Cookes named Philanthropists of the Year for South Carolina

David and Carole Cooke are LSC’s Philanthropists of the Year for South Carolina.

“We are honored and surprised by this award,” David Cooke said. “I think LSC has a great story to tell with its wide and diverse set of programs. So, we just like to give to it.”

The couple live in Greenville, South Carolina and have been married for 54 years. They met while serving in the United States Airforce in Vietnam.

“We were in Military Airlift Command. It was loading passengers and cargo, and fleet service on the military and commercial aircraft. We were part of the 10,000-mile line to Vietnam and transferred passengers to Europe.”

They were first introduced to LSC during its Love One Another campaign which raised over $1.2 million in gifts to enhance and expand child and family programs in South Carolina.

David Cooke was selected as co-chair of that campaign for his church, St. Michael Lutheran Church, which gave him the opportunity to learn more about the organization.

“It was a good educational process for us. As we got more involved, we saw what truly good works LSC does here in the Carolinas,” David Cooke said. “It resonated with the congregation.”

The church set a goal to raise $10,000 for the campaign but exceeded that and raised more than $30,000.

“It kind of took on a life of its own,” David Cooke said. “We had a three-year commitment for the pledge, and then continued to donate as we became more acquainted with LSC.”