Volunteers come out Saturday for MLK Day of Service - MSNewsNow.com - Jackson, MS
Crews of employees from Entergy Mississippi, Julep and Mint Restaurants, The Mississippi College School of Law, and Irby Lighting are hard at work this weekend, building a four- bedroom home and a three-bedroom home.
They are new Habitat for Humanity houses along Garden Circle.
The work started Friday.
"We are building 25 in Englewood Gardens," said Cindy Griffin, Habitat For Humanity of Metro Jackson Executive Director. "We're gonna have 15 of these finished by May."
It's a huge step in the right direction for the neighborhood, which used to be an old Army barracks.
As 3 On Your Side's Howard Ballou pointed out in Taking Back Our Neighborhoods, it had become a literal dumping ground in recent years.
Piles of trash could be spotted among the weeds and brush.
But the neighborhood is coming back quickly on this Martin Luther King, Junior Day of Service.
"We're here for five days to celebrate the Martin Luther King holiday, give our employees partnering with us a chance to give back," said Liz Brister, Manager of External Affairs for Entergy Mississippi.
Men, women and children are part of the project, and it's the same at the Smith Robertson Community Center on John Hart Street.
It's a place where senior citizens converge, but on Saturday, younger generations team up to paint, clean, and improve the surroundings.
Murrah High School Junior Mary Spooner is with the Mayor's Youth Council.
"You meet a lot of great people," Spooner said. "I feel like I've seen a lot of variety in service from coming here. Service isn't always what its stereotypically put out to be. This behind-the-scenes cleaning, painting, that's where you find out who really loves service work."
Cristy Trader is with Americorps.
"We're trying to enhance the quality of life for people in Jackson. Also, we're sprucing up the Smith Robertson Community Center," Trader said. "We just try to come out and help any way we can."
The clean-up is another project of the Mayor's Clean Team in Jackson.
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