The halls of Threadgill Elementary School in Greenwood were alive with the pinging of bouncing balls one afternoon last week, as class after class emerged from the school gym with bright red rubber balls and jump ropes slung over their shoulders.
The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, a Jackson-based nonprofit that focuses on preventing childhood obesity and youth tobacco use, was giving out the rubber balls and jump ropes as part of its “Just Have a Ball” program.
The nonprofit has been giving away balls all over the state — 17,500 balls so far, according to Melissa Boguslawski, co-director for health and wellness at the Partnership. Threadgill Elementary was the first school in Leflore County they had visited.
The “Just Have a Ball” program was started by two kids in Jackson, brothers Wilson and Hartwell Furr, who saw the need for basic playground equipment for children. As the program grew rapidly, the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi took over to administer it.
Langston Moore, the organization’s communications director, said they planned to give out at least 2,500 more balls by the end of the school year — bringing the total number, he hoped, to 20,014, matching the year. Moore spent the afternoon on the gymnasium stage hunched over an air compressor inflating the balls.
The group hopes the balls and jump ropes encourage the children to get outside and find ways to stay active and exercise.
Boguslawski said they chose rubber balls because they can be used for all sorts of games that don’t require additional equipment, including kickball, four-square and soccer.
• Contact Bryn Stole at 581-7235 or bstole@gwcommonwealth.com.
