The Floyd & Bessie Johnson Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Established in 2010, it exists to support the spiritual and life development of neighborhood young people by introducing them to basic life skills based in a healthy and safe environment.

These efforts are intended to aid in the Foundation’s mission to fight against community deterioration in the at-risk neighborhoods of Greenville, Mississippi, by nurturing a sense of purpose and direction in these young lives. The children initially to be involved live in the neighborhood around Nelson Street in Greenville, MS. These areas are primarily high crime areas and offer little in the way of productive life choices to instill a sense of hope in these young lives. These children need to have influences in their lives that challenge this lifestyle as normal or something to be perpetuated and instead have focused attention to discovering their talents and potential.

The best means of doing this is to expose the children to everything from basic life skills that they may or may not be receiving in the home to cultural activities to productive technology and social awareness sessions aimed at teaching them what it means really to respect their bodies and minds. One-on-one sessions will challenge them to chose a path in life that they can work towards from the earliest age. With success in these initially targeted neighborhoods, the program is intended to spread to include children in other high risk areas of the city and beyond.

How does it carry out its mission?

The Foundation provides its own set of programs and also seeks partnerships with programs already in existence or in planning stages in Greenville to work together to give the children as well-rounded of a set of experiences as possible. As individual organizations, we may separately be limited in what we can do, but through partnering with different ongoing programs, according to the organizations’ strengths and mandates, the children can be the beneficiaries of a seamless and endless stream of support/nurturing to allow them to truly explore their potential path in life.