EDITOR’S NOTE: The following Facebook post was sent to us for publication:
Dear friends: I am asking you … nay, BEGGING you to please read this post! As some of you know, my son Tripp attended and was on the baseball team at Limestone University during the 2023-24 school year. After his first year, he decided golf was his true passion and transferred to another school because he was offered a spot on their golf team. He had a wonderful experience at Limestone the year he attended.
I’m sure many of you have heard that the Board of Trustees abruptly announced just a couple of weeks ago that, for financial reasons, Limestone would be closing at the end of the semester. Literally, closing just days later. The announcement came after what appeared to be a half-hearted attempt presumably spearheaded by the Board to raise funds to remain open. Shockingly, even though I personally live within 20 miles of Limestone and have a child who has attended there within the past 12 months, neither I nor one person I have spoken with, including alumni, was contacted about donating. Makes you wonder.
Anyway, the announcement left students (many of whom were athletes from all over the country and world), coaches, staff, and faculty blindsided and with no place to go. The 450+ employed by Limestone were given no severance pay and most of them lost their health insurance coverage effective April 30.
Let me be clear: Limestone was not a dying institution. It was a thriving campus filled with beautiful, historic buildings, as well as new state of the art academic and athletic facilities. It had students from all over the nation and the world. They have national championship lacrosse teams. (In fact, the men’s and women’s teams are still in contention for the 2025 title. They will both be playing in the quarterfinals this weekend. Since the school is officially closed, they are being fed by local citizens and restaurants). Limestone pumped a reported $150 million annually into the local economy. To say the loss of this 180 year old institution is devastating to the area and to those who made Limestone their home is a gross understatement. It is a loss to the whole state of South Carolina.
Because I feel so passionately about the closure, I have joined with several others: alumni, faculty, coaches, and local community leaders to right this wrong. We have formed a 501(c)(3) called Saving Limestone and have retained an out-of-state law firm that has expertise in this area of the law to have the closure overturned.
Our goal is twofold: to re-open Limestone University as quickly as possible, and to raise funds to get Limestone out of the financial mess that Is cited as the reason for Its closure. It is going to take millions of dollars and we are working diligently to achieve that goal. Sweet Briar College in VA was able to do it several years ago and we are in direct contact with the group that was Involved there.
So, I am coming to my Facebook friends to ask for your help. Our immediate need is funds to pay the attorneys. I am not sure yet what my role will be in the legal proceedings, but any time I personally dedicate to the cause will be on a pro bono basis. The funds are for the out-of-state heavy hitters we have retained. If we are successful, we will then have to raise funds to keep the school operational. We are hoping to launch a nationwide campaign to do that. At the moment, we are diligently working on getting a Go- FundMe set up for the 501(c)(3) to raise funds for the legal fees. It may take several days to do that and we don’t have that kind of time. So, in the meantime, we have set up a PayPal account. I am Including the QR code below (go to the Facebook link below).
I am asking all of you, as friends and acquaintances, to help in our cause. No amount is too small. Many hands make light work! We have every intention of succeeding in our quest, but if we do not, any donated funds remaining will go to those deserving folks who were devastated financially by the closure.
Our group intends to be completely transparent. We have only one goal: to keep the beautiful institution that is Limestone University alive. If you have any questions or want to help, please send me a PM. And please, please share, share, share!!!!
Lauri Soles Darwin www.facebook.com/lauri.darwin
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