Our Mission: To encourage and enrich the lives of families and individuals living in rural poverty by establishing meaningful relationships, promoting education, and offering material aid.

A Message from the Director

Dear Friends,

It is officially Summer!! We cannot move into Summer 2024 without first sharing the amazing projects that The Box Project embarked on this Spring!

The month of May was Mental Health Awareness Month.

Did you know that rural poverty and access to mental health treatment are directly correlated?

One main focus of The Box Project is to encourage sponsors and recipients to openly discuss stressors that can lead to depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. Poverty in childhood and among adults can cause poor mental health through social stressors, stigma and trauma. Not only can mental health lead to poverty but poverty can also lead to the development of mental health issues. It is a vicious cycle that is very difficult to break out of. The Box Project serves primarily single parent families, which according to research single mothers(grandmothers) experience higher rates of psychological distress, more particularly single mothers under financial strain. This reality has a negative impact on the children as well. For example, poor maternal mental health is directly linked to poor academic and psychological outcomes for their children. As we know, parents play a crucial role in their children's lives, and if the parent's ability to assist a child academically is compromised due to poor mental health, it will in turn have a negative impact on the child's educational success. Therefore, parental mental health can play a role in driving social inequity if the child's educational performance is adversely affected. Improving maternal mental health is essential to strengthening family well-being and in turn giving our Mississippi Delta families the opportunity to successfully break out of generational poverty.

How can you make a difference? Normalizing mental health discussions can help reduce the stigma related to mental health particularly among the black community. Consider talking openly with your recipient family about mental health, your experiences with mental health and checking in on their mental health; both good and bad. Making this topic part of normal conversation, as well as encouraging them to seek professional help when needed, can decrease their struggle with immense daily stressors, and it could very well, change their life.

Kindly devoted to making a lasting impact in the lives of others,

Kara Dulaney, Director

"A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed" Proverbs 11:25

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What's Happening?

In April, The Box Project was featured on its first podcast!

The Real Hernando Podcast invited Director Kara Dulaney for an interview on behalf of The Box Project Organization. In the one-on-one interview, Kara speaks about the origins of The Box Project, the challenges and successes of the program over the years, her role as Director of the program, and the different ways community members can support The Box Project's mission. To watch and/or listen to this insightful episode, follow the link below...AND be sure to like and share on Facebook to help spread the word about The Box Project!

Full Episode: Fighting Rural Poverty with Kara Dulaney

The Annual Box Project Partners Meeting was a Success!

In April, The Box Project hosted its Annual Partners Meeting in Clarksdale, Mississippi, to discuss challenges, feedback, and upcoming projects that are aimed at making our outstanding four referral agency volunteers’ lives easier while allowing more and more families in poverty receive the support they need.

Our four referral agencies are The Diaper Bank of the MS Delta, But God Ministries of Jonestown, St. Gabriel Mercy Center and the Greenwood Community Center. Each office operates as a volunteer agency for The Box Project through the Maddox Foundation Volunteer and Resource Center.

The primary responsibilities of our partner agencies are to be a community outreach, point of contact, and bridge between The Box Project (sponsors/donations) and those we serve (recipient families in MS Delta communities). Our partner agencies are not only responsible for finding families in need which are bountiful in the MS Delta but to source families that have a desire to bring their families out of poverty and use the moral and financial support from Box Project sponsors to change the lives of their children as well as themselves. The motivation portion of this exchange is absolutely necessary to the success of The Box Project’s mission to encourage and enrich the lives of those living in rural poverty by establishing meaningful relationships, promoting education, and offering material aid.

Looking forward, one project that The Box Project has been working on for our referral agencies is digitizing the recipient family application process, where the families are able to fill out the application on their phone, submit it to the referral agency, and upon approval, it is digitally sent to The Box Project director, eliminating the transport of paper materials. This way, the application process will not only be easier, quicker, and more efficient but it will also alleviate the workload of our volunteers whom we are extremely grateful for their time.

Without our volunteer partner agencies, The Box Project would not be able to function as we know it, and the program would be left behind.

To stay in the know about past, current, and upcoming Box Project events, bookmark this page on our website!

The Box Project Revisits its Roots

to Recruit Sponsors for Family Match Program

by Ameliea R. Dulaney

This Spring, former Box Project Director Donna Goldman (left), Current Director Kara Dulaney (middle), and marketing coordinator Ameliea Dulaney (right) visited Delta State University to explore The Box Project's special archives collection on campus in Cleveland, Mississippi. The collection dates back to the beginning of the organization in 1962 and details the history of The Box Project through letters, photographs, articles, and newspaper clippings as well as other important historical artifacts. The organization plans to incorporate its history to spread the word about the much-needed support families in the Mississippi Delta desperately need even after all these years. To learn more about the history of The Box Project and cycle of poverty in the MS Delta, visit our website!

How You Can Get Involved!

Back-to-School Box Sponsor Sign Up

Donate to Back-to-School Fund

Don't Miss Out on the Fun!

Stay Connected with The Box Project Online

Download the app on your phone or computer and create an account using your email address or phone number. We recommend starting with FACEBOOK if you are new to social media.
Once you create an account, look us up by typing @TBP1962 into the search bar at the top.
Click the "Follow" (Instagram) or "Subscribe" (Facebook and YouTube) button to stay up to date on all Box Project news. This way, you do not have continue to searching for us to see what we have posted. It will appear on the main timeline that you see every time you open up the application.
That's it! If you are feeling tech-savvy...click the "SHARE" button on any of our posts to share with your followers and contribute to our mission by spreading awareness.

Click Here to Explore Today!

Share Your Box Project Story With Us!

Box Project sponsors and recipients can support our mission by encouraging others to join our efforts to break the cycle of rural poverty in the Mississippi Delta. The exchange of stories is how The Box Project first came to be and is one of the main reasons it has changed so many lives. By sharing your experience with The Box Project, you help another family get back on their feet.

Share your story by scanning the QR Code.

**You may remain anonymous.

How You Can Support The Box Project

Sponsor a Family

Make a Donation

Follow, Like, & Share @TBP1962 on Social Media
Friend Raise: Share about your experience with your Box Project Family, and encourage others to consider sponsoring a family or donating to help sustain The Box Project's mission.
Stimulus Checks: For those who do not need the CARES Act stimulus check, consider donating to The Box Project.
Retirement and IRA Required Minimum Distribution: Consider a roll-over to The Box Project Current Giving Fund or Endowment for tax advantages.
Planned Giving: As you review your long-range estate and financial plans, ask you financial advisor the benefits of including The Box Project in these plans.
Non Traditional Gifts: You may receive tax savings by donating stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other assets. Please check with your financial advisors for tax savings you may receive by donating to the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi designated for The Box Project.