{"id":22164,"date":"2013-06-27T13:29:57","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T17:29:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=22164"},"modified":"2022-09-26T11:03:21","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T15:03:21","slug":"letter-of-thanks-inspires-donor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2013\/06\/27\/letter-of-thanks-inspires-donor\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter of thanks inspires arts program supporter"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jim<\/a>

Jim McCoy (left) was inspired to increase his support for a Wright State art scholarship after receiving a thank you letter from James Kidd, who recently graduated.<\/p><\/div>\n

A simple but moving letter of thanks inspired one Wright State University donor to increase his support for the university\u2019s art program.<\/p>\n

Jim McCoy provides financial support to an outstanding Wright State art student each year through the Joan W. McCoy Memorial Art Award. He recently decided to double the amount of the scholarship after receiving a thank you letter from recipient James Kidd. The letter brought tears to McCoy\u2019s eyes\u2014and still does when he reads it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe encouraged me to do it and he didn\u2019t even know it,\u201d McCoy said of Kidd.<\/p>\n

The letter also helped McCoy to better understand how important it is to support Wright State students. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize how much it meant,\u201d McCoy said.<\/p>\n

Kidd wrote the letter after meeting McCoy for the first time over lunch. McCoy said he was impressed with Kidd and was moved by the tone of his words.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor him to take the time to write a thank you letter of that nature was admirable,\u201d McCoy said. \u201cI think artists have a difficult time evolving and making a living, and here he was trying to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kidd worked as an ecologist after receiving a degree in environmental studies from Evergreen State University in Washington State. He then was a stay-at-home dad for nine years. After he and his wife divorced, he enrolled at Wright State to study art. He raised his three children while pursuing his degree.<\/p>\n

While he hopes to find success as an artist, he is more interested in being accessible to his children and being happy.<\/p>\n

McCoy started funding an annual award to a Wright State art student about seven years ago. He has pledged to continue providing funds for at least the next five years and is considering including the scholarship in his will.<\/p>\n

\u201cPowerful connections between a donor and recipient can help make their philanthropy real,\u201d said Kristin Sobolik, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. \u201cWhether it\u2019s $500 or $500,000, donors can change somebody\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kidd, who graduated in April 2013 with a B.F.A. and a concentration in sculpture, said McCoy\u2019s generosity and support not only helped him financially, but also motivated him as a student and artist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to repay him through my hard work,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to let him down.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCoy established the Joan W. McCoy Memorial Art Award in honor of his wife of 48 years, who died in 2003. Through the award, he supports various artists, art instructors and arts organizations.<\/p>\n

An award-winning painter and potter, Joan taught art at Wayne High School for 30 years, and served as first docent at the Dayton Art Institute for six years. She received an M.A. in education from Wright State in 1977.<\/p>\n

Jim McCoy, who is now retired, worked for a number of businesses in sales and management and started two companies. He started painting during an art vacation he and Joan took in Spain near the end of her life. Because he didn\u2019t want to be stuck inside their hotel room while Joan was out painting with the other artists on the trip, he picked up a brush for the first time in his life.<\/p>\n

After Joan died, McCoy went on a three-month camping and painting trip out West. During the trip he was inspired to celebrate her memory by establishing the art award.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer influence on me is so great,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will benefit artists and their instructors for some time to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the McCoy award, Kidd received an ArtsGala scholarship and was recognized by the College of Liberal Arts as the 2013 Outstanding Senior in Art and Art History.<\/p>\n

During the Spring Semester, he served as a Yeck College Artist Fellow at the Dayton Art Institute (DAI), where he mentored high school students. He has three pieces on display at the DAI this summer and has exhibited at the Dayton Visual Arts Center and in Wright State\u2019s Senior Thesis Exhibition.<\/p>\n

Combining his interest in environmental issues, his sculptures often incorporate wood and other natural elements with concrete and found objects. He continues to build his body of work in his home studio in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and is setting up studio space in Dayton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A simple but moving letter of thanks inspired one Wright State donor to increase his support for the university\u2019s art program. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":22462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2037,4859,2040,725,747,715,719],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-scene","category-fine-and-performing-arts","category-giving","category-home-news-sidebar","category-liberal-arts","category-news","category-special-categories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22164"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129591,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22164\/revisions\/129591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}