On Wednesday June 25, Shoestring’s Ellen Harris Center received a morning visit from the St. Dominic’s Care-A-Van. The converted RV travels throughout the area providing free health screenings to those that need them. The children were patient and mostly all-smiles while testing their throats, ears, and eyes. Thanks very much to St. Dominic’s, Sonya Walker, and her friendly cohorts for serving the children of Project KIDS.

>>>For more pictures, click here: St. Dominic’s Care-A-Van Photos

While this week marks strawberries and cream at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, last week marked the cream of Project KIDS on the blue top. For the summer’s second installment of partnered auxiliary camps, St. Andrew’s hosted Operation RacquetStrings. The opportunity provided the children fun in the sun while they negotiated the net. Suffice it to say, Operation RacquetStrings was a smash.

>>>For more pictures, click here: Operation RacquetStrings Photos

June 2^nd marked the official start of Operation Shoestring’s Summer 2008. Our flagship Project KIDS Summer Program, providing a full day of fun and enriching activities along with breakfast and lunch, runs through July 11^th. Additionally, the older children can participate in the specialized camps also being held. For the next five weeks, representatives from the USA International Ballet Competition are offering lessons in their graceful art here at the Ellen Harris Center. At the end of this month, those who participate in the Girl Scouts have a week’s worth of activities planned. And continuing with their run in recent years, St. Andrew’s high schoolers are presenting a series of weeklong adventures, as well. Operation RaquetStrings hits the court this week. It will be followed by the creative endeavors of Operation ArtStrings and the equestrian lessons of Operation HorseShoes. And it all kicked off last week on the hardwood with Operaton HoopStrings. This looks to be an excellent summer for learning and leaping!

For more pictures, click here: Operation HoopStrings Photos

For the past few years, Millsaps College’s Campus Ministry Team has offered the Millsaps Challenge to incoming freshmen. Chaplain the Rev. Lisa Garvin explains that the newcomers learn about the campus, the city, and each other long before their first classes begin. For the week, the rising frosh stay on campus at night while rotating among several service organizations during the day. Beginning this week, both sessions of this year’s Challenge will include Shoestring as part of its lineup. The pairing with Millsaps follows a traditional connection tracing back literally to Shoestring’s beginnings. Most recently it’s included individual piano lessons from music majors and an afternoon of volunteering from student group Project Midtown.

Although the most visible beneficiaries of Operation Shoestring are children, programs are also offered to all ages in the neighborhood. On Saturday May 31, Shoestring offered a morning of enrichment for area parents. Dr. Rodney Washington chairs the Department of Elementary Education at Jackson State. That day he led a multimedia forum titled “Stop, Look, Listen: What is Your Child’s Behavior Telling You?” In addition to offering tips and insight to constructive and symbiotic parenting methods, Dr. Washington fielded questions throughout the presentation.

MINACT is a Jackson-based company that runs job training centers in addition to offering auxiliary administrative services to clients such as U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps program. On May 23, representatives from MINACT stopped by the Ellen Harris Center to deliver a gracious donation to Operation Shoestring.

Pictured Left to Right: [front] Marcus Thompson and Justus Gooch [middle] Porschea James, Aireanna Jones, Jonas James, Adriana Cooper, Ahanti Brooks [back] Shoestring Deputy Dir. Dr. Martha Alexander, Jaylyn McElroy, Jessica Johnson, MINACT Exec. Dir. Of Ethics Courtney Brisby, MINACT Dir. Of Communications Shameka Reed, and Shoestring Exec. Dir. Robert Langford.

After Rowan Middle School’s graduation ceremony on May 22^nd, two Project KIDS alums dropped by the Ellen Harris Center. DaJuan Carter [left] wears his two medals for basketball and Challenge Bowl, as well as his pin for attendance. He’s also holding his certificate for participation. Darius Woods [right] wears medals for football, band, and Challenge Bowl, in addition to pins for the highest averages in Read 180 and Pre-Algebra. In his hand is a trophy for placing in the top 10 of the 8^th grade class. But this pair of cousins is also special in that they represent their family’s second generation with Operation Shoestring. Vickie Carter is not only the mother of Darrius and aunt of DaJuan, but also a former staffer. And current Administrative Assistant, Naomi Jones, is also the boys’ aunt. Both Vickie and Naomi attended Operation Shoestring as children. Congratulations guys!