If They Don’t See Leaders, How Will They Learn to Lead?
Written by Ashley Green How One Mississippi Mentor is Helping Young Men Learn to Lead When you first walk through the doors of Men United in Marks, Mississippi, it does not take long to realize this is not an ordinary mentoring program. The renovated building hums with conversation as young men from communities across the Delta […]
More Than a Backpack
Written by Ashley Green What Mississippi Families Carry into a New School Year Across Mississippi, July and August carry its own rhythm. School parking lots fill before sunrise as teachers unlock classrooms for another year. Parents weave through crowded store aisles searching for the perfect backpack, the last box of crayons or the right sized notebook. […]
Amanda Delverdank is building something special in the Mississippi Delta
Written by Ashley Green Originally from Utah, Amanda came to Mississippi through Teach for America and began her journey in education as an art teacher in Greenville. Over time, her passion for children, community, and meaningful learning experiences continued to grow. While working in schools, she began noticing something powerful: children often learned best when they […]
From Incarceration to Impact: How Karl Hampton Found Freedom Through Opportunity
Written by Ashley Green For Karl Hampton, incarceration was not the beginning of his story. It was the moment his story began to change. Before prison, Karl’s life was shaped by a constant search for affirmation. Growing up without a father figure, he—like many young men—looked to his community to define what manhood meant. Street culture […]
Kyle Jackson: A Father’s Footsteps
Written by Kienna Van Dellen Like most young boys Kyle Jackson grew up wanting to be just like his father. Kyle grew up in the Booneville, Mississippi area and, at the age of eight, his parents divorced in part because of his father’s life of drugs and crime. “My dad was my hero,” Kyle said, “and […]
Unlimited Dreams Gives Laurel Students Another Education Option, Hope
Written by Kienna Van Dellen Dr. Amanda Cooley set out on a mission to meet the education needs of the children in her hometown of Laurel, Mississippi. What she didn’t know was just how large that mission was going to be. Amanda had run a daycare in her town for years and discovered that some of […]
Kayla Hulett: Finding Freedom After Addiction
Written by Kienna Van Dellen “Looking back, it feels like a dream. All the statistics were against me, and I should have died.” That’s how Kayla Hulett describes most of her life growing up in Tupelo before she got sober in 2012. One of her earliest memories as a child was of her mother giving her […]
Rocket Learning Launches New Education Option in Southwest Mississippi
Written by Kienna Van Dellen Deep in the heart of Southwest Mississippi, in the sleepy community of Silver Creek, lies an innovative thriving new school founded by a veteran teacher who was looking for freedom in her own classroom. In the early spring of this year, Vicki Cox found herself frustrated as she sat in her […]
Tyler Wilson’s Battle For Hope
Written by Kienna Van Dellen Tyler Wilson of Iuka has spent most of his 29 years on this earth in and out of prison. He was broken, addicted, and searching – searching for fulfillment in his life. But that fulfillment never came – at least not in a healthy way. “I had a good, God-fearing mom,” […]
Finding hope in the hopelessness of prison
Written by Kienna Van Dellen Eleven times Deborah Mosby had been before the state parole board – and eleven times she had been denied. “I knew on that eleventh time going into the hearing that I wasn’t going to be paroled,” Deborah said. And she was right. Feeling hopeless, she sat on her 3’x6’ rack knowing […]
State removes regulation. Entrepreneur follows her dreams.
Written by Kienna Van Dellen “I never dreamed I would be here.” That’s how Karrece Stewart describes the feeling of owning her own makeup studio, Get Glam Beauty in Fulton. Little did she know when she set out with this new venture that she would face barriers making it nearly impossible. Karrece placed her dreams on […]
Serving their local communities
Written by Kienna Van Dellen In the small town of Louisville at a table in the local restaurant, Cameron Whitehead knew nearly everyone who walked through the doors at lunchtime. She’s the town’s nurse practitioner and treats a number of its residents. Cameron began working as a nurse in Jackson 20 years ago, and over the […]
A new conviction
Written by Kienna Van Dellen “If it allows me to change one person, it would make it all worth it.” That’s how Ben Little describes his life’s story which includes struggles with addiction, a suicide attempt, and prison time followed by a new life found in the salvation of Jesus Christ. Today, Ben uses his own […]