Some of Our Friends and Partners
We are pleased to work with individuals and organizations throughout the state of Mississippi and beyond. These friends and partners include:
Andrus Family Fund. Andrus, based in New York, has funded some of our work. Please visit the site for their Transitions program: www.transitionandsocialchange.org
The C.C. Bryant Project. A documentary project about a key figure in the Mississippi Civil Rights movement. McComb, Mississippi
Mission Mississippi. An interdenominational, interracial organization, Mission Mississippi believes that Christians are called to build a harmonious multiracial society.
Mississippi Center for Justice. The Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ) was established in June 2002 as a nonprofit, public interest law firm committed to advancing racial and economic justice. Its founding responded to an urgent need to re-establish in-state advocacy on behalf of low-income people and communities of color. Supported and staffed by civil rights advocates, attorneys, social service advocates and others, MCJ is committed to developing and pursuing strategies that combat discrimination and poverty in Mississippi.
Mississippi Teacher Corps. The Mississippi Teacher Corps is a two-year program, similar to the Peace Corps, that recruits college graduates to teach in critical-needs schools in the Mississippi Delta and Jackson. In exchange, participants receive a full salary and a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Mississippi.
Start Here Project Development. Chris Schultz at Start Here helps the Winter Institute with grantwriting and fundraising projects. Start Here prepared a grant proposal that resulted in the Mississippi Department of Archives and History's recent award of $146,000 for the restoration of the Lil' Red Rosenwald school in Drew.
Sunflower County Freedom School. Begun in 2000, this innovative program is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to educational excellence and leadership development in Sunflower County, Mississippi. Founded by Teach for America alumni, it uses the history and spirit of the 1960s freedom struggle to motivate young people to become capable and compassionate leaders in their communities. The project has participated in other WWIRR projects and UM has hosted its summer programs, with involvement from SEED students and support from WWIRR staff. Sunflower County, Mississippi
Teaching for Change. Since 2004, the Winter Institute has worked with Teaching for Change on curriculum development and teacher education projects in Mississippi schools, including McComb and Philadelphia. Teaching for Change provides teachers and parents with the tools to transform schools into centers of justice where students learn to read, write and change the world.
Turkey Creek Community Initiatives. Following Hurricane Katrina, WWIRR began working with TCCI, a nonprofit corporation seeking to "conserve, restore and utilize for education and other socially beneficial purposes the unique cultural, historical and ecological assets of the Turkey Creek community and watershed." Read an article by Derrick Evans (link opens PDF file). Gulfport, Mississippi
White Privilege Conference (WPC) serves as a yearly opportunity to examine and explore difficult issues related to white privilege, white supremacy and oppression. WPC provides a forum for critical discussions about diversity, multicultural education and leadership, social justice, race/racism, sexual orientation, gender relations, religion and other systems of privilege/oppression.