At 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, 15-year-old Landon, a resident of Palmer Home for Children, will be on his way to Starkville where he and other teenage residents raise money at every Mississippi State University home college football game for the organization they call home.
Landon is one of several Palmer Home teenagers who direct traffic for Palmer Parking at the Cadence Bank parking lot on Russell Street across from The Mill at MSU conference center on game days. The teens arrive a few hours before the game starts, and within half an hour, they are collecting $20 each from fans and directing them to available parking spots, Landon said.
The teenagers make sure the drivers all know that the money goes to support Palmer Home, the Columbus-based nonprofit that provides residence to vulnerable or orphaned children who need a home.
“It lets (the drivers) know there’s a children’s home nearby,” Landon said.
Overseeing the teenagers is Tom Green, director of operations and facilities at Palmer Home. He takes them — usually two at a time — to Starkville and keeps an eye on them. But it’s the students themselves that take the money and direct the drivers where to park, he said.
“The objective is to get these young (people) in a different social environment, let them present themselves, let them talk to the patrons of the parking lot,” Green said. “But, most important, it teaches them life skills of engaging with people, making change and giving instructions.”
Palmer Home and Cadence Bank in Starkville agreed in 2014 to create Palmer Parking. The money is spread between Palmer Home’s two campuses in Columbus and Hernando and its Tennessee-based foster program, Jonah’s Journey, Green said.
Students began the project midway through the 2014 season, marketing director Kellum Kim said. She agrees the project has been a good way to get the teenagers at Palmer Home out in the community.
Since then, Kim said, the teenagers have raised about $30,000 total, an average of about $2,500 per game.
“It’s important for them to learn just that face-to-face interaction in a business setting,” Kim said. “A lot of our kids do have after-school jobs or volunteer in other capacities, so it’s not just like they’re here on our campus never socializing with the outside world. But a lot of their jobs are here on our campus.”
Cadence Mississippi Bank President Jerry Toney said the bank is happy to help.
“Our employees wanted to assist in supporting the organization and felt it would be a great idea to utilize our property on game days to help them fundraiser … while teaching valuable life and business skills to their teenage residents,” Toney said in an email to The Dispatch. “We are thrilled it has been so successful, even beyond what we imagined.”
Palmer Home residents Bubba and Dillon, both 16, directed parking during last year’s games.
“One of us holds the money and the other one helps either hold the sign or direct the cars to where they need to go,” Bubba said.
The teenagers have to handle money and communicate clearly with drivers and other people they meet, in addition to making sure the cars are being parked straight and close together. The parking lot can fit up to 120-140 cars at a time, Bubba said.
Palmer Home currently serves 112 children. Landon is glad to be one of them, he said.
“This is a great place for kids,” Landon said. “It’s not the Ritz, but hey, it’s home.”
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