FamiliesFirst Grant Program Manager Elmarie Carr Brooks reads from a letter announcing the abrupt end of the grant's funding of programs at the J.L. King Center in Starkville. A meeting was held friday to discuss plans to keep the family centered programs afloat. (Photo by Charlie Benton, SDN)
In the aftermath of an unexpected announcement, several community groups have come together to support the J.L. King Center.
On Tuesday, an email was sent out to all FamiliesFrst grant partners, including the J.L. King Center informing them that the grant would be terminated at the close of business Thursday, due to the partial government shutdown. The FamiliesFirst Grant supports all programming at J.L. King, including adult basic education, life skills classes, childcare, youth development, workforce training and other programs.
The grant will not resume when the government reopens.
On Friday morning, a group of community stakeholders came together at the center to discuss the short and long term future of the programs. Representatives from the Starkville Area Arts Council, Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors, Homestead Education Center and other stakeholders attended. Some adult basic education students and others who use the center’s services also attended.
FamiliesFirst Program Manager Elmarie Carr Brooks said the meeting was a success. However, she noted the process wasn’t anywhere near complete.
“We’ve got some concrete things in place, and we’re not only dependent in federal dollars or state dollars,” Brooks said. “These are individuals in the community who can access private dollars that can support the center and keep it going, not just for a month, but in the long run as well as short term.”
Meetings for faith-based leaders interested in helping are scheduled for noon and 6 p.m. on Feb. 5 at the J.L. King Center. Representatives from the SAAC, Junior Auxiliary and Mississippi State University are also scheduled to meet at 10:30 a.m. on Feb.6 to discuss options for the afterschool program. Brooks also met with Jon Turner of 4 County Electric Power Association to apply for a $10,000 grant from the association’s foundation.
“In the short term, it takes about $10,000 a month to sustain our program,” Brooks said. “The director has found some short-term money now, and people can donate, or they can volunteer. That can help keep our program going.”
Donations to support the program can be made to the Homestead or to the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District. Donations to the distrct can be given to the Emerson Family School and must be designated for the J.L King Center.
The center’s doors will remain open Monday.
“We are opening our doors despite the fact that FamiliesFirst has ended their support for us in terms of a partnership with us, but through the efforts of this community, and through the reserve funds that we have, we will keep these doors open,” said Emerson Family School Director Joan Butler.
Several community organizations volunteered time and resources to support the center, and several other ideas were suggested. Some ideas included using volunteers from Mississippi State University to help fundraise and applying for other grants, including National Endowment for the Arts grants.
Alison Buehler of the Homestead Education Center said despite the gravity of the situation, it could end as an opportunity to get more people involved in supporting family centered programs in Starkville.
“We can’t just wait for our government to fix it,” Buehler said. “If we waited for the government to fix everything, we wouldn’t have a roof on this building. The community fixed the roof. Private $5, $10, $100, $1,000 donations put the roof on this building.”
Buheler also cautioned against the group using GoFundMe, Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms, which take fees from the funds raised.
SAAC Executive director John Bateman suggested asking businesses to help sponsor the programs, not unlike what his organization does for Sunday Funday events.
“We kind of oversee their finacnes, and we hold the money for them and charge a small fee for that,” Bateman said. “I’m just sitting here thinking through if there’s a way we can do that for the art education piece here. I’m bound by my mission, but there’s probably something like that, that would give that tax deduction. We would be more cost-effective than GoFundMe.”
Margaret Brown, who provides childcare at J.L. King and is involved in other outreach from the center spoke to the importance of the center’s mission.
“You all don’t know how many people don’t have anything,” Brown said. “I’ve seen them come in here before. That child will have a pair of socks on. That child won’t have a coat.”