Great things happening at Good Shepherd Community Center

Good Shepherd Community Center is doing great things with its programs aimed at serving individuals.

This past Thanksgiving, Good Shepherd fed over 200 families and presented over 300 gifts for kids during Christmas.

Cindy McCarley was named executive director in 2019 and oversees the operations of Good Shepherd. Since her arrival, the center has added more people from the community to its board of directors and started renovations while creating a program website for the first time.

Good Shepherd still has many past programs on their service list including the preschool and medical clinic, along with many more exciting opportunities added for the community such as Social Graces, anger management, Windows to God, and Smart Start.

The free medical clinic is for individuals over the age of 18 and is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 a.m. until noon.

“The medical clinic helps provide medical services to uninsured adults,” McCarley said. “For instance, if someone is diabetic, they’ll be able to receive medical care.”

The preschool for children ages 6 weeks to 4 years old is one of the main programs that Good Shepherd offers, and the center takes pride in directing youth in a positive way. The hours of operation for the preschool are from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The preschool program offers a certificate program for families without big incomes where the state matches your co-pay based on income. The program accepts private pay as well. Speech therapy has been added to the preschool program.

Social Graces offers a chance for teenagers and young adults to learn character and integrity on and offline.

“So many fights are started online and end at the school which brought about this program which was created and will be taught by Darlene George,” McCarley said.

Social Graces classes are $5 every Thursday and scholarships are available.

Other new offered programs:

• Anger management: Program will be for teens teaching them how to calm themselves.
• Parenting support class: Saturday morning classes where parents will learn things such as connecting and building family bonds and how to parent without guilt.
• Windows to God: class offered by Amanda Davis to those 10 and older to help them with things such as basic computer skills, job search assistance, and resume building. 
• Free food Mondays: Sponsored by Fit Chef the first Monday of each month, any family in the Good Shepherd program can receive a meal and information about community agencies that can provide them with needed services.

The mission of Good Shepherd is to educate, inspire, and empire individuals, children, and families to live their best lives. Good Shepherd is funded through the United Methodist Church and receives donations from many organizations such as the United Way and International Paper in addition to individual donations from people who believe in Good Shepard’s mission.

The center is located at 629 Cherry St. in Vicksburg. For more information, please visit the Good Shepherd website.