LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (June 26, 2025)—The Methodist Foundation for Arkansas (MFA) last week presented a $30,000 grant to Lydia Patterson Institute (LPI) of El Paso, Texas, and challenged United Methodists in Arkansas to match or exceed that amount of giving to MFA’s LPI Fund, which will be transferred to LPI for student support.
MFA President and CEO the Rev. J. Wayne Clark presented the check on Friday, June 20, to LPI President Dr. Carla Cardoza, at the conclusion of the Foundation’s report to the Arkansas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
“The Foundation believes so strongly in the mission of Lydia Patterson Institute,” said Clark. “It was a joy to be able to announce this grant as a surprise at Annual Conference, and to personally present the check to Dr. Cardoza. Arkansas has a long history of connection with La Lydia, and we hope this challenge grant will reinvigorate the relationships and support we offer to our friends in the Borderplex area.”
Affectionately known as “La Lydia” to students, alumni, staff, and supporters, LPI is a United Methodist-related college preparatory school situated just blocks from the border crossing that connects El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico. Many of the 6th- through 12th-grade students who attend the school live in Juarez, and therefore must have student visas to cross the international border each day. Recent changes by the U.S. Department of State have created a more challenging visa process, and La Lydia has vowed to rally the resources needed to educate students regardless of what logistical hurdles may be present in the coming school year.
“The needs are plentiful—and we don’t have much time. School begins in just a few short weeks,” said Cardoza. “On top of this urgent new challenge, we must still provide scholarships, cover teacher salaries, maintain technology, and care for our aging campus. Our mission remains clear: every student deserves access to a quality, faith-filled education—no matter where they are.”
Clark noted that leaders from the Methodist foundations in the eight-state jurisdiction that supports Lydia Patterson Institute gathered there for a meeting in the fall of 2024. Their experience prompted a collective desire to find more ways to offer support for this school that has educated young people for more than a century.
“We can accomplish so much more together than individually,” Clark said. “Lydia Patterson Institute changes lives every single day, and our giving makes us a part of that mission.”
About the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas
With a mission to establish and manage charitable funds to strengthen and expand Methodist ministries across Arkansas, the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas manages over $220 million in endowment funds and other charitable assets that benefit local churches and other United Methodist ministries. Founded in 1963, the Foundation has grown into one of the largest United Methodist foundations in the country, managing more than 800 funds that support Methodist ministries. To learn more, visit methodistfoundationAR.org.
