HIGH POINT, N.C., March 7, 2019 – David Hayworth, a longtime friend and supporter of High Point University, has donated $500,000 through two family foundations for the renovation of the Charles E. Hayworth Sr. Memorial Chapel on campus.
The chapel will receive a full remodeling with upgrades and enhancements to flooring, seating, painting, lighting and audio-visual improvements. The work will begin in May and is expected to be completed in September.
“For nearly 50 years, Hayworth Chapel has been a symbol of the spirit of caring and giving on the High Point University campus,” said Rev. Preston Davis, minister to the university. “We are so thankful for David Hayworth’s support and vision for the future. With these plans to update and enhance the beauty and functionality of the space, we are confident that the chapel will be a place of even greater inspiration for our students for years to come.”
“The growth that has taken place at High Point University and what it means for the students and the community is remarkable,” said David Hayworth. “The chapel is the heart and soul of the university. It’s a place I love, and it is a pleasure to be a part of preparing it for many more years of service.”
The Chapel holds weekly worship services on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. that are open to the community. The services are led by Davis with students officiating. The Chapel also hosts community events throughout the year, including the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Worship Service and Lessons and Carols Candlelight Service.
A lifelong resident of High Point, Hayworth is the son of the late Charles Emerson Hayworth Sr., one of several business leaders who helped found High Point University in 1924. David Hayworth and his brother, Charles Hayworth Jr., led Hayworth Furniture Industries, once the city’s largest employer.
The chapel was built in 1972 thanks to the support of Charles Hayworth Jr. in memory of their father. David R. Hayworth Hall, adjacent to the chapel, was built in 1998 with a gift from David Hayworth and added 12,500 square feet of offices, classrooms, restrooms and lounge space for the campus.
David Hayworth made a gift in 1999 to add to the chapel a vestibule, a Palladian window, a Georgian porch and a 95-foot steeple. The steeple has a combination French and Celtic cross made of stainless steel weighing 49 pounds that was donated by the builder, Pete Howard, a former blacksmith.
In 1993, David Hayworth committed to leave his residence on Rockford Road in High Point to the university.
In 2007, David Hayworth and his family foundations pledged the single largest gift in the history of the university. The David R. Hayworth College of Arts and Sciences and David R. Hayworth Park on the HPU campus were named in recognition of his generosity to the university and the community.
The Hayworth family’s investment in the university is more than $25 million.
David Hayworth is an active philanthropist in High Point and across the state, having contributed generously to dozens of organizations that benefit children and the health and wellbeing of the community. He has been a member of the university’s Board of Trustees since 1992 and has served on the boards of many other nonprofits and institutions. He has been honored by The Herculean Society and has received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the Chairman’s Award from the United Way of Greater High Point, and the Philanthropist of the Year Award from the High Point Community Foundation.
“David Hayworth is a community benefactor extraordinaire whose generosity has played an important role in High Point University’s transformation,” said Dr. Nido Qubein, HPU president. “We are blessed to have him as a friend. His giving spirit serves as an inspiration to us and our students.”