Blog

Front + Center – Javonica’s Story

Our latest feature in the Front + Center series with Ms. Magazine is here!

Javonica shared her story of having two kids of her own, being pregnant with her third, navigating the TANF program, and what is was like being selected for the Magnolia Mother’s Trust year long guaranteed income program.

“When I’m between jobs, it’s always been a struggle to make ends meet. For a while, I was getting about $100 a week in child support. I would also babysit when I could. My sister would send me money if my kids needed anything, but it was still hard. I tried to apply for TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and went to the orientation, but they make you do community service to get it or just take whatever job they give you if you don’t already have one. And I would’ve maybe done that, but the administrator made it really clear that you were not allowed to miss any shifts and that they don’t care if you don’t have reliable transportation so again, not having a car kept me from being able to access it. And that if I missed a shift, that would also put my food stamps at risk, and I really couldn’t afford to lose those. So I just withdrew my TANF application.

I wish the people in charge of these systems would improve how they work, mainly in having some level of kindness when it comes to the people you have to deal with. They make you feel a certain kind of way when you apply for these programs. Even when I was working, I felt looked down on and demeaned with the way they talked to me—when really I feel like you should care about people if you’re in that line of work. And then they lose your paperwork, and you have to call and wait forever. I’m not even exaggerating, I’ve had to call 20 or 30 times to get through for food stamps before when they messed up my application. The only option to bypass that is to go in person, but again, I don’t have transportation to do that.”

We are forever grateful for our mothers stepping forward and sharing their stories with us in their own words. Thank you, Javonica, for your strength and for your honesty!

February Newsletter

Somehow February ended? But also felt like forever?

Either way. We’re still here and our latest Springboard newsletter has arrived!

Springboard February Newsletter!

Subti tle

This month was jam packed with Black History month content, hosting leaders in the GI movement here in Jackson, along with navigating the continued anxieties from the news in our country. Yes, we’re tired, too. But we’re also excited to share with the world some pretty great things we are continuing to work on within our community.

For more of our BHM posts, follow us on Instagram.

Announcement: Upcoming Night of Storytelling on April 16th. You can find the RSVP link here.

Our February newsletter includes updates on our efforts to implement the SUN Bucks program in Mississippi and articles that highlighted the issue, a new story we released in the Front + Center series, key updates on our resident relationships, and information about our policy and advocacy work.

We’re pretty proud of what our team pulls off in just one month and we are even more proud to share it loudly with the world. Subscribe to our newsletter today!

With love,

Team Springboard

Black History Month Continues

This week we published content on our social media channels to feature historical Black women as we continue to celebrate Black History Month. So many of these figures have influenced the paths Springboard takes towards working to make a guaranteed income a reality and to open up more opportunities for Black mothers in Mississippi.

These women were movers and shakers in their separate paths. While we still have such a long way to go, we believe it is important to use this month to lift up their stories and continue to remind each of our mothers in The Magnolia Mother’s Trust that they deserve the space to dream big, do hard things, and work towards the future they see for themselves.

Next week we will be featuring stories and quotes from Harriet Tubman, Shirley Chisholm, Katherine Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughn. Follow us on Instagram!

Front + Center – Tashai’s Story

Our Front + Center series with Ms. Magazine continues on this year. We are excited to announce the release of the first story of 2025! Meet Tashai.

Tashai speaks on her journey of receiving the child tax credit and having to work only one job which allowed her more time with her children and have the time to do things she is passionate about. Tashai is dreaming big and plans to go back for her bachelors one day. We are so proud of you, Tashai! Thank you for sharing your story with us.

“When I received the child tax credit payments during COVID, it was a game-changer. I was able to get a car and secure an apartment. I wouldn’t be able to work without that car, and obviously I need a roof over me and my kids’ heads. If I still had that, that regular monthly payment like that, it would mean I could potentially work just one job instead of two, giving me a chance to breathe and spend more time with my children.

When I was part of the Magnolia Mother’s Trust, I was able to just work one job, and that was so much better. I used my work check to pay my bills like rent and utilities, then used the Trust money to cover household expenses and food. And I hate that it’s over, I really wish leaders would create a policy like that that would be permanent.”

Black History Month Kickoff

ICYMI – here is our Black History Month kickoff video with a special message from our founding CEO, Aisha Nyandoro.

Summer of 1964

Hattiesburg, MS

The Mississippi
Freedom Trail

The Civil Rights Movement

Jackson, MS

Filling the Gap

Last January, Mississippi decided to opt out of the new federal SUN Bucks program, which would have provided every family who is eligible for free and reduced lunch during the school year with additional grocery benefits of $40 per month per child to support with extra food expenses when children are not receiving breakfast and lunch at school. By failing to submit a Notice of Intent to the USDA to implement the program by January 1, 2025, Mississippi has effectively opted out again for this summer.

But we knew we could not opt out for our families, so we created a summer cash disbursement program that provided an equivalent amount of cash to qualifying families that would have been eligible for SUN Bucks. Our cash disbursement program proved that providing families with additional resources for food in the summer helped reduce summer food insecurity.

But we wanted to make sure that our policymakers and state leaders knew that, as well.

While we’re proud of the 672 children who received these additional benefits from us, there are 324,000 children across the state who would be eligible for benefits were Mississippi to implement the program. None of those children should have to go hungry during the summer — especially when the resources are readily available if we were to say yes to them.

Last week, we released our latest white paper — Filling the Gap — featuring stories and data from our summer cash disbursement program that centers the real, lived experience of families who received these resources and demonstrates the power of programs like ours or SUN Bucks to reduce summer food insecurity.

In conjunction with the paper release, we hosted our first state capitol advocacy day. Our staff along with our Policy and Systems Change fellows and coalition partners spent the morning of January 23rd at the state capitol building, sharing stories, and educating policymakers and other advocates about the SUN Bucks program and the potential benefits it could bring to our state.

For many of our fellows, this was the first time they had ever been in the state capitol building and the first time they had had such direct access to state policymakers and leaders. It was an important reminder that their voices and stories are powerful and belong in the state capitol just as much as anyone else’s. They also got to sit down for a lunch after a full morning with six members of the Mississippi House to share more and hear directly from legislators about what they are working toward during this session and how the fellows can continue to use their voices for advocacy and to hold Mississippi policymakers accountable.

We know there is still a lot of work to do — both to get a SUN Bucks program implemented in Mississippi and to ensure all our social safety net programs are grounded in family voice and experience. But as a first step, we hope you’ll join our campaign to bring more meals to Mississippi kids and help us fight summer food insecurity in Mississippi.