Nicole Jones, former Shoestring Parent, serves as first-ever Parent Fellow

Meet Nicole Jones! She has a Bachelor’s in education and a Master’s in social work from Jackson State University and will be working as our first-ever parent fellow.  Nicole’s son attended our afterschool and summer program, Project Rise, for many years and he is now a freshman at Murrah High School. 

In her role as a Parent Fellow, Nicole works closely with our Parent Coordinator to help connect families with resources and our support workshops. “We provide parents with fresh fruits and vegetables, kitchen supplies so they can cook healthy meals for their families, and household products,” says Nicole. Our current program offerings for families include healthy eating classes, exercise classes, financial literacy courses, and different mental health support offerings. Nicole explained that Shoestring offers Destress Nights, where “the parents can come relax and enjoy games, dinner, bowling, and karaoke.” She also explained our parent cafe meeting model, as one where “parents learn and discuss current topics such as mental health in teens and adults.” Nicole and our whole programming team create workshops around what parents say they want and are interested in, and Nicole says that “we create a partnership with the parents of Shoestring. We embrace the whole person in their journey. We support growth and aspirations while building skills that provide real-world value.”

This summer, she’s working on celebrating parent birthdays and providing education about health issues related to heat like dehydration and heat stroke. She says she is “a family-oriented person, and looks forward to connecting with the families at Shoestring.”