Joe and Helen Harris Foundation

10/01/2026

Hey NES 3rd Graders! Give yourselves a BIG HAND for perfect attendance! The Joe and Helen Harris Foundation is so happy to celebrate the 30-day milestone for perfect attendance with 58 third graders this school year at Newport Elementary! Newport School District

09/25/2026

Today is “Give Like Dolly Day”!

Did you know that almost 350 children between the ages of 0-5 in Jackson County alone receive a book each month through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library?

While the national organization provides the opportunity and support, it is also up to the local program partners to help fund the program.

The Joe and Helen Harris Foundation is proud to be the local Jackson County Program Partner.

A gift of only $31 provides one child with a book each month for an ENTIRE YEAR.

Won’t you help us reach our local Jackson County goal of $925 today? You can give directly through the Arkansas Imagination Library, and please designate your donation to go to Jackson County.

We will always love Dolly, and thank you for supporting the young children in our community!

Today is Give Like Dolly Day—a new annual tradition honoring Dolly Parton’s generous heart and lifelong commitment to children!

Right here in Arkansas, more than 86,000 children receive a free book every month through the Imagination Library. Behind every book are Local Program Partners, donors and community supporters who make this work possible.

A gift of $9.25, $25 or any meaningful amount can help Arkansas children continue receiving books each month.

Give statewide or choose the county you would like to support:

🔗 ArkansasImaginationLibrary.org/Give/

Together, we can carry her mission forward—one book, one child and one community at a time.

09/21/2026

We are SO grateful to The Newport Country Club for organizing this fundraiser for Dolly’s Imagination Library! All proceeds from this event stay right here in Jackson County to provide free books to our kids! Arkansas Imagination Library

09/09/2026

Our SPOT Program for the 2026-27 school year kicked off today with 12 SPOT Kids and their mentors!

SPOT is sponsored by the Joe and Helen Harris Foundation, and stands for Students Preparing for Opportunities Tomorrow.

This is our 5th year, and we have 4 returning and 8 new SPOT Kids! The students range from 3rd-6th grade. They come into the program in 3rd grade and stay until they graduate at the end of their 6th grade year.

The sessions are held twice a month, after school, and at the Harris Center for Opportunities.

One-On-One Mentoring and Relationship Building - Each student is paired with a mentor when they come into the program, and they stay with that mentor each year until they graduate. The bond formed between the SPOT kids and their mentors is strong. Last year, we had six 6th graders graduate from the program - our first graduating class since starting the program 4 years ago! Our program has grown each year thanks to the number of mentors who have stepped up and made the commitment to work with these kids.

Iris Clark oversees the program, and works with Newport Elementary, the parents and the mentors to ensure the students’ needs are met, and they are learning skills needed to excel both in and out of school.

This year’s mentors are: Mary Berry, Rickey Clark, Michael Christopher, Jackie Donaldson, Sarah Hardin, Marian Hockaday, Peggy Lee, Jeff Phillips, Trey Randolph, Roy Ray, Derrick Ratliffe, and Cynthia Smotherman. These mentors volunteer their time and are instrumental in making this program successful.

At each session, the students work on life skills, academic enrichment and organized activities.

Today’s session started out with Getting to Know You. The students and the mentors discussed things about themselves that helped them learn about each other.

Then it was a game of Smarties, which involved speed, number addition, and sportsmanship. Each winner received some Smarties candy!

We look forward to the 5th year of our SPOT Program and enriching the lives of these children in our community!

09/04/2026

The Whole Pack! These NES 3rd graders are THE BOMB for having 15 days of perfect attendance this school year! 66 third graders were treated to Bomb Pops this afternoon from the Joe and Helen Harris Foundation in recognition of their perfect attendance! Many thanks to Foundation Board Members Charity L. Randolph and Cheryl Cross for helping pass out popsicles! Congratulations, kids! See you at 30 days! Newport School District

08/26/2026

Is your child age 0-5? Then they are eligible to participate in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and receive a free book each month. Read below on how to register your child! The Joe and Helen Harris Foundation is proud to be the Jackson County partner in this program!

Dolly Parton's legacy will continue not only through her music, but through her foundation that sends free books to children in the U.S. and four other countries. Details through the 🔗 in comments.

08/26/2026

Today was such a sad day for us all. We mourn the loss of a national treasure in Dolly Parton. The Joe and Helen Harris Foundation is the local county agent for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library through the Arkansas Imagination Library. You can help continue Dolly’s legacy and passion for children by making a donation in her memory to the Arkansas Imagination Library and, designate Jackson County as the recipient of your donation.

Today, Arkansas Imagination Library joins people around the world in mourning the loss of Dolly Parton, an extraordinary woman whose vision changed childhood for millions.

Through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Dolly placed books into the hands and homes of children around the world and inspired a love of reading from the very beginning.

Here in Arkansas, Dolly’s vision has reached every county in our state. More than 82,000 Arkansas children currently receive an Imagination Library book in the mail each month, and more than 7 million books have been delivered to Arkansas children since the program began in our state in 2005.

Thank you, Dolly, for believing so deeply in the power of books and the potential of every child. Your legacy will live on for generations. We will always love you. ❤️

You can enroll a child into the program at ArkansasImaginationLibrary.org/enroll/

Arkansans wishing to honor Dolly by helping provide books to children here at home may donate directly to Arkansas Imagination Library at ArkansasImaginationLibrary.org/give.

07/30/2026

LAST DAY! It was the last day of the last camp for the 2026 summer season! The kids in our Creative Art Summer Opportunity Camp with the Joe and Helen Harris Foundation got to use their “thinkers”, their imagination and learned some new creative skills.

They made homemade “squishies” with felt, needle and thread, stuffing and clever designs.

The Tic-Tac-Toe pieces made of colorful clay and baked in the oven turned out to be SO precious.

And, the day ended painting canvases. Any. Way. They. Wanted.

We appreciate all of the fantastic kids who attended all of our camps this summer - all fine young ladies and gentlemen. We appreciate the parents, grandparents, sitters, etc. that dropped off and picked up their kids - giving them this opportunity during a busy summer.

We appreciate all of our 2026 Summer Opportunity Camp instructors: Leanne Moss Bradley, Artez Brown, Sarah Hardin, Carey Wagoner Robertson, Tray-Jordan Malone, Joy West, Kathy Eaton Robison and Julie Reardon! The time and talents you gave to the kids truly enriched their lives.

We appreciate the partnerships with the Newport School District, Newport Greyhound Football, George Kell Park, Jackson County Farm Bureau, Jackson County-UAEX, and Gen 4 Jets.

And all of the Harris Foundation board members and volunteers who gave of their time to make sure these kids had a safe and fun summer. THANK YOU!

07/29/2026

Today is a little bittersweet for the Joe and Helen Harris Foundation. It marks the end of our Summer Opportunity Camp series for 2026. We were able to provide 10 different educational, fun and creative camps for over 270 children in our community this summer. And, thanks to our donors and fundraising efforts, all of these camps were FREE for all children!

What do you want to see in 2027?

07/29/2026

Tic-Tac-Toe and Sew-Sew-Sew! Day 1 of “Creative Art” Summer Opportunity Camp at the Joe and Helen Harris Foundation gave the kids some creative challenges, but they certainly rose to the occasion!

Tic-Tac-Toe boards were created with clay, and then the kids used their imaginations to create the playing pieces. Be sure and scroll through the pics - they are amazing!

Then, the kids started a sewing project that included making a pattern, cutting the fabric, and ended the day with a very challenging exercise - threading a needle! We didn’t get too many pics of that part because it was all hands on deck with the thread and needles!

Again, many thanks to the talented Julie Reardon as she guides these young people through the art projects, and to Andrea Duncan-Glover for providing the best assistance!

More today as we wrap up “Creating Art” Camp. Today also wraps up our summer series of Summer Opportunity Camps. It has been our pleasure to bring these fun, enlightening and FREE camps to the children in our community!