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GOLD STRIKE EMPLOYEES VOLUNTEER IN JONESTOWN

Joyce McKinney, community relations director of Gold Strike Casino Resort, said she made the right decision when she called the Community Foundation about opportunities for community outreach in north Mississippi.

She already knew how to help in Memphis, where she had headed Hilton’s corporate community involvement programs for seven years.  In north Mississippi, Ms. McKinney wanted to know where her company and its more than 1,000 employees could help low-income people.

The Community Foundation told her about several places it had worked with, including Jonestown. This community of 1,701 people in northern Coahoma County captured the imagination of Ms. McKinney and her staff.

Jonestown’s residents had an average income of less than $9,000 in 2000, and almost 40 percent of them are less than 16 years old. At the same time, the community has bright possibilities in an early childhood learning center, preventive health services and involvement in leadership programs.

With McKinney’s leadership, Gold Strike Casino Resort decided to build a playground for the Jonestown community. Its employees researched, designed and built it before Thanksgiving.

Gold Strike didn’t’ stop there, however. The company made a contribution to start the Jonestown Fund at the Community Foundation, creating an opportunity for others to help, too. With the connection through the Community Foundation, the company established a long-term commitment to help some of the neediest children in Northwest Mississippi.