S. Delois Mayes Scholarship Foundation

The S. Delois Mayes Scholarship Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) public charity committed to helping deserving students in our community reach their educational goals. Our primary goal is to ensure that the future leaders in our community are not deprived of a higher education because of financial constraints. We award scholarships to high school seniors in Suffolk, Virginia, who seek to continue their education.

The Foundation was established in 2013 as a memorial to Shontoyia (“Toyia”) Delois Mayes, an extraordinary young woman who lost her life in a car accident in 2002. Toyia moved to Virginia in 1997 from Los Angeles, California, to attend college at Old Dominion University. Despite numerous obstacles, Toyia graduated from Old Dominion University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 2000. 

Education was extremely important to Toyia and she pursued it vigorously in an effort to position herself to assist others. Her dream was to write a book as a platform to reach out to teenagers and young adults who may have faced obstacles similar to those she faced and to encourage them to persevere and pursue their education. These same ideals shape the mission of the S. Delois Mayes Scholarship Foundation. The Foundation’s goal is to annually grant scholarship awards to seniors from the three public high schools in Suffolk.