Announcement of $500,000 Gift From Philanthropists Melissa Layton and Emily Wright
OREM, Utah – Utah Valley University (UVU) welcomed community partners, donors, alumni, and campus leaders to the annual CARE About Families Luncheon, held at the Young Living Alumni Center on March 18, 2026. Attendees gathered for a program focused on strengthening student stability and advancing the mission of the UVU CARE Hub, which connects students to essential resources, including food, housing, health, safety, and emergency support.
It was also announced that Melissa Layton and Emily Wright, philanthropists and champions of the UVU CARE Hub, donated $500,000 toward the hub’s expansion. In total, the event raised in excess of $35,600.
“As we learned about the CARE Hub and how it kept students in classes that have come up against difficulties as small as needing gas for the week or as big as needing a place to live, it just hit home that this is a need that we could help with,” Layton said. “This is the place, these are the students, this program is amazing, and I knew that this was something that we really did want to be involved in.”
Amber McGuire, director of the CARE Hub and the UVU Wee Care Center, welcomed guests and highlighted the university’s commitment to ensuring students can thrive academically by meeting their basic needs. Michelle Kearns, vice president of Student Affairs, also delivered remarks detailing the increasingly complex challenges facing UVU students, many of whom balance work, parenting, and financial stress while pursuing their education.
“For many of our students, the difference between staying enrolled and stepping away isn’t grades; it’s groceries,” Kearns said. “It’s child care. It’s a safe place to sleep. It’s knowing someone will help when life becomes overwhelming.”
Kearns emphasized that the CARE Hub has become a cornerstone of UVU’s access-driven mission, providing support that directly influences student retention and graduation. She outlined urgent plans to expand the CARE Hub’s physical space, noting increased demand for food access, private consultation areas, and resource navigation services.
Barney Nye, associate vice president of Access and Outreach,spoke about the CARE Hub as “infrastructure for success,” emphasizing its ability to intervene quickly and meaningfully when UVU students face financial or personal crises. Nye urged community partners to support key expansion needs, including refrigeration capacity, private intake rooms, and emergency assistance funds.
“Help at the right moment doesn’t just ease stress, it restores the bandwidth a student needs to focus, study, and persist,” Nye said. “That simple shift — from survival mode to learning mode — has a ripple effect you can feel all the way to graduation day.”
To support the CARE Hub’s expansion and help UVU students overcome basic‑needs barriers, donors and community members are invited to contribute. Your generosity ensures UVU students have access to food, housing support, emergency resources, and the stability they need to persist and graduate. Learn more about how you can help, and to make a gift, please visit this link.
About Utah Valley University
Utah Valley University believes in the power and potential of every student. Our work is guided by a commitment to exceptional care, exceptional accountability, and exceptional results. We provide a high-quality education that is both affordable and accessible. From certificates to master’s degrees, UVU offers flexible, relevant programs grounded in hands-on learning and real-world experiences, ensuring that students graduate with career-ready skills and are ready to receive a strong return on investment. As an open-enrollment university, we invite students to come as they are, and they leave prepared to make an immediate impact in their careers and communities.
