Operation Fresh Start to have May events
A community group dedicated to improving local neighborhoods and schools is gearing up for a musical and a cleanup event in May, the Rev. Angus Thompson said.
The Operation Fresh Start Spring Musical will be 6:30 p.m. May 6 at the New Jerusalem Baptist Church at 1420 Borton Street, Thompson, church pastor, said.
And the Operation Fresh Start Spring Cleanup will be 8 a.m. to noon May 14, he said.
"This is a good time for us to get together as neighbors, as friends and try to make our city a better place to live," Thompson said.
Donations for the spring musical fundraiser will benefit Kirby Middle School and pay for some computer equipment for the students, he said.
Mineasa Nesbit, Hirschi High School choir teacher and Antioch Baptist Church minister, is the director for the musical, Thompson said.
Some of the choir’s participating will come from Hirschi and Kirby Middle School, and the community group has also invited singers from Antioch, Shiloh Baptist Church, Saint Matthew Baptist Church, Colonial Baptist Church and First United Methodist Church to perform, he said.
"They will sing and bring forth some inspirational music for us,” Thompson said.
More: Operation Fresh Start cleanup to help 100 homes
Although donations will be accepted, there is no admission fee for the musical, he said.
"Those who cannot attend, they can, of course, support it with a donation, and we'll make sure that Kirby receives that," Thompson said.
Organizers request those who donate to make checks out to New Jerusalem Baptist Church and write "Kirby" in the "for" blank on the check, Thompson said.
A single check will be presented to Kirby Principal Shannon Cunningham that evening, he said.
Thompson said the May 14 cleanup will focus on areas including East and West Lynwood, the Kemp Addition and neighborhoods near Booker T. Washington Elementary School and Hirschi.
Students from the Navy Seabees training program on Sheppard Air Force Base will also be on hand to help out, possibly building wheelchair ramps and painting, he said.
Organizers are grateful that companies such as Kelly-Moore Paints and Sherwin-Williams Paint Store have donated material for the Seabees to use, Thompson said.
Texoma Community Credit Union will provide food for the young people, he said.
Thompson said students from Hirschi, Kirby, SAFB and MSU Texas, as well as kids from local churches, will help with the cleanup efforts.
The Spring Cleanup needs volunteers with trailers who can haul trash off and lawn mowers to do yardwork, he said.
Anyone who would like more information on volunteering and Operation Fresh Start can call Thompson at 940-766-4022.
More: Operation Fresh Start gearing up again after hiatus
“Even though we’ll have some dumpsters from the city, we don't have enough," Thompson said.
Volunteers who can take trash to the city landfill will receive a slip saying the waste is from Operation Fresh Start, and they won't be charged for dumping it, he said.
Dumpsters will be in the east parking lot of Hirschi, near New Jerusalem and north of the auditorium at Booker T. Washington Elementary, Thompson said.
Operation Fresh Start is a nondenominational, nonracial, nonpolitical coalition of churches, schools and the city.
The initiative focuses on helping low-income communities, seniors and others. It was organized in 2018 to raise money to buy athletic equipment for Hirschi.
More: Operation Fresh Start gearing up again after hiatus
Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news, politics and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Operation Fresh Start gears up for spring events
