We All Rise Together!

For over a half century, Operation Shoestring has created safe places for children and families here in Jackson. Our work takes many forms but is at its heart about investing directly in our city through supporting student success, providing family-centered programming, and cultivating community both in and out of our core neighborhoods. We envision buildings as places where people can connect, and our programs as a space where kids can dream, create, and access their full potential. As we look towards our goals for the next five years and beyond, our programming may take some new forms, but the core mission remains the same: supporting the children, families and neighborhoods of central Jackson.

As Shoestring parent Cwenta says, “Operation Shoestring helped my daughter Ania come out of her shell. Before starting Shoestring, she used to be very quiet, keep to herself, and rarely talk. It really helped her socialize and make friends.” Ania is now in fifth grade, and her mom credits the staff here at Shoestring and the intensive, individualized support they provide for her daughter’s new self-assurance and newfound passion for art. “Ania loves to create art and make crafts,” says Cwenta. She says Ania’s afterschool teachers have been the direct cause of that, due to her daughter being able to sculpt, bake, and tinker with robotics kits in their all afterschool day long. 

With parents and schools as partners, our work has shown that students like Ania and her peers can grow not only socially, but  also academically when provided quality resources and opportunities that align with the belief that every student is worth the investment. For example, 4th grade students enrolled in OS’s program at Walton outperformed the state average on the math proficiency exam, and on average were significantly closer to the state average on other MAAP exams for proficiency as compared to their non-attending peers and the entire district. Additionally, Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten students who attended our program showed significant growth on their Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, which predicts students’ academic readiness to begin reading. These types of hard-won wins are starting to bridge the gap between opportunity and equity for students in our program, and help make life better for all residents in our city. 

By attending our afterschool and summer programs, kids gain exposure and access to a host of enrichments like arts, coding, and gardening and gain confidence in themselves and their abilities. Cwenta says that Ania is an avid fan of STEM and reading, and looks forward to learning more about those topics in our summer program as a rising sixth grader. Cwenta also looks forward to the chance to keep attending our family workshops, and says that she enjoys attending our informational sessions and events designed to connect parents with other families in our program like our Bingo and family movie nights. She said the financial literacy classes we offered in the past fall in partnership with Trustmark Bank and Operation Hope were helpful for her, and she also relished the opportunity to just “hang out” with other parents in our program through our parent gatherings. 

Our aim is not only to position children for success but to position families to drive the change they want to see in their communities. Like many communities across the country, Jackson is at a tipping point of opportunity that can be positively influenced by the collective power of its residents, business leaders, public officials, houses of worship, and community-based organizations like ours. Our work remains steeped in a foundation of hope for a brighter future for our city, state and nation. When we look ahead to the next five years of our work, we envision a thriving community for children and families where we all rise together united in purpose and prosperity.