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SCDNR News

Hampton Wildlife Fund donates $191,600 to SCDNR, awards $67,500 in scholarships to SC students

July 27, 2023

The Hampton Wildlife Fund recently presented the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) with a check for $191,600 to be used for state-wide projects during the year. The total donated to SCDNR by the Hampton Wildlife Fund over the years now stands at $4,379,170.

The Harry Hampton Memorial Wildlife Fund Inc. (Hampton Wildlife Fund, HWF) is a private, non-profit corporation that partners with SCDNR for the promotion of natural resources and natural resource education, benefitting the conservation of wildlife, marine and other resources in South Carolina. Funds are obtained solely through private donations and special promotional projects and fundraising events. Although some of the funds are donated to special projects run by SCDNR, they are not used to replace any of the department’s programs already supported by state-appropriated money.

“Our mission is to raise dollars in support of SCDNR, the stewards of South Carolina’s vast wildlife and natural resources and to be a partner in the agency’s educational efforts,” said HWF Board Chair Alvin Taylor, retired former director of SCDNR. “Palmetto State citizens are always generous in helping us fund SCDNR’s great work here, especially youth programs,” said HWF Executive Director Jim Goller of Beaufort and an SCDNR retiree.

Public education of wildlife and marine resources management and conservation is a major thrust of the fund’s purpose. Scholarships are annually awarded to South Carolina resident students who attend South Carolina institutions of higher learning majoring in wildlife, fisheries, forestry, biology, zoology, marine science, environmental science, or related fields, with one awarded annually in the field of law enforcement/criminal justice and one in the field of journalism. Since 1995, The Hampton Wildlife Fund has awarded $698,800 in scholarships to South Carolina students.

In the four-year category, Lauren Lusk of North Augusta won the Harry Hampton scholarship worth $20,000, and Sawyer Osborne of Conway won the $20,000 Thomas Webster Hardwick Jr. scholarship. Juliana Coates of Campobello won the James O. Thomason $8,000 scholarship, and Sara Elizabeth McCaskill of Lugoff won the Robert M. Gifford scholarship for children of SCDNR employees worth $10,000. All four-year winners are attending Clemson University.

In the one-year category, Julie Weaver of Prosperity, attending Newberry College, won the $2,000 David M. Cline scholarship. Ellie Harman of Leesville was awarded the $2,500 Wallace F. Pate scholarship funded by the S.C. Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series and is attending Clemson. Jaydn Audrey Kent of Irmo, attending the University of South Carolina, won the Taylor Family SCDNR $1,000 award, and Sara Elizabeth McCaskill was also awarded the $1,000 Taylor Family SCDNR Law Enforcement scholarship. The Taylor Family scholarships are funded by Alvin and Marian Taylor of Hollywood. Taylor is chairman of the Hampton Wildlife Fund Board of Directors and is a former SCDNR director.

Jason R Dozier of Georgetown, Sara Elizabeth McCaskill, and Presley Lane Collins of Cameron each won $1,000 scholarships awarded by the S.C. Wildlife Law Enforcement Officers Association to children of members.

Projects supported and funded by the Hampton Wildlife Fund include:

  • Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic
  • Sassafras Mountain Overlook project
  • SCDNR Shotgun and Archery Shooting Sports in Schools Programs
  • Operation Game Thief
  • Hooked On Fishing Not on Drugs Youth Fishing Rodeos
  • Take One Make One Youth Mentoring Program
  • Aquatic Education Program, Carolina Coastal Marine Education Program & Educational Vessel Discovery
  • Tiger Shark Research and Tagging in Port Royal and St. Helena Sounds
  • SCDNR Land, Water and Conservation Envirothon
  • Camp Wildwood
  • Bruce Rush Artificial Reef and the S.C. Memorial Deepwater Reef Project
  • Bruce Rush Pavilion and Youth Archery Range, Anne Springs Close Greenway
  • Hampton Wildlife Fund Adventure Center, Anne Springs Close Greenway

Find out more about the Hampton Wildlife Fund by visiting hamptonwildlifefund.org or visit on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/harryhamptonfund/.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Photos of Hampton Wildlife Fund scholarship winners are available by writing to NewsDesk@dnr.sc.gov.)