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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

On April 28, Sandy Middleton, the executive director of the Center for Violence Prevention, put out a call for local citizens to vote in the State Farm Neighborhood Assist campaign.

The program awards $25,000 to the top 40 causes that received the most votes in the Facebook campaign. Neighborhood Assist began in 2012 as a way for citizens to decide where State Farm will donate money. People began submitting causes March 3, and the submission period ended on March 23.

The Center for Violence Prevention is a nonprofit located in Pearl that helps those who have been touched by domestic violence and similar issues. Middleton says that the center will use the money for their Human Trafficking Program. Currently, CVP is at number 60 in the ranking.

To vote for the Center for Violence Prevention, go to the program’s Facebook application. Voting ends May 17 and the winners will be announced May 27. For more information about CVP, visit the organization’s website.

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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.