Countless acts of faithful service helped birth what is now known as the Samford University Legacy League, an organization built through camaraderie and charitable hearts. From raising funds to restore a science lab destroyed by fire, gathering books through a “wheelbarrow brigade” to stock the campus library, setting up an emergency hospital to care for nearly 400 Civil War soldiers, to furnishing campus dorms when the college moved to East Lake—this group, largely comprised of members from the community, have been ready to serve when the university and its students needed a helping hand.
Founded as the Howard College Auxiliary in 1925, the organization celebrates a century of service this year. Today, the Legacy League assists Samford students with significant financial need and challenging life circumstances by providing transformational scholarships. These efforts are sustained by hundreds of generous members and friends who donate their time and resources to invest in the students’ futures. Julie Taylor, first lady and Legacy League’s executive director, says the hope is for students to be invited into a community of support—one that seeks to glorify God.
“Legacy League is a ministry. Our hope is that students will come to know the love of Christ through their interactions, and they will not only attend Samford, but succeed here,” Taylor said.
Remembering Their Faithfulness
The work of the women who would become the Howard College Auxiliary dates back to the university’s founding in Marion, Alabama, in 1841. During that time, Alabama was an economically depressed, rural area with few opportunities for young men. Desiring to give their sons a better path forward, women played a crucial role in the development of Howard College from its inception. Taylor said that in the early years, the women, then known as the Ladies Benevolence Society of Marion, worked to help the college in many ways.
“There has always been a culture of responsiveness to the needs of the university,” she said. “This was coupled with attentiveness, engagement, involvement, human impact and making a way for students to flourish.”
Not only did they provide assistance during the war and other emergencies, but in 1902, when the group became the Howard College Cooperative Association, they began raising funds for the school’s endowment and campus equipment. For 20 years, successful projects were carried out by those involved. Then, in 1925, a group of 16 women gathered at the historic Tutwiler Hotel in Birmingham, where they drafted a constitution to establish the foundations they hoped would carry the organization forward for years to come. The group was renamed Samford University Auxiliary in 1965, as Howard College became Samford University.
The organization started its scholarship endowment in 1988, refocusing on students with significant financial need in 2008. Three years later, the organization adopted the name Legacy League—a title fitting for a group committed to replacing the legacies of hardship with ones of hope and bright futures. Today, more than 800 men and women make up the Legacy League, and together, they serve “as a community doing something worth celebrating,” Taylor said.
Making a Joyful Noise
Many students come to Samford with difficult backgrounds, and the Legacy League seeks to serve them—whether the challenges they’ve faced include homelessness, abandonment, death or disability of a parent, inner-city violence, parental substance abuse or the sacrifices of full-time ministry. The Legacy League has responded by awarding more than $2.1 million in scholarships, impacting over 225 students.
In celebration of its centennial anniversary, the Legacy League selected Psalm 100 as its Scripture for the year. “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the Earth! Serve the Lord with gladness.” This posture of gladness continues to motivate the service done by the Legacy League staff, volunteers and even the students.
Harrison Hansard ’20 graduated from Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing with the support of a Legacy League scholarship. Although he loved the idea of attending Samford, difficult circumstances arose early in his life that made it seem impossible. When he received a phone call notifying him of the scholarship, it was within $50 of the amount he needed to attend. Harrison could not have been more grateful.
“Samford becoming a reality is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. Legacy League has changed my life by making this school a possibility for me,” he said.
Sharon Smith, managing director of the Legacy League, said a beautiful aspect of each cohort of students is their commitment to building community with one another. The Legacy League fosters relationships through various ways like monthly fellowship suppers, but the mentorship between older and younger students is an organic outgrowth of the Gospel at work. These students bond with one another. Knowing that despite the challenges of their youth, they are surrounded by people who care for them and are in a place with immense opportunity to blossom academically and spiritually—just like the young men in Marion who were given a way forward over 100 years ago.
Cedric Tooson ’25, a Legacy League scholarship recipient, praised the organization for allowing him to change the entire trajectory of his family. After losing his parents at a young age, he was able to keep his promise to them of graduating from college thanks to the scholarships he received.
“Legacy League has been a blessing to me. It’s like having extra family here on campus,” he said.
This caring community extends to the members of the Legacy League, who have ample opportunities to come alongside one another and be “unseen hands”—a title given to the organization in its early years—creating life-changing opportunities for students. Through providing grocery items, writing birthday cards, hosting dinners for students, and holding several major events annually, members build sweet relationships around the mission of showing Christ’s love to others. This culminates in its members reporting an average of 5,700 hours of service annually.
“There is this encouraging community that you want to be a part of,” Smith said. “We have a front-row seat to God’s redemptive work. He is reimagining challenging circumstances, bringing students to Samford where their lives are truly changed. Many of our students are first-generation college students who are defying the odds and breaking cycles through what they experience here.”
A Future Full of Renewal
The Legacy League’s theme for their 100th anniversary is “Remember. Rejoice. Renew.” One of the ways they are continuing the legacy of faithfulness for students is through the creation of two new funds: Legacy League’s 100th Anniversary Scholarship and Legacy League’s 100th Anniversary Student Care Fund. The latter, in tandem with the Brandon Booker Fund for Legacy League Student Support, will provide resources for students in addition to their generous scholarships, including books, dorm supplies, groceries and assistance with co-curricular programs. Taylor said the Legacy League is “more impactful than ever” thanks to the numerous resources and connections made possible through student care funds. “Our role is to help students to know and access the ways in which our campus is highly equipped to support students,” she said.
The involvement of Legacy League’s members— through service, event attendance and financial contributions—collectively impact the lives of these students who have faced significant challenges. And the Samford community, whether members or not, is encouraged to attend one of the three major fundraising events the Legacy League hosts throughout the year: the Christmas Home Tour, the Scholarship Luncheon and the Scholarship Celebration.
“I think of the families, the future students, their future families, their colleagues, their communities and their churches. The way the impact of coming to Samford can grow exponentially is exciting to me,” Taylor said. “My hope is this centennial year inspires us all to remember the past, rejoice in the present and renew our dedication to a future filled with promise.
This story was first published in the fall 2025 issue of Samford Magazine. You can read the issue online.
