To strengthen Jackson’s city parks, JAN is seeking volunteers to join or start a “Friends of” Jackson Parks group. The tight-knit relationship between a local park and its friends group allows a unique opportunity to interact with the surrounding community to enhance a park’s overall experience for neighbors and visitors.

After discovering the vacant building on a walk around the neighborhood picking up trash, Founder and Jackson native Stephen Brown (aka 5th Child) realized that his Briarwood Heights neighborhood and the surrounding North Jackson needed an art-based community center that was accessible to all.

Community cleanups are an important key to maintaining the health and appeal of neighborhoods, public spaces, and the overall environment. They also empower local change and foster strong connections between residents.

On Tuesday, June 10, the Jayne Avenue Neighborhood Association (JANA) held a Walk & Talk around the neighborhood to identify concerns, needs, and opportunities for the future. Ward 4 Councilman Brian C. Grizzell lead the exercise and the Jackson Police Department (JPD) provided security to ensure resident safety. Jayne Avenue is a quaint, unified, and promising community with a number of assets located in historic West Jackson.

One of the main goals of the project is to bring positive attention to the local library system and to beautify the branch. This project is in partnership with the Mississippi Arts Commission, JXN Friends of the Library, the Jackson-Hinds Library System, and Forman Watkins & Krutz, LLP.