DAC purchases huge building near Moorhead for HQ
The old Allen Canning Co. building is about to be re-branded.
The abandoned structure that formerly housed the canning manufacturer just east of Moorhead is about to take on a new role.
Clara Crossland, co-founder/CEO of Delta Advantage Center announced on Monday during the regular meeting of the Sunflower County Board of Supervisors that her organization recently acquired the facility, and it will become their new headquarters.
She appeared before the county leaders to present the organization’s plans and request the members’ backing.
“We need your support. We need your cooperation, and we need your financial support. We can't do this by ourselves,” Crossland said.
The facility is a 297,000-square-foot structure that sits on more than 95 acres.
"Our intent there and our purpose for establishing Delta Advantage Center is to promote the economic self-sufficiency of people in this Mississippi Delta," Crossland said.
The DAC has already shown an active presence in Moorhead and throughout the county. Crossland acknowledged that they have been handing out boxes of food to people all over the county since the early stages of the pandemic.
"Now we're ready to start doing a little bit more than that," she said.
The plans for the new venture include establishing family programs that will assist families in reaching financial and economic stability, so people can go out and help themselves and help others in the community as well, Crossland added.
In addition, they also plan to administer a wide array of programs that provide emergency food assistance, family services and support and employment preparation and training.
"I know that we have the Capps Center and they're doing wonderful things, but we want to teach people how to keep a job once you get it."
Crossland said they also have plans to partner with other agencies that already exist within the county and state.
"We don't want to replace anything that's out there, we want to enhance and improve things, that's our thing. We're not trying to take anybody's job or do anything that we are already doing. That's not our intent," she said.
Crossland mentioned connecting with organizations like the United Way and also said that she has reached out to the American Red Cross about establishing a disaster emergency shelter at the facility. "And they were very excited about that," she said.
Other aspects of the undertaking include partnering with area colleges and universities so that the students can do internships. Crossland said that would give the young people an opportunity to be better prepared to go out and get jobs.
She also intends to establish programs for women and girls and have members of sororities come in and teach young girls etiquette. “What we’ve found out in our research is that we have so many women who never had a chance to get skills and competencies before they became mothers (and) before they started to raise families, so we want to work with them and work with the girls in the community so that they don't have to go into the same pitfalls,” she added.
In addition to the various programs, the facility will also house a conference center, multipurpose rooms, an auditorium, a coffee shop, rentable office space and a concession area inside, plus a play area and sports fields outside.
Crossland said one group has already contacted her about securing a 10,000 square foot area that will have temperature control units so farmers and growers can bring their goods to be displayed and sold. "We want top-of-the-line facilities, something that we can all be proud of," she said.
Phase one is near completion and Crossland said phase two will involve acquiring additional funding, finalizing the programs and making repairs and renovations, citing that the plumbing and wiring will have to be overhauled.
She said although this is their first time attempting a project of this magnitude she is confident that they have the skill set to make it work.
Delta Advantage Center is a nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization.
In other business,
The county lawmakers approved and renewed the contracts for public defenders Demetrice Wells and Neysha Sanders.
After emerging from a closed executive session, Attorney Johnny McWilliams announced the pending sale of county-owned property in the industrial park.
He said the contract has not been formally accepted yet, but he expects that it will be and if so, he will make an announcement at the board's next meeting.
