Jackson Free Press

The Regions Foundation, a nonprofit initiative of Alabama-based Regions Bank, donated $150,000 to Canopy Children's Solutions on Wednesday, Oct. 2. Canopy is a nonprofit that provides mental health, social and educational services to children in Mississippi.

Canopy began offering autism services in 2010 and opened its Center of Excellence in Jackson, which offers applied behavior analysis therapy, in 2018.

Funding from the Regions Foundation will support autism therapies at Canopy's Center for Excellence location in Jackson and provide education services at two Canopy CARES Schools in Jackson and Hattiesburg. Canopy offers early intervention and day school programs for children on the autism spectrum and provides individual educational services to children in 31 public school districts in Jackson and Hattiesburg.

For more information on Canopy Children's Solutions, call 601-352-7784 or visit mycanopy.org.

AARP Recruiting Tax-Aide Volunteers

The American Association of Retired Persons recently announced that it is recruiting volunteers through the end of October for the AARP Foundation's Tax-Aide service for the upcoming tax season.

AARP's Tax-Aide offers free in-person tax preparation assistance to low- and moderate-income individuals. Volunteers roles include tax preparers, technical and management assistants, interpreters and more. Volunteer tax preparers will also complete tax preparation training and IRS certification through the program.

Tax-Aide launched in 1968 with only four volunteers and now includes more than 35,000, a release from AARP says. The program is available at 29 sites in Mississippi, including senior centers, libraries and other locations. Taxpayers do not need to be a member of AARP or a retiree to use Tax-Aide.

For information about volunteer opportunities, visit aarpfoundation.org/taxaide or call 1-888-687-2277.

Riverwalk to Host Bras Along the Bridge for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In honor of October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Riverwalk Casino Hotel (1046 Warrenton Road, Vicksburg) is collecting donated bras for its annual "Bras Along the Bridge" event. For every bra it receives, Riverwalk will donate $1 to the American Cancer Society.

Participants can drop off bras at Riverwalk or participating sponsor locations. Donors who bring a bra to Riverwalk between 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on a Sunday will receive a 50%-off voucher for the casino's buffet for that day.

At the end of October, Riverwalk team members and members of the Vicksburg Bridge Commission will string the bras across the Old Vicksburg Bridge to raise awareness for breast cancer.

On Saturday, Nov. 2, Riverwalk will host a bra-viewing ceremony on the bridge for breast cancer survivors from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., which will include a check presentation for the ACS donations at 10 a.m. All visitors at the viewing ceremony will receive a buy-one-get-one-free buffet coupon for Riverwalk.

For more information and a full list of drop-off locations, visit riverwalkvicksburg.com.