It's that time again... time for the 2nd Annual Operation
Shoestring Holiday Benefit Concert at Hal & Mal's!
This year's show on December 2nd features Bobby
Rush and Alvin Youngblood Hart, Jimbo Mathus and the
Knockdown Society, Cary Hudson, plus ten more of
Mississippi's finest musical artists. If it's anything like
last year's show, this promises to be one of the most fun
and exciting musical events of the year, and it's all for
a great cause!
As
Operation Shoestring enters its 36th year of serving the Bailey
Avenue community and greater Jackson, we thought that now
would be a good time to talk about the challenges that have
faced Shoestring in the past, how we have tried to meet those
challenges, and what we see on the horizon. Though times may
change, the needs of today's children are no less urgent than
they were in 1968. Still, shifts in the political and economic
climate make it crucial for us to keep our eyes on the metaphorical
ball.
With
that in mind, newsletter editor Scott Johnson sat down for
a candid, lengthy discussion with four key Shoestring figures:
executive director Robert Langford, deputy director Dr. Ivy
Lovelady, Board member Brad Chism, and Family Development
program director Ada Robinson.
The
kids at Operation Shoestring got to celebrate the scary side
of life on October 21st at our annual Pumpkin Party. With
special guests like Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillan
watching the fun, our students decorated dozens of pumpkins
in their finest Halloween finery. Afterward, teacher Donna
Stewart read to the students, while our third-grade class
entertained their guests with a special song-and-dance routine
to make everyone smile. A real "Monster Mash, indeed!"
To
see some more pictures from the big day, click
here.
Operation
Shoestring
was founded in 1968 in a neighborhood church on Bailey Avenue
in inner-city Jackson (just south of what is now the Jackson
Medical Mall) in response to community needs. In the nearly
thirty-six years since then, Shoestring has strived to serve
as a ministry of empowerment for neighborhood residents and
a rallying point for reconciliation in the larger community.
Currently, most of our efforts are aimed at educating children
and families and providing some crisis intervention services.
As
Operation Shoestring enters its 36th year of serving the Bailey
Avenue community and greater Jackson, we thought that now
would be a good time to talk about the challenges that have
faced Shoestring in the past, how we have tried to meet those
challenges, and what we see on the horizon. Though times may
change, the needs of today's children are no less urgent than
they were in 1968. Still, shifts in the political and economic
climate make it crucial for us to keep our eyes on the metaphorical
ball.
The
kids at Operation Shoestring got to celebrate the scary side
of life on October 21st at our annual Pumpkin Party. With
special guests like Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillan
watching the fun, our students decorated dozens of pumpkins
in their finest Halloween finery. Afterward, teacher Donna
Stewart read to the students, while our third-grade class
entertained their guests with a special song-and-dance routine
to make everyone smile. A real "Monster Mash, indeed!"