Mieshia Smith will be busy this weekend.

Smith, the director of the Lincoln-Copiah Tobacco Free Coalition, is organizing World Health Day today, but she’s also volunteering Saturday with Habitat for Humanity and Lincoln County Future Farmers of America for the first ever Lincoln County Day of Service project.

World Health Day’s aim is to bring awareness to the importance of exercising regularly and eating well.

It will be at 230 South First St. Attendees will also be able to get their blood pressure and sugar checked.

“It’s important with tobacco because smoking affects both blood pressure and sugar diabetes,” Smith said.

Smith wants to use World Health Day as a community awareness day.

“A part of our mission for the tobacco coalition is to do education,” Smith said. “A lot of people know about the RAT program and Generation Free program, but they’re unaware of the other projects and awareness events that we do for the community.”

RAT — Reject All Tobacco — is aimed at kids in kindergarten through sixth grade. Generation Free is a youth-led tobacco prevention movement.

Smith said celebrating World Heath Day is a way to reach all ages and tell people about the free services as well as offer health and tobacco education.

“I’ll have booths set up to help people quit smoking and materials available if people are interested in hosting any awareness events,” Smith said. “We’ll have information for tobacco and oral health and we also do second-hand smoke education to let people know about the dangers of second hand smoke.”

Volunteers needed for

Day of Service

The Day of Service projects will bring volunteers of various areas together to help renovate and clean homes.

Lincoln County Executive Director Suzanne Smith said the project includes five houses — three in the county and two in the city. Mollie Goldman from Enterprise Attendance Center, Courtney Myers from West Lincoln Attendance Center and Seth Sumrall from Loyd Star Attendance Center are the project leaders for the three county houses.

Mieshia Smith has gathered Brookhaven volunteers to work on the two houses in the city.

“We have 30-40 volunteers for that one day, ages 16-80,” Suzanne Smith said. “High school volunteers, churches, a retired minister and even candidates running for office have jumped in to help.”

She said there is no limit on the amount of volunteers. To volunteer, call 601-823-4061, or show up at the Lincoln County Government Complex at 224 South First St. at 8 a.m. Saturday ready to work.

“We’re going to meet in front of the courthouse at 8 a.m. for an opening ceremony and prayer. We’ll be thanking a lot of the people who pitched in and go to the various worksites,” Smith said. “Volunteers can meet us there and we’ll assign them a location.”

Volunteers will assist with many home projects — installing handicap ramps, planting flower gardens, assisting in yard work — and anything else to help homeowners.

“It’s such a good way to give back and it doesn’t take too much time, just a little effort,” Smith said. “We were very fortunate that we had a lot of response. Next year is going to be even more exciting.”