SPECIAL PROJECTS
Lynch
Street Cultural Arts Festival
The annual
Lynch Street Cultural Arts Banquet and Festival is the major
fundraiser for West Jackson Community Development Corporation.
It was started in 1992 to celebrate the rich history and tradition
of Lynch Street as a major center for business and industry
in the early 1900’s. Each year hundreds of festival
goers participate in the two day event which begins with a
cabaret style banquet on the last Friday in April and culminates
with a free outdoor festival the next day. The headline act
is a nationally renowned R&B artist, as well as local
entertainers, a children’s village, and a health fair.
Major sponsors of this event include: Alltel; MS Arts Commission;
Entergy; The Clarion Ledger, The Palisades; Boyles Moak Brickell
& Marchetti; Wachovia Bank; The Clarion Hotel; Schwartz
& Associates, PA; Partnership For A Healthy Greater Jackson;
Bank Plus; AmSouth Bank; Regions Bank; and Trustmark Bank.
Annual Meeting and
Community Rally
Each December,
West Jackson CDC hosts the Annual Meeting and Community Rally.
The theme of this event is “Rallying the West”.
It is a community event to inform residents about the activities,
progress, and vision for the future. Special guests for this
event include: the president of Jackson State University,
representatives from state and municipal entities, representatives
from funding agencies, sponsors, volunteers, community partners
and residents, and staff.
Community
Garden Project
West Jackson CDC sponsors a community garden
where vegetables are seeded and harvested. The youths in the
Summer and After School and Youthbuild Programs tend the garden.
The produce from the garden is donated to elderly residents
in the west Jackson community.
Make
a Difference Day
West Jackson CDC observes the national day
of service, Make A Difference Day, each October by sponsoring
a community service project to benefit the west Jackson community.
Some of the projects West Jackson CDC has sponsored were:
feeding the elderly in the community, harvesting the community
garden and giving the vegetables to the residents, and painting
and repairing the Lizzie Cooper Community Center.
Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Clean-Up Day
Each January, West Jackson CDC commemorates
the Martin Luther King, Jr. Observance Day with a community
wide clean-up. West Jackson CDC rallies staff members, AmeriCorps
volunteers, community residents and volunteers and through
a collaborative effort they beautify west Jackson. This effort
results in the cleaning of streets and parks and the planting
of flowers and shrubbery throughout the neighborhoods in the
area.
JACKSON YOUTHBUILD
RECEIVES FIRST PLACE IN JSU HOMECOMING PARADE 2002
