The Legacy Created When Giving Back
Giving to students who need it the most is at the forefront of the Lewis family legacy. Derek Lewis ’78, ’80, and his son Derek Lewis II ’97, have made giving a family tradition. Established more than 30 years ago, the Derek Lewis Foundation supports community health through education and prevention. It has also awarded hundreds of scholarships since its inception.
When asked about his family’s passion for giving their time and donations to scholarships in addition to establishing the Derek Lewis Foundation supported by the University of Central Arkansas, Lewis said, “Somebody helped me along the way, so I need to find a way to help someone else and this is my way of giving back.” He passed this enthusiasm on to his children, who also give their time and resources to those who need it most to support their alma mater and future UCA students.
“Scholarships are important for things like that: supplies like pens or gas for the car or money to get home during breaks. You come from a small town in the Delta with no income, and you’d be surprised at what a small amount of money can do. For somebody whose mother gave him $3 a week, that was a lot of money, and it helped me a lot,” explained Lewis.
Growing up in Hughes, a small town in the Arkansas Delta, he experienced the challenges of coming from a financially disadvantaged background when he attended the State College of Arkansas (SCA), now the University of Central Arkansas. He learned that every little bit helps students during those years in college.
Derek Lewis II, director of the foundation, attributes the family’s enthusiasm for giving to his father as well as the sense of community, lifelong relationships, and pride found during his own experience at UCA. “Dr. Lewis instilled that in us, all of his children. That where we are is not a right. It is a privilege, and we did not get here by ourselves. One of our sayings is ‘give back to the community that gave to you.’ It’s lifting as you climb but also reaching back to help those behind you. I met my wife, Karen ’96, of 25 years at UCA. I met my best friend at UCA. Two lifelong relationships came out of my experience here. It’s also about pride; pride for the school. I’m very proud of UCA.”
For this family, giving as a worldview continues to be their lasting legacy at UCA. Derek Lewis II said, “I think it’s just part of our family DNA. If you have a student who is excelling, a student with a lot of potential, money shouldn’t be why they can’t attend school. As a community, we need to find those resources and the means to get those to the students.”
Without seeing all the immediate results, Lewis and his family knew giving back had a purpose. Lewis explained, “Somebody gave to me, now I want to go back and give to somebody else so they can go on and make it. That’s the whole spirit of it – to keep giving. And, if we do that, we just keep growing and growing. We put it where it will be used and where people need help. You’re planting seeds, and you never really know the whole impact. You don’t know all the variables, but the result of saying that folks matter is what it’s all about.”