Jackson Free Press

Northpark Mall recently added three new stores to its tenant lineup: Comfort Zone, Korset and SubZero Cream.

Comfort Zone is a bedding-accessories outlet with items such as pillows, bamboo bedding, desks and lamps. The 700-square-foot space is located across from Charlotte Russe on the mall's lower level.

Korset is a women's boutique that offers clothing with what it describes as "California flair," including both evening and everyday wear. The retailer opened on the upper level near Bath & Body Works in November.

SubZero Cream offers "smashed ice cream," a treat made with a unique freezing method. It is frozen quickly so that ice crystals inside the mix get little chance to grow, resulting in much smaller ice crystals than those in normal ice cream, giving a smoother and creamier texture. The 1,200-square-foot creamery is located across from The Limited on the lower level.

For more information, visit https://www.simon.com/mall/northpark-mall or find Northpark Mall on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Foursquare @shopnorthparkms.

Minority Male Makers Program

In an effort to bolster the growth of African American-owned businesses, the Verizon Foundation partnered with four historically black colleges and universities— Jackson State University, Morgan State University in Maryland, Kentucky State University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University—in the summer of 2015 to launch Minority Male Makers, a two-year program to invest in more than 700 minority boys to guide them toward business ownership and success. The program aims to equip African American boys in low-income communities with high-level technology and entrepreneurship skills starting as early as middle school.

Minority Male Makers combines exposure to various technologies such as 3D printing and phone application design with access to college mentors and successful African American entrepreneurial role models. One of those mentors, music executive and philanthropist Kevin Liles, who is the former president of Def Jam Recordings, helped kick off the program by meeting with middle school students at four HBCUs across the country, starting in Jackson. On Thursday, Dec. 10, Liles visited Jackson State University to deliver a lecture on STEM and entrepreneurship and to conduct an interactive "Entrepreneurs in the Making" workshop.

During the "Entrepreneurship 101" workshop, Liles shared best practices in turning innovative ideas into entrepreneurial ventures and tips on delivering a strong "elevator pitch." Students also worked to develop creative, tech-focused business ideas and held a "pitch off" with prizes for the best technology business ideas.

Liles will bring his "Entrepreneurship 101" lecture series to all four universities involved in the Minority Male Makers program from December 2015 through January 2016. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com/about/responsibility.