Jackson Free Press

On Jan. 3 this year, The Salvation Army's Jackson Family Store burned down, forcing the facility to move into a warehouse at 590 Raymond Road that New Horizon Church International (1750 Ellis Ave., Suite 200) donated to the store. Seven months later, The Salvation Army is getting ready to close the temporary location in preparation for the grand opening of the newly rebuilt Family Store at 110 Presto Lane.

Inclement weather conditions have delayed the construction of the Presto Road location, making it difficult for Salvation Army officials to provide a reliable time for the grand opening. The current estimate is Sept. 5 if all goes well.

"The new Jackson Family Store will be bigger and planned out a lot more efficiently so we can more easily sort through incoming donations," Salvation Army Communications Director Kristin Miller said. "There will be a more organized and efficient method for people to drop off their donations, more safety precautions in light of the fire, and the store will have an overall more upscale design. The grand opening is going to feature some outstanding items. We've saved the best donations we've gotten recently for it, and they will go fast."

On Friday, Aug. 8, and Saturday, Aug. 9, the Raymond Road store held an "everything must go" sale on what Salvation Army officials announced at the time would be the store's final two days of business. However, the facility received such a large quantity of new donations over the course of the sale that The Salvation Army is extending the sale for one more weekend, Friday, Aug. 15 and Saturday, Aug. 16. The sale features doors, windows and bathroom vanities at 50 percent below costs, all clothes 50 percentoff, electronics and bric-a-brac 25 percent off and all books for $0.25. The Family Store also has a variety of toys, suitcases, desks, chairs, appliances and sporting goods.

The Jackson Family Store is open Friday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. For information, call The Salvation Army at 601-982-4881.

Marissa Simms Aims to Start Young Entrepreneur Program

Marissa Simms, Mississippi's SBA Entrepreneur of the Year and the owner of Royal Bleau Boutique (1100 JR Lynch St., Suite 8), founded the Bleau Print Project to help cultivate entrepreneurship. The project aims to motivate people to support creative economic development and pave the way for various entrepreneurial avenues through works such as "Kidpreneur" and "The Bleau Print Documentary."

Bleau Print Project organizers are currently filming "The Bleau Print Documentary," which consists of interviews with seasoned local entrepreneurs who expect to quickly branch out. The documentary will give entrepreneurs across the state the opportunity to showcase their particular business or establishment.

"Kidpreneur" is a nonprofit organization focused on cultivating creativity by inspiring the youth to pursue economic development. "Kidpreneur" breaks down basic principles such as exploring passions, financial literacy and goal setting. The Bleau Print Team plans to target all communities, both rural and rich, and teach the importance of the economy and how to play a strong role in it.

The Bleau Print project has an ongoing Kickstarter that is set to end Monday, Aug. 18. Rewards include VIP access to the screening of "The Bleau Print Documentary," corporate sponsorship and branding, bringing a "Kidpreneur" workshop for 50 participants to the donator's area, "Kidpreneur" business scholarships and more.

For information, call Marissa Sims at call 601-750-2872 or email [email protected].