Entergy Employees Give $20K Grant, $8K in School Supplies; Paint, Plant and Clean Adopted School

JACKSON, Miss., August 6, 2024 /3BL/ - It was all hands on deck as Entergy Nuclear team members painted, planted and power washed at their adopted school, North Jackson Elementary, during Jackson Public School District’s annual ‘Beautification Day’.

In addition to deep-cleaning sidewalks, planting flowers and performing general clean-up, volunteers donated and distributed more than $8,000 in school supplies and presented school leaders with a $20,000 grant.

The money will provide each classroom in grades 1-5 with eight Virtual Reality headsets and charging cases. A key benefit of using VR in education is the immersive learning experience it provides.

“We’re very excited to bring VR learning to our scholars,” said Principal Jocelyn Smith. “Virtual reality brings 2D objects to life and makes visualization a reality, enabling users to experience real scenarios or fabricated experiences over and over. Through tutoring and incorporating VR in our teachers’ everyday lessons, we anticipate VR helping our scholars maintain or gain proficiency on our state test, as well as district benchmark assessments.”

Entergy Nuclear adopted North Jackson Elementary School as its new Adopt-A-School partner in 2022. The school is about five miles from the company’s headquarters and is the largest elementary school in the north Jackson area. It serves approximately 430 students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

“Strong communities provide a better quality of life for all who live there, so it’s important to us to give back to the communities where our employees and customers live and work,” said Kimberly Cook-Nelson, Entergy chief nuclear officer. “Our partnership with North Jackson Elementary is strong and provides us with opportunities for our people to volunteer in a number of ways throughout the year, from back-to-school supply drives, to judging science fairs, to reading, tutoring, and more.”

This was the third consecutive year Entergy team members have participated in the district’s annual event.