Cultivating Change Through Education
MadCAAP’s Learning Center is a hub where our community grows through education. It is a safe space where children attend the B.A.S.E. Camp afterschool program, and their parents enroll in New Attitudes courses to access our Back to School Supply Drive and Holiday Adopt-A-Child programs. Additionally, the space welcomes our Senior Adult members every Tuesday for Fit Tuesdays, fostering physical, mental, and spiritual activity.
The Hope Grows Fundraising Goal is $365,000.
Yes, it’s an ambitious goal. But with the support of MadCAAP’s visionary and compassionate donors, it’s a realistic goal.
THE HOPE GROWS CAMPAIGN HAS ALLOWED MadCAAP TO
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Add 3,600 square feet to its education and resource center
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Add five new, well-equipped classrooms, including a computer lab
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Add a cooking demonstration center where clients will learn to prepare nutritious, affordable meals on a budget
BENEFITS
FOR CHILDREN
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Weekly lessons by grade level that meet spiritual, emotional, physical, and academic needs
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Creative stimulation through arts and crafts, games, puzzles, music, guided play, and free play
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Connections with encouraging volunteers who become trusted mentors
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Nutritious snacks and evening meals
BENEFITS
FOR SENIOR CITIZENS
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Weekly lessons that promote spiritual, physical, and financial wellness
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Exercise program
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Critical social engagement
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Mental stimulation through arts and crafts, games, and word puzzles
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Connections with encouraging volunteers who become faithful friends
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Nutritious snacks and occasional meals
Why is the Learning Center Important?
Named Gift Opportunities
Areas and features are available for naming at certain donation levels. These areas may be named in honor of the donor, a friend or family member, or another honoree specified by the donor and approved by MadCAAP.
The New Addition
$300,000
Common Area for Vacation Bible School and Summer Camps
$95,000
Classrooms (3)
$35,000 each
Reception Area
$15,000
Restrooms (2)
$7,500 each
Pantry
$5,000
Funded
Classroom (1)
$35,000
Kitchen
(including appliances and cooking lab)
$85,000
Computer Lab/Classroom
(including computers and technology)
$55,000
Photo Albums
Check out these awesome photos. Award-winning Mississippi photographer Robby Followel shot the photography. He is an avid supporter of all things MadCAAP.
Adult Education
New Attitudes
MadCAAP's New Attitudes Adult Education classes offer a range of essential life skills courses for adults, including parenting, healthy cooking, budgeting, computer literacy, and more.
Tailored to meet the real-world needs of women and men with children, our classes adapt throughout the year to reflect the community's needs and instructor availability. Completion of 12 hours is key for eligibility in our "Back to School" and "Holiday Adopt-A-Child" programs, aimed at providing support for your children's educational and festive needs.
Through HOPE Grows, MadCAAP will help children break the cycle of generational poverty and help older adults live out their golden years with dignity.
"Children don’t ask to be born into poverty, and they have no control over their circumstances."
For Children
B.A.S.E. Camp
Too often, poverty robs children of their childhoods, forcing them to become self-sufficient at a very young age or pushing them into caretaking situations that many adults would find difficult to manage.
The COVID-19 pandemic further compromised these children’s futures. Lack of reliable access to broadband internet made virtual education challenging. Their parents, many of whom were frontline workers, didn’t have the ability to homeschool or the means to pay a tutor. These children are still trying to catch up from what was essentially a year of lost learning.
MadCAAP’s after-school and summer enrichment programs help children keep up with their schoolwork, emphasize the value of education as a way out of poverty, and provide guidance from caring adults. MadCAAP’s goal is to lift them up spiritually, emotionally and academically.
Perhaps most importantly, MadCAAP’s programs show these children that they are loved and valued and that their futures can be bright.
Senior Citizens
Fit Tuesday
Mississippians 65 and older have the shortest life expectancy among seniors in the country and are at the greatest risk for financial insecurity. More than 13 percent of Mississippi seniors live below the poverty level – the second-highest percentage in the nation.
Many of Mississippi’s senior citizens worked hard all of their lives, only to retire into poverty. Paying for housing, food, and medication on a fixed income is a constant struggle. Poverty among seniors is linked to an increased risk of disability, physical and cognitive decline, and homelessness.
Too often, Mississippi’s low-income elderly are a forgotten population.
MadCAAP is changing that. The HOPE Grows campaign will allow MadCAAP to expand its programs for the elderly and serve more of Madison County’s “forgotten” seniors. Above all, HOPE Grows will remind seniors that they are valued and their lifelong contributions are appreciated and help provide dignity and security in their golden years.
"Mississippi ranks as the worst state in the country for older Americans."