Promises At The Park

It’s getting closer. Are you ready to do your part? The Great River Promise Block Party is May 17 at Walker Park. It’s going to be a day of fun and a day of purpose.

We are getting a lot of support, but we need more. We have 17 churches and 12 businesses signed up to sponsor a booth at the park. We need 20 of each; so we need three more churches and eight more businesses.

There will be all kinds of activities that day, including the Kiwanis Fishing Rodeo, Harry Myers’ incomparable Barbeque, antique cars, motorcycles, food, rummage sales, auctions, music, games, and a few other surprises we aren’t ready to mention just yet.

If you want to be a part of this, we need to hear from you. Contact Ignite chairman James Decanter at (870) 762-5510 or (870) 740-8156 or Ignite member Doug Echols at (870) 740-1094.

Why should you care? Because it’s our community, and it’s our kids. The Great River Promise is a program that guarantees our kids will have a chance for a college education, regardless of their ability to pay. There are rules, of course. They have to take some responsibility for their actions. They can’t be convicted for drug or alcohol charges. They have to stay in school and out of trouble.

If they do their part to live up to their potential, we will help them by promising them a two year college education at Arkansas Northeastern College. As the executives like to say, it’s a "win-win" situation for all. The kids have motivation to stay in school and out of trouble, and the knowledge that they can go to college, even if they don’t have the financial ability to pay for it.

The community has the benefit of knowing our kids are striving for a goal, and we can pull together to help them attain that goal. It’s what a community does. We bind individually, and each do a little so together we can accomplish a lot.

Why should you come to Walker Park? Why should you donate some of your hard earned money? Because we can’t do it alone, but we can do it together. Our churches and our businesses and our people are all coming together this one day in something the town has never seen before. We are having the biggest block party ever, coming together in a united effort for one project, for one cause, for our most important resource.

Nucor has pledged funding, giving this project a major boost. We appreciate their generosity. But, it’s not enough. Other people have to get on board in order to ensure that every child in this area can have the education that will be vital in the future.

Not everyone can do what a corporation can do. But everyone can do something. It’s what being a community is. Some can do more, some can do less. But we all can do something, to keep a promise of a better future for the next generation of our community.