NATCHEZ — As the day’s end approached Wednesday, some Natchez-Adams School District employees didn’t start packing up.

Instead, they headed to an upstairs room at the Braden Administration Building for a meeting of TeamNASD, a volunteer-run community service organization involving community members and district employees.

TeamNASD is one of 13 committees district employees can participate in on a volunteer basis.

“It was created and started work back in April,” Steven Richardson, public relations coordinator for NASD, said.

The Natchez-Adams Public Relations Department originally created the committee and, although they are not in charge of it, Richardson is still a member. Richardson said the district’s committees decide on their own leadership, although TeamNASD does not currently have any leadership positions.

Richardson said the goal of the committee is to help the district give back to the community it serves.

“This is a community-wide effort to support our district by way of giving back,” Richardson said.

Unlike many of the other committees, it is one of only two where anyone can join. The other is the P-16 Committee.

All together the group has approximately 43 members, consisting of parents, district employees and students, although less than 10 showed up for the special-called meeting Wednesday due to conflicting schedules.

Normally the group meets at 4 p.m. on the last Thursday of the month. The Wednesday meeting was called to help plan a “Back to School Jam” for students in grades two through five, originally scheduled for this weekend.

Since TeamNASD does not receive any funding from the district, the team needs to raise funds for its projects throughout the year.

During the meeting, TeamNASD discussed how to raise funds at the dance, and decided to move it to Aug. 21 to give them, and parents, more time to prepare.

However, not all of the committee’s events are fundraisers. In the past, the group has volunteered for organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Stewpot.

Monica Anderson, who works in the district, has been with TeamNASD since the beginning. Since the organization is entirely run on a volunteer-basis, it means activities happen after hours.

For Anderson, it means giving up her free time, which she sees as a measure of dedication.

“You can tell that we really love what we’re doing,” Anderson said.

Anderson believes the group is positive for the district.

“Community and the school district should work hand-in-hand, and I think this is a great way to do it,” Anderson said.

Richardson hopes the group will continue to grow since TeamNASD does not limit its membership.

“We’re really interested in growing this team and having a really big impact on the communities in which we live, work and play,” Richardson said.

Membership is free. Anyone interested in TeamNASD can contact the Natchez-Adams County Public Relations Department at 601-445-2843.