Sonoco gifts $25,000 to Coker College
Coker College, soon to be Coker University, received a gift of $25,000 from Sonoco Products Co. in honor of Louise and Harris DeLoach.
DeLoach is retiring as director and executive chairman of Sonoco this month, after a 33-year career in senior management and service with Sonoco, one of the world’s largest diversified global packaging companies.
“Louise and Harris, along with Sonoco, have been tremendous advocates for Coker’s educational mission,” said Robert Wyatt, president of Coker College.
“We are fortunate to have people and organizations in our backyard that genuinely value education and the wellbeing of our community.”
The DeLoaches have long been champions of education in Hartsville and surrounding areas, from higher education to elementary school education. DeLoach, along with support from Sonoco, established the TEACH Foundation, which administers grants that fund the PULSE initiative.
Started in 2011, the PULSE initiative supplements the academic learning and personal development of Hartsville schoolchildren.
PULSE partners include the Darlington County School District, Coker College, the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics and Sonoco.
“Our desire is to help schools impart academic excellence on our students as they become the workforce of the future,” said DeLoach.
“It is absolutely critical to the success of this country and our company that every child, regardless of economic status, leaves the public school system with the skills needed to succeed in the workplace.”
DeLoach has had a tremendous impact on Coker College, including serving on its board of trustees from 1976-80, receiving the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award in 1985, and an Honorary Doctor of Law degree in 2001.
He co-chaired Coker’s Gateway to the New Century Campaign, which included building the Charles W. and Joan S. Coker Library-Information Technology Center, renovating key campus buildings, funding academic programs, faculty development and student scholarships.
The DeLoaches spearheaded fundraising efforts to build Coker’s main athletic complex, the Harris E. and Louise H. DeLoach Center, which opened in 2014.
The building serves as a home to Coker’s growing NCAA Division II athletic programs, as well as the campus fitness center, classroom space, and a gathering place for community events.
