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January Newsletter

The First Springboard Newsletter of 2026

✨ OUR JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS ⬇️

1. We’re not going to lie; the highlight of our January was definitely the visit from Vice President Harris. We are so grateful the VP and her team were willing to take time out of a very busy tour schedule to be in conversation with our families. We know it is an experience they will never forget.

2. Early in February, we’ll be headed to the Mississippi State Capitol for our annual legislative advocacy day. This month, we held a training for our fellows who will be there to make sure they were prepared with talking points and strategies for the day. We’ll recap the legislative advocacy day in next month’s newsletter.

3. While the start of the second semester is not technically a new school year, we know that by halfway through the year, many students need a refresh. We held mini back-to-school drives in each of our communities – with uniforms and supplies – to ensure every child in our community was prepared for the rest of the school year.

OUR 2025 FELLOWSHIP EVALUATION & THEORY OF CHANGE IS HERE

Our Resident Spotlight: Nicole 💚

There is no denying that we are living through challenging and chaotic times, but it is our belief that the greatest opportunities we have for change lie in the solutions developed in community. We hope programs like our fellowships will help inspire more community-driven advocacy and policy work around the country that can move us toward policies and systems where everyone’s voice is valued, and everyone is given what they need to succeed and thrive.

With love,

Team Springboard

Child Care Vouchers

How Mississippi could meet the needs of more than 19,000 families waiting for child care vouchers.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

When she is not caring for her 6-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son, Amaya Jones is working full time at Kroger. Jones wants to go back to school in January to study social work, so she can help young women like herself navigate complicated programs designed to help – but which often trap – poor people. 

“I know what it’s like to be homeless, to apply for (food stamps) and be denied even though you need it, to be looked at as just a number – I know how it all feels,” Jones said. “I want to help mothers and kids and young women.”

Returning to school will only be possible if Jones regains vouchers she lost in June that made child care affordable, she said. Jones’ family is one of more than 19,000 Mississippi families who lost access to child care vouchers and is now on a growing waitlist after pandemic-era funding that boosted the program dried up, according to the Mississippi Department of Human Services. 

Our 2025 Recap

The Springboard to Opportunities Year in Review

2025 brought with it a flurry of challenges – like devastating policy decisions and increased financial insecurity for many families. But at Springboard to Opportunities, we knew our most important job this year was to double down on what we do best: centering community needs and voices. We grew our economic security programs, expanded our policy and advocacy fellowships, and ensured our families’ voices and stories were heard by policymakers and leaders at every level.

• 1,603 attendees at our community events

• 440 children received new backpacks and school supplies

• 3,613 meals and food boxes provided to families

READ THE FULL RECAP NEWSLETTER HERE

• Over 100 participants in our 6th cohort of The Magnolia Mother’s Trust

• Disbursed $1,398,250 in cash to families

• Eliminated over $2,300,000 in medical debt for 1,689 individuals

• We published Filling The Gap

• We had 91 fellows + added a new youth fellowship

• Hosted our first Capitol Advocacy Day at the Mississippi state capitol

• We continued out partnership with Ms. with our Front & Center column

• Hosted out 5th Annual Night of Storytelling with Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom

• Our CEO, Aisha Nyandoro, became a monthly contributor to Forbes

Thank you for your continued support throughout this entire year and to all of our families here in Jackson, Mississippi. We are so thankful for every single person in our communities!

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM FOR MORE UPDATES

With love,

Team Springboard

October Newsletter

Dear Springboard to Opportunities Partners,

Normally, as we head into the final days of October, we’re sharing pictures of kids in costumes and highlights from our Halloween and Fall Festival events. Unfortunately, this year, we’re facing something far scarier as we come to the end of the month.

Starting November 1st, due to the government shutdown, the federal government will stop providing the monthly SNAP funds that families use to purchase groceries for their households. Despite having approximately $6 billion in SNAP contingency reserves available, the current administration has claimed it would be “illegal” to use these funds without appropriation from Congress.

But let’s be very clear about what is actually going on here: The administration is using people’s lives and their ability to feed their families as a leverage point for their own political power. There has been no hesitation before about using funds for projects without appropriation, and we know the USDA had written in using the contingency funds as part of their plan in the event of a government shutdown.

Instead, lawmakers are being given the false choice of fighting for essential health insurance subsidies that low- and moderate-income families desperately need to afford healthcare or ensuring 42 million Americans are able to put food on their table next month. While there is plenty of money for ballrooms and ICE agents, we somehow cannot find the funds to save millions of American families from literally starving.

In a survey of our Springboard families, we found that, on average, a family will lose $522.89 per month in SNAP benefits that they desperately need to buy groceries and feed their children. Our families work in jobs with wages that are not high enough to cover even the basic expenses of rent, utilities, child care, and food. Cutting off this lifeline will make it impossible to meet those demands.

YOU READ THE FULL NEWSLETTER HERE

Our October Highlights Include:

  1. 1. Our pumpkin patches and Halloween events in all of our communities, ensuring that – even with limited funds – families have a space to celebrate together.

2. Our Workforce Systems and Education Advocacy fellows have been celebrating the end of their 9-month fellowships with trips to New Orleans, Louisiana and Montgomery, Alabama to visit sites like The Ruby Bridges Foundation and The Legacy Museum.

3. Three fellows traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to participate in the Child Care for Every Family Grassroots Assembly. While there, they connected with other parent and provider advocates and strategized how to build power for childcare advocacy across the Southeast.

Our Resident Spotlight: Deneader