J. L. King Center receives donation for building renovations
The J. L. King Center received a donation from the AT&T Pioneers Mississippi Chapter in the amount of $500 for renovations to the center.
Friends of J. L. King Board director Shirley James Hanshaw said she had been asking for donations for the J. L. King Center, taking a holistic approach.
“All new lighting, flooring, kitchen appliances, windows, doors for the front and back. As a result, I’ve been soliciting donations for the renovations, because we are a 501c3 non-profit organization and all of us on the board are volunteers,” said Hanshaw. “Cornell Smith is a friend of the family, and I reached out to him because I knew he had worked with AT&T. He told me about the organization called AT&T Pioneers, people who have formally worked with AT&T, and he said he would reach out to them.”
The AT&T Pioneers is a network of volunteers in all 50 United States, who effect immediate, tangible change in our local communities. Cornell Smith, who Hanshaw aforementioned, is the North Mississippi Area Administrator on the executive committee of the AT&T Pioneers Mississippi Chapter.
For those who may not know about the J. L. King Center, it is considered a valuable resource and one of the brightest gems that Starkville has to offer to the community.
Though it is not the traditional classroom, inside the walls of the small red brick building are opportunities to help people change their lives for the better.
“Some of the programs we have are after-school tutoring that goes from Mondays through Thursdays, we give the attendees a hot meal every day,” said Hanshaw. “On the weekends, we give them a backpack with food to carry their families through the weekend. We also have a series of classes in the morning for adults such as resume writing and mock interviews.”
Hanshaw noted that a young man who attended the adult classes built up his resume with a cover page which landed him a new job that he started on Monday morning.
“We’re getting real results of what goes on here at the J. L. King Center,” Hanshaw said.
Hanshaw said the main reason she believes renovations to the J. L. King Center’s building are necessary is due to the fact of its age.
“The building has been here for over 70 years. Quite naturally, anything would fall into disrepair over that period of time. I’m trying to take a holistic approach to the renovations,” said Hanshaw. “Over the years, I understand that several people have donated, like some people helped to get the HVAC system changed out and I think somebody else put a new roof on the building, so various things have been done but not in a holistic way. What I’m trying to do now is to get all of the donors who are giving materials, who are giving funds, as well as those who are contractors to actually do the work, bring them all together, and hopefully renovate the whole building.”