The Mark and Isaac Friday Memorial Foundation
About Us
Unfortunately, in February 2020, tragedy struck our family again. Just 6 days after his 18th birthday, my son Isaac took his own life. Everyone who knew and loved Isaac was devastated and in disbelief. I could not believe that my seemingly happy, funny, intelligent, easy going child had taken his own life. I thought if this could happen to my child, it could happen to anyone.
Following Isaac’s death, I tried to educate myself about suicide and was shocked to find that 48,344 people died in the United States from suicide in 2020 and suicide is the second leading cause of death for males between the ages of 15-34. After Isaac’s death, the foundation had two purposes…to continue to fund college scholarships in memory of Mark and to promote suicide awareness in memory of Isaac. At that time, the name of the foundation was changed to the Mark and Isaac Friday Memorial Foundation.
To date, the Mark and Isaac Friday Memorial Foundation has raised $48,000.
Suicide Prevention
The Mark and Isaac Friday Memorial Foundation is working to promote suicide awareness by providing financial support for local high schools to start the Sources of Strength program to promote suicide awareness. This program is a national program and you can read more about it at their website.. sourcesofstrength.org. This fall we will be helping to get the program started at North Mecklenburg High school where Isaac attended. We hope to help start the program at other high schools in the future.
2022 Tournament Update
The most recent Mark and Isaac Friday Memorial tennis tournament was a huge success! Despite some less than favorable weather, this tournament was one of our best ever due to the generosity of our sponsors, the commitment of the community, and of course all of our participants who came out despite the rain! The foundation would like to thank everyone who supported us and helped make this truly special day possible. We look forward to continuing to serve our community in 2023 and beyond! Please continue to check the webpage for updates on the foundation, future events, and scholarship opportunities. Here’s to a wonderful 2023!
Our Annual Tennis Tournament
In early 2016, we lost a great friend, Mark Friday. We have honored Mark’s memory each year with a tennis tournament which has been very successful thanks to all of you.
Scholarship Information
The Mark and Isaac Friday Memorial Foundation funds a renewable scholarship for a local college-bound student.
Past Scholarship Recipients
Learn more about our past scholarship recipients.
Our 2024 Scholarship information
The Mark Friday Memorial Scholarship was established in 2017 in memory of Mark Friday by his family, friends and USTA tennis teammates. In each of the Foundation’s first five years, one new $1,000 scholarship was awarded, and each expiring scholarship has been renewed. It is the Foundation’s expectation that a recipient’s $1,000 scholarship will be renewed for four years as long as scholarship recipients maintain an acceptable GPA and are making progress toward a degree.
2023 Scholarship Recipient – Elleigh Williams