Tenants

The American Federation of Teachers, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, was founded in 1916 and today represents 1.5 million members in more than 3,000 local affiliates nationwide.

Five divisions within the AFT represent the broad spectrum of the AFT’s membership: pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; and nurses and other healthcare professionals. In addition, the AFT represents approximately 80,000 early childhood educators and nearly 250,000 retiree members.

The AFT is governed by its elected officers and by delegates to the union’s biennial convention, which sets union policy. Elected leaders are Randi Weingarten, president; Lorretta Johnson, secretary-treasurer; Francine Lawrence, executive vice president; and a 43-member executive council.

Many well-known Americans have been AFT members, including John Dewey, Albert Einstein, Hubert Humphrey, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt, Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, former Senate Majority Leader and Ambassador to Japan Mike Mansfield, former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, and former United Nations Under-Secretary and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche.

Mississippi’s Voice for Children and Families

Not all ailments are physical. The reality is that one in five children suffers from a behavioral health challenge. One child in 68 is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, with as much as one in 42 boys. More than 1.3 million teenagers struggle with substance abuse and dependence, and nearly 1 million children fall victim to abuse and neglect each year. Confronted with these statistics, children and families in Mississippi need a proven leader with a record of success.

The History of Canopy Children’s Solutions

Canopy Children’s Solutions (Canopy), formerly Mississippi Children’s Home Services, is Mississippi’s most comprehensive nonprofit provider of children’s behavioral health, educational, and social service solutions. Founded in 1912 as an adoption agency, Canopy has served the children and families of Mississippi for over 100 years. Our programs developed for Mississippi’s children, youth, and families continue to evolve to meet society’s changing needs. Today, Canopy serves all 82 counties through a full range of innovative solutions.

Canopy’s Mission and Values

Canopy employs a diverse group of mission-driven employees committed to honoring the voice of Mississippi children and families. We work to keep these voices heard by our state and national leaders. Our employees are published academics and research journalists in behavioral health and social service issues.

Love God

“Coast Life Church exists to make Jesus famous in our region, in our state, in our country and in our world.  There is no better way to love him than to make him a big deal as much as we can.  We do everything that we do in his name because he deserves the credit.  You’ll hear these words often, “For His glory and our good”.  We love him because he first loved us, and made it possible for us to get to him.

Love People

If we love people then we will actively do all that we can to introduce them to Jesus.  He is the answer and solution to every question and need.  There is a lot of good out there.  We want everyone to know that Jesus is the cause of that good.  There is also a lot of hurt.  We also want people to know that He is in charge of that hurt and wants to get rid of it so we can get a little picture of how great he is and how much he loves us.

Serve the World

This is a pretty big challenge, but we think that we are up for it.  The world used to seem huge and unreachable.  Today we live in a truly small world that any of us can access in just a few seconds, and travel to any part of in a few hours.  Coast Life Church is now, and will always serve the world through supporting missionaries, sending money and people to needy places, and supporting organizations that genuinely help people physically, and then lead them to Jesus.  It’s not enough to provide care for the needy if we don’t do it in Jesus’ name.  We are so glad to help anyone anywhere as long as the credit goes to the one who deserves it.  That’s how we serve the world