special to the democrat

LORMAN — More than 200 middle school and junior high school students, youth directors, sponsors and parents will converge at Alcorn State University for “A Day of Arts and STEEM with The Links at Alcorn” on Saturday, in the James L. Bolden campus union ballroom.

The event, that Alcorn hosts in collaboration with the Natchez Chapter of The Links Inc. will begin at 10 a.m. and will be filled with sensory learning and new experiences.

Children from established organizations from five counties will be participating in the event: Boys’ and Girls clubs, school and church mentoring groups, Girl Scout troops, the Chapter’s mentoring group ESTEEMers, the participants of the “Can You Imagine Me?” project and the students of Jubilee Performing Arts Center.  Adams, Claiborne, Covington, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion and Pike counties will be represented.

The participants will start the morning off with the experience of community service as they drop off their personally prepared “care bags” for children of Haiti at The Links’ International Trends table.

The president and vice president of the Natchez chapter will personally deliver the bags to the Christian Haitian Outreach Orphanage in Miami.

As part of the Chapter’s obesity focus, the children will have healthy snacks prepared by the health and human service facet. Refreshments were selected from the “MyPlate” food guide to spark an acceptance of nutritious eating among children.

The focal point of the room will be the “Art & STEEM” visual and active displays set up and manned by the university faculty and student organizations.

The formal program will begin at 11 a.m. with a presentation of the Arts and STEEM programs at Alcorn State University, and at 1 p.m., Jubilee Performing Arts Center of Pike County (JPAC) will provide special entertainment.

“The vision of the center is to revive the awareness and appreciation of the arts while developing competent students who are successfully prepared for the next level in the arts, whether that is university, apprenticeship or professional experience,” said Dr. Terrance Alexander, director of JPAC, the nonprofit program offered for schoolchildren sixth through 12th grades. “Jubilee also has a rigorous and relevant academic component that challenges students in math, science, English, languages and social studies.”

A group of more than 60 students under the direction of Alcorn alumnus Elliot Johnson will present a live Motown Revue. After the program, students will have the opportunity to interact with University performers and their peer performers. Their ultimate HBCU experience will continue with a delicious lunch at the Dr. Clinton Bristow Jr. Dining Facility.

The event is directed by the office of Dr. M. Christopher Brown II, president of Alcorn State University, and Mrs. Countess Thompson, president of the Natchez Chapter of The Links, and coordinated by Dr. Donzell Lee, vice provost at Alcorn, and Jacqueline Evans, arts chairman of The Links. The Division of Student Affairs, Departments of Fine Arts, Chemistry, Agriculture, the five program facets of The Links — Jubilee Performing Arts Center, and Natchez Transit — partnered to provide the events of “The Day of The Arts & STEEM at Alcorn.”

The general goal of the partnership is to provide an atmosphere and content for the students to visualize the possibilities of career and personal excellence.