The MacMurray Foundation & Alumni Association has awarded a 2026 community grant to the Jacksonville Area Fellowship of Christian Athletes, helping support the organization’s annual college mission trip and its commitment to community service and leadership development.
Led by Todd Sweatman, the Jacksonville Area FCA has taken college students on an annual mission trip to the Gulf Coast for approximately 12 years. What began in 2015 with six students has grown to 44 college students participating in this year’s trip.
The grant helped cover general expenses associated with the trip, allowing students to participate in a variety of service projects in Alabama.
Students worked with several community organizations, including the Exceptional Foundation in Gulf Shores, which serves adults with disabilities; area schools where FCA conducted sports camps; and Ruth Lake Farm, a Panhandle safe house serving people who have been removed from human trafficking situations. Students assisted with projects including painting, building fences and maintaining housing.
“The MacMurray Foundation & Alumni Association was pleased to support the 2026 Fellowship of Christian Athletes Mission Trip because it aligns with one of MacMurray College’s core values: service,” said Jane Nickerson, chair of the MFAA community grants committee. “The young people on this trip were committed to helping others through a variety of community service projects.”
Nickerson added that the experience also provides students with opportunities to develop and demonstrate leadership while learning the value of serving others.
For Sweatman, the grant represents a continuation of a program with a direct connection to MacMurray College. Sweatman served as MacMurray’s chaplain from 2015 to 2020, and the mission trip began during his time at the college.
“When I saw this pop up in one of the mailings or one of the emails, I thought this would be perfect,” Sweatman said. “The mission trip started at MacMurray College and this has been a way to sort of continue it as part of that legacy.”
Sweatman said the trip has developed lasting relationships with the organizations it serves. Some of the partnerships are now in their third or fourth year, creating connections between the students and the people and organizations they return to serve.
“The people that work there remember us and it’s sort of a reunion when we arrive,” Sweatman said. “So it’s been a great experience for the kids.”
The growth of the mission trip has also provided increasing opportunities for students to develop as leaders. Sweatman said students who participate have returned to their campuses to take on leadership roles, while graduates have carried the lessons of community service into their professional and community lives.
The financial support provided by the MFAA and other organizations also helps make the trip accessible to students who might otherwise be unable to participate.
“We try to make this an affordable trip for our students,” Sweatman said. “We don’t want money to keep any student from having this experience.”
Sweatman said the MFAA grant is another example of how the Foundation continues aspects of MacMurray College’s legacy after the college ceased operations in 2020.
He also pointed to the Foundation’s scholarship program, including scholarships benefiting descendants of MacMurray graduates, as another way the organization continues to extend the college’s influence into the future.
“The Foundation is definitely keeping that legacy alive for MacMurray College,” Sweatman said.
The MFAA Grants Program provides funding to nonprofit organizations and educational groups whose work reflects the values and legacy of MacMurray College and contributes to communities served by those organizations.
