“Gifting for the Future”

The New Year will be a brighter one for twelve non-profit agencies and institutions that received Mamie McFaddin Ward Heritage Foundation grant monies. The grant awards were given at a reception Thursday, December 17, 2009, from 4:00-5:00 p.m. at the McFaddin-Ward House museum that was once the home of the philanthropist Mamie Ward.

The reception honored the recipients and provided the opportunity to network with each other and meet Mrs. Ward’s relatives and museum staff. Each organization discussed how the money will be used to advance the organization’s goals.

The reception was followed by the museum’s traditional “Eggnog Thursdays,” a special holiday house tour when visitors to the museum are treated to eggnog and Christmas cookies at the visitor center with a self-guided tour of the house’s first floor. Different musical groups performed in the house’s entry hall. New items from the museum’s collection, some of which the public has never seen, were displayed throughout the house. Fresh flowers, garland and red ribbon festoon the house.

The 2009 Grant Recipients are: Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Buckner Children and Family Services, Inc., Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council, JASON Alliance of Southeast Texas, Julie Rogers’ Gift of Life, IEA-Inspire Encourage Achieve, KVLU, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Nutrition and Services for Seniors, St. Katharine Drexel Humanitarians, Spindletop Mental Health & Medical Retardation Services, and Texas Energy Museum.

BACKGROUND

The Mamie McFaddin Ward Heritage Foundation was created by Mrs. Ward in 1978 to establish and maintain the McFaddin-Ward House as a museum for cultural and educational purposes. The Foundation also supports other charitable, cultural, historic, and educational organizations and programs which serve the general public in Beaumont, Texas, and the Southeast Texas region. These grants have supported the arts, provided assistance to the needy and disadvantaged, furthered education, assisted in historical and cultural areas, provided health, medical, and counseling services, and benefitted other community needs.

Mamie McFaddin Ward was born in Beaumont, Texas, the daughter of William Perry Herring McFaddin and Ida Regina Caldwell McFaddin, a pioneer family who amassed assets in land, cattle, and oil. Her parents were active in statewide civic and social affairs, and Mrs. Ward became a civic leader and philanthropist in her own right.

Mamie McFaddin Ward Heritage Foundation board members include three McFaddin relatives: Rosine McFaddin Wilson, Ida McFaddin Pyle, and Eugene McFaddin. Capital One Bank/Beaumont is a co-trustee.

Donda Foran Thomasson
Communications Coordinator
McFaddin-Ward House Museum