FDC Foundation

The FDC Foundation is an Illinois 501 ©3 charitable foundation dedicated to supporting worthy charities in the areas of health care and alternative therapies, housing, and education. Part of the Foundation’s mission in the education domain is to support worthy college students either attending community colleges or transferring from community colleges to four-year institutions.

The scholarship is named for Frank D. Cluck, Sr. As a very young man, Frank D. Cluck left southern Illinois to earn a living and raise a family. He worked in a foundry and then as a journeyman machinist, always working with metals in high precision applications. After nearly 25 years of work and an Associate of Science degree from Thornton Community College (earned outside his regular 60 hour work-weeks), he decided to return to southern Illinois and attend S.LU., where he earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in vocational education. Mr. Cluck taught for a period of time at Carterville High School before leaving teaching to join his wife, Dorothy, in running their still-famous Italian Restaurant, Mama C’s Pizza Inn, in downtown Carterville.

Throughout his life, “Papa C,” as he came to be called, naturally attracted and willingly helped young boys to become fine men. Whether in a classroom, a pool hall, or even while working at the restaurant, Frank Cluck could always find the time to mentor, guide, befriend — and even serve as a substitute father — for many who will never forget him.