Jackson State University's Center for Community Engagement is partnering with local organizations to provide 1,500 free food boxes containing non-perishable goods to needy families in the community.

The drive-up giveaway is on a first-come, first-served basis on Saturday, April 17, beginning at 9 a.m. Families can pick up their boxes at the Blackburn Middle School parking lot. (1311 W. Pearl St.

For more information, visit jsums.edu.

JSU Receives CDC Grant for HBCU Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program

Jackson State University’s Project Health recently received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control in conjunction with the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists to support cardiovascular disease-prevention programs at historically black colleges and universities. The HBCU Cardiovascular Disease Prevention program is part of an effort to improve the quality of life and health outcomes of students, a release from JSU says.

Project “HEALTH” stands for “Health Education Awareness for a Life That’s Healthy.” The program is an education and health promotion innitiative affiliated with the Center of Excellence in Minority Health and Health Disparities in JSU’s School of Public Health. JSU adapted the modules it used for the program from the “Discovering Health Essentials” manual by Clifton Addison, Brenda Jenkins and Monique White.

Other HBCUs participating in the CVD prevention program are Stillman College in Alabama and Tougaloo College. For more information, visit jsums.edu.

Hinds Community College Offering Free Summer Credit Courses

Hinds Community College is offering 12 hours of free credit courses for the summer, including tuition, fees and books. Summer registration is open for current students and opens on April 12 for new students. Classes will begin on June 1.

Free courses are open to current Hinds students, dual enrolled students, high school graduates, transfers from other colleges and university students who plan to take courses at Hinds over the summer.

The courses include both face-to-face and online courses. Students must meet admission requirements and then register for summer classes.

For more information, call 601-857-3767, email [email protected] or visit hindscc.edu/summer.

USM Students Create Waking Joy Project to Assist Nursing Home Residents During Lockdown

Students in the University of Southern Mississippi School of Social Work created the Waking Joy Project to safely assist local nursing home residents in light of the inability for students to visit directly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Master of Social Work graduate students Samantha Brown, Karla Danner, Angela Mata and Christina Powell launched the project out of concern for nursing home residents who have experienced isolation and loneliness during the pandemic due to long-term care facilities going into lockdown, a release from USM says.

Following a needs assessment for Bedford Care Center in Hattiesburg, the Waking Joy Project team launched a pen pal program to connect residents with members of the USM and Pine Belt communities. Participants paired with residents and agreed to send one care package and as many cards or postcards as they desired.

Social workers employed at the nursing home assisted in identifying individual resident needs, including snack and color preferences, hobbies and interests to customize the care packages. Thirty residents also received artwork that local artists donated to the project.

The Waking Joy Nursing Home Project has so far served 155 residents in Bedford Care Center of Hattiesburg and Memorial Driftwood Nursing Center of Gulfport.

For more information, call the USM School of Social Work at 601-266-4163, email [email protected] or visit usm.edu/social-work.