The Jamie Cordial Hall Foundation, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, has committed $50,000 to create an endowed program for Penn State Altoona’s Health and Wellness Center. Dale and Michele Cordial created the foundation to honor their late daughter and former Penn State Altoona student Jamie Cordial Hall. The Jamie Cordial Hall Kindness Program supports the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) on campus and will aid students in need of mental health services, particularly grief counseling. The endowment will also help students in need of medical treatment who are unable to pay for services.
ALTOONA, Pa. — The Jamie Cordial Hall Foundation, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, has committed $50,000 to create an endowed program for Penn State Altoona’s Health and Wellness Center. Dale and Michele Cordial created the foundation to honor their late daughter and former Penn State Altoona student, Jamie Cordial Hall.
The Jamie Cordial Hall Kindness Program supports Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) on campus and will aid students in need of mental health services, particularly grief counseling. The endowment also will help students in need of medical treatment who are unable to pay for services.
Jamie Cordial Hall attended Penn State Altoona from 1997 to 1999 and graduated from Penn State's University Park campus in 2002 with a business management degree and a minor in marketing from the Smeal College of Business. She worked for the PT Group as a purchasing coordinator, and after earning an associate degree in nail artistry, went on to launch her own hair salon.
Jamie attended Penn State Altoona from 1997 to 1999 and graduated from Penn State's University Park campus in 2002 with a business management degree and a minor in marketing from the Smeal College of Business. She worked for the PT Group as a purchasing coordinator, and after earning an associate degree in nail artistry, went on to launch her own hair salon.
Jamie married Tom Hall in 2010. Their daughter, Chloe, was born in 2014 and their son, Cody, in 2018. Jamie passed away May 15, 2018, from postpartum hemorrhage five weeks after giving birth to Cody.
Her family established The Jamie Cordial Hall Foundation in her memory. The foundation assists those in need through its various programs, with a focus on children grieving the loss of a parent or significant loved one.
It is through the foundation that the Jamie Cordial Hall Kindness Program Endowment at Penn State Altoona was created.
“Through our tragedy, we have seen the devastation that grief and other mental health issues can cause in children and young adults,” said Jamie’s father, Dale. “We have continued to grow Jamie’s team and work on showing people the way she lived her life of kindness.”
In addition to providing counseling for students, this endowment will help cover any medical needs after a traumatic loss. It will also be used to enhance some of the college’s existing mental health programs such as de-stress and relaxation rooms. Future endeavors include creating programming to combat loneliness and social anxiety. Health and Wellness Center staff said this endowment is a significant boost for Penn State Altoona CAPS.
“We are incredibly grateful to the Jamie Cordial Hall Foundation for creating such a meaningful and impactful endowment for our students,” said Penn State Altoona Chancellor Ron Darbeau. “Through conversations I have had with her family, I feel as though I know the person Jamie was. Both Dale and Michele are doing a phenomenal job of memorializing the grace and compassion that Jamie shared with all who knew her.”
“I come into contact with beautiful kids who have lost their mother to childbirth or father to tragedy,” said Dale. “It rips my heart out as I work with them through the foundation to try and help them manage their grief or assist them financially. But it helps me heal because I can see Jamie in the process.”
Donors like Dale and Michele Cordial advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.
