Operation Shoestring’s television advertisement is now up and running. The 30 second piece is comprised of animated crayon drawings made by children in our Project KIDS afterschool program. Additionally, PK Coordinator Demunthra Jefferson lent her pipes for the voiceover. You may recognize the background music by Jackson’s own The Vamps. “Samba 64″ is a composition written by the band’s guitarist Barry Leach. Wes Williams penned the copy for the spot, and Josh Schooler designed the layout. The pair worked on the project as part of the Ramey Agency’s generous gift to Shoestring in the form of donated billable hours. Ramey CEO Chris Ray sits on Shoestring’s Board of Directors.

At the end of December, the commercial ran 10 times on the Hallmark and Family Channels. Presently the ad is in the pro-bono rotations of local affiliates.

Here are two places to see our ad:
Shoestring Website
Vimeo

In continuing with an annual tradition of celebrating Black History Month, Shoestring’s Project KIDS will present “The Making of History and What’s To Come” on Thursday, February 26th at 5:30 in the Ellen Harris Center on Bailey Avenue. The program will include tributes to accomplished African Americans in the fields of athletics, science, and literature, as well as, thoughtful words from a speech choir. Any and all are encouraged to attend these enriching festivities.

During the second week of the year, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, visited the Diocese of Mississippi. Among her stops was Jackson’s Marshall Elementary for a forum on public education. Shoestring’s Executive Director Robert Langford was fortunate enough to have been included in the program.

The following picture from the January 9^th forum ran in the latest issue of The Mississippi Episcopalian. From L – R: Lisa Percy of the William Winter Institute, OS’ Robert Langford. Thanks go to Scott Lenoir for the photo.

The Jackson Free Press recently announced the results of their annual “Best of Jackson” reader’s poll. Shoestring was listed among those with a “Good Showing” in the category of Best Non-Profit Organization. We greatly appreciate those that voted for us, and we hope to move up the charts in the coming years. Thanks very much!