After 14 students successfully completed the 2012-13 school year at Delta Streets Academy, enrollment numbers are expected to more than triple in the fall.
T. Mac Howard, director of Delta Streets Ministries, said there are 45 students on the enrollment list for the school’s second year of operation.
During its first year, the school was available for boys in seventh and eighth grades. Next year, the school will add ninth grade, and Howard hopes that eventually, with continuous growth, it will be available for boys in grades 7-12.
A sign of the school’s success is its 99 percent attendance rate.
“Our students rarely missed class,” said Howard. “Some of the students, before coming to Delta Streets Academy, were getting suspended, in-school suspension or just not showing up for class. The fact that these guys are showing up is a huge success for us.”
Delta Streets started almost three years ago as an after-school and summer mentoring program, where children from Greenwood participated in tutoring sessions, Bible study and sports.
With the help of volunteers and Howard’s vision of equipping the children of Greenwood with a Christian foundation and the tools to become future community leaders, Delta Streets Academy was established in August 2012.
The school operates through private donations and an annual fundraising event, Delta Streets Charity Weekend. The second annual charity weekend will be held June 28 and 29.
On June 28, starting at 8:30 a.m., a golf tournament will be held at Greenwood Country Club, followed by a buffet lunch.
First-, second- and third-place winners of the tournament will receive trophies. Anyone who knocks a hole-in-one will receive either a new car or up to $20,000.
Gary Dyksterhouse, who is managing the golf tournament for Delta Streets Charity Weekend, said the golf tournament is completely sold out, including sponsorships.
Although the odds of hitting a hole-in-one are slim, one person will leave the charity event $5,000 richer later that evening.
The Greenwood-Leflore Young Professionals will sponsor a Drawdown Dinner at 6 p.m. at the country club. As guests enter the event, they will check in their ticket numbers. Tickets will be drawn throughout the dinner, which will include all-you-can-eat food and drinks with live entertainment from Steve Kelly and Allison Faulkner of the Greenwood band The Firm. As tickets are drawn, guests are eliminated from winning the prize money. The last ticket standing wins the $5,000 cash prize.
“At the beginning of the year, GLYP decided to officially adopt Delta Streets as our community project,” said Maxine Greenleaf, president of the Greenwood-Leflore Young Professionals. “We felt that sponsoring the drawdown was the least we could do to support this valuable organization in our community.”
Throughout the evening, as tickets are drawn, guests eliminated from contention for the main prize will receive gifts donated by local businesses.
“We’re trying to create a great, high-quality weekend where everyone has a good time, and we’re able to raise money for Delta Streets,” said Dyksterhouse.
Tickets are $100 each and admit two. They can be purchased from any Greenwood Leflore Young Professionals member beginning Monday.
On June 29, at 8:30 a.m., participants will travel to Greenwood Gun Club for a sporting clay tournament.
“The charity weekend last year was very successful,” said Dyksterhouse. “We were able to raise over $20,000 and sell out almost everything.”
Besides organizing the golf tournament, Dyksterhouse has been an avid volunteer basketball coach and supporter of Howard’s Delta Streets Ministries.
“Like a lot of people in the community, I’m a big supporter of what T. Mac is doing. I believe in him, the ministry, and I believe what he is doing is needed,” said Dyksterhouse. “He is ministering to a group of kids that sometimes get overlooked. He’s bringing them Jesus and education. I believe there’s a need for this, and he’s meeting that need.”
Howard said Delta Streets’ growth is a sign of the community’s support.
“It’s been a very humbling experience. The parents took a huge step of faith by placing their children in Delta Streets Academy,” Howard said. “Soon, word got out that the school is functioning. Growth is a sign of positive feedback from the community.”
First Baptist Church of Greenwood donated space for Delta Streets Academy to be housed. Also, Cannon Motor Company donated its old dealership building to Howard’s ministry, and that building was converted into a gymnasium and tutoring center.
“It’s amazing how involved the community is with this, because the sponsors are not getting a tangible value out of it. It’s out of the goodness of their hearts,” Dyksterhouse said. “They are investing in Greenwood and the Delta, and they believe in what T. Mac is doing with Delta Streets.”
Delta Streets Ministries will start its summer program Monday. The program is a monthlong event held each weekday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. It features breakfast, tutoring sessions, Bible study, lunch, swimming, other athletics and arts and crafts activities that usually involve hands-on projects such as pottery, building dog houses or photography. Howard said the students will play a different sport each week.
Howard, who was once a teacher and coach at Greenwood High School, said he believes that along with education and faith, athletics are an important part in the development of children.
“I grew up and athletics was a big part of my life,” Howard said. “Being on a playing field teaches teamwork, selflessness, practice and hard work pay off, and they learn how to win and how to lose.”
With the growing enrollment, Delta Streets Academy will no longer require its students to play football or basketball. During that time period, students can opt to take a physical education class.
“You don’t have to be an athlete to come here,” Howard said. “As we grow and get more staff, we will offer more options.”
Howard is thankful that the community has been and continues to support Delta Streets Ministries.
He said that although sponsors and supporters of Delta Streets are not receiving an immediate benefit, he hopes that in the future those who attend the academy will be strong community leaders, and the community will see the result of its support.
“We hope to raise a group of young men are who leaders by equipping them with athletics, education and the knowledge of what Jesus can do,” Howard said
For more information about Delta Streets Charity Weekend, call (662) 374-0775.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
