Spartanburg County. During this same time, the assets have grown to over $75 million.
Bridging a Gap
In 2009, families in the Middle Tyger area were suffering from the lack of safe, easily accessible, and affordable programs that provide for and promote wellness through physical activity. Leaders in the area sought to invest in opportunities for a healthier lifestyle that would benefit people from all generations and backgrounds.
Middle Tyger Connected
With a grant of $283,000 from Mary Black Foundation, along with other state and nonprofit funds, the Town of Duncan, the Town of Lyman, and District Five Schools partnered to implement changes to infrastructure that encouraged positive behavioral changes. Middle Tyger Connected is a community-wide effort designed to connect children and adults living in the Middle Tyger area (Duncan and Lyman) to active living programs. The goals of this project were:
- to encourage families to participate in leisure activities that will improve health and strengthen family bonds;
- to encourage behavioral changes by providing outdoor venues that will bring the community together through recreational & fitness activities, social events, and celebrations; and
- to promote an awareness of the environment and the importance of preserving natural resources
Pedestrian Foot Bridge
A focus of Mary Black Foundation’s Healthy Eating | Active Living priority area is walkable communities. In 2009, the Middle Tyger community was concerned about the safety of its students and pedestrians, as there was no safe way to cross the river or the road.
Middle Tyger Connected physically connected the area from Highway 29 to Highway 290 by a pedestrian bridge that connected the sidewalks that are already in place in both towns. Middle Tyger Connected offers destination points including public parks, trails, and playgrounds to encourage children and adults to take a walk on the sidewalk connecting them to their destinations. Visionaries from Duncan, Lyman, and District Five Schools believed that this project offered an opportunity to take the infrastructure already in place and expand upon it to make engagement in physical activities more inviting and more easily accessible.
SCALE
The Mary Black Foundation grant for Middle Tyger Connected also was used to pave the perimeter of SCALE, approximately one-third of a mile, that links to a sidewalk on Main Street in Duncan. SCALE is a seven-acre outdoor classroom used by District 5 and other districts across the state.
Parks
Some of the Mary Black Foundation funding was also used for the development of parks in the Middle Tyger area. In Duncan, funding was used to develop a municipal park that provides two playground areas, a water park, an adult fitness area, a woodland preserve, and walking/running tracks and trails. In Lyman, the proposal included building a park between the Middle Tyger Library and the river that will offer natural play space, relaxation by the river, and a walking trail.
