The McGill Family Foundation is proud to have established a named scholarship to honor our parents-Thomas and Dorothy McGill

 

I am Karen McGill Lawson, a proud Delta girl, honored charter member of the Potomac Valley Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority INC and former chair and current  board member of the PVAC Fund.

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It is my honor to represent the McGill Family Foundation, which includes my four siblings and their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

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I am one of five siblings (Thomas, Karen, Brian, Zakee, and Dorothy), children of Thomas Leslie McGill Sr. and Dorothy Kathryn Baylor McGill in whose honor we established named scholarships given their deep commitment to education. They met as youngsters and married after our Dad returned from his service in the Navy during World War II.  They left their small towns in the northern panhandle of West Virginia for the metropolis of Philadelphia for better job opportunities and education for their growing family. They supported the five of us through undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools and we are forever grateful for the lives they provided for us and generations to come.

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They also instilled in us the importance of giving back, which we have all endeavored to do during our lives. We are long-standing supporters of the Fund because of the impact of its community service outreach and financial assistance to bright students for whom financial support truly makes a difference. We know that these scholarships in their names would make them smile and shed a tear or two.

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Activism was also a lesson we learned at home that has endured throughout our lives. Our activism included participation in the 1963 March on Washington, going to Selma to push for voting rights and attendance at subsequent anniversary marches and protests. The lessons learned at home served us well as we undertook leadership roles in civil rights organizations including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the NAACP, the US Commission on Civil Rights and the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission. We have regularly provided time and treasure to campaigns for progressive leaders on the federal, state, and local level.

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In closing, I would like to share a photograph from our last extended family gathering at my brother and sister-in-law’s house for Christmas dinner 2024. A dinner where everyone has a seat at the table! We have entitled the photo—“All because two people fell in love!”

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Thank you.