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October 10, 1969

Mr. David Brinkley
50 Sutton Place
New York, New York

Dear Mr. Brinkley:

As a member of the National Development Committee for the Mary Holmes College Fund Development Campaign, I am writing to enlist your participation.

Until June, 1969 Mary Holmes College functioned as a Junior College in West Point, Mississippi. Beginning with the fall term its students, who come from rural backgrounds, enlisted into a third year program which represented the first step towards becoming a four-year institution. The college has traditionally maintained active programs that serve to provide educational experiences for its students while simultaneously developing programs that serve the residents of the state of Mississippi.

As one of the member colleges of the National Board of Missions of the United Presbyterian Church, Mary Holmes has functioned without the benefit of its own Board of Trustees. Also, it has functioned without the benefit of its own independent base for funding. Nevertheless, the college established a strucutre in 1965 which led to its present role as sponsor to ten Headstart centers that are located throughout the state of Mississippi, an adult literacy program in one of the poorest counties in the nation, the establishment of a catfish farming cooperative program and several day care and tutorial programs in West Point, Mississippi.