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by Elizabeth Smith The Heart of a Child Benefit will begin February 13, 2010 at 6:30PM at the White Co. Fairgrounds. 40 members, 1,900 hours of community service, 3,587 individual lives touched by Junior Auxiliary outreach projects last year. Junior Auxiliary of Searcy is made up of women who truly want to give back to this community. Why do we do it? For the hardworking senior, who is struggling to find a way to attend college; for the child whose parents lost their jobs and all he wants for Christmas is a warm coat; for the family whose pantry is empty right before the Thanksgiving holiday; for the students at the Sunshine School whose day is brightened by a Halloween Carnival or Easter Party; for the 3rd grader that avoids a predator because of what she learned from our course; for the student who shows up at the beginning of the school year with no back pack or school supplies; to join in the community efforts of service to the thousands of participants of Day of Caring. The members of Junior Auxiliary of Searcy are dedicated to giving their time, attention, love & care to the outreach projects targeting this community, but realize we cannot do it alone. We give the highest regard to our generous Corporate Sponsors. Without these individuals donating funds to our efforts, we would not be able to continue. Our annual Charity Benefit is an amazing evening where the community comes together to support an organization that does so many wonderful things for child welfare right here in White County. In 2009, over 40 Searcy businesses made substantial monetary donations to JA. Close to 100 businesses in Searcy and surrounding areas donated incredible goods or services to the auctions held at our Charity event. The members of Junior Auxiliary are forever grateful for the generous contributions of the Searcy community. With the economy in turmoil, we realize it's harder for businesses to give this year, but on the same note, we have twice as many families that need assistance. "We just want businesses to know they are making a "good investment" when they donate to Junior Auxiliary. We take their financial gift, wrap it with time, love and attention and present it to someone in need right here in Searcy, making this community a healthier place to live for everyone."  JA President - Rebekah Mohundro, First Security Bank 1st Vice President - Jennifer Holzhauer, Regions Bank Finance Chair - Elizabeth Smith, The UPS Store Auction Chairs - Betsy Bailey, Searcy Schools; & Susannah Streit, Lightle & Raney LLP Ball Chairs - Taylor Gann & Julie Miles, Blackbird Clothing With the idea of good stewardship in mind, the format of our annual corporately sponsored fundraiser is changing this year. Instead of a formal gala ball, we have decided to go a bit more casual with The Heart of a Child Benefit, focusing strictly on our mission "to serve with compassion, diligence, and creativity." We are still planning on having a fabulous meal and entertaining band. Our Ball chairs, Julie Miles and Taylor Gann, are planning to transform the fairgrounds into an elegant display of JA projects and members throughout the years. Our Auction chairs, Betsy Bailey and Susannah Streit, are working hard to acquire a wide variety of new live and silent auction items. We will also have a short motivational speaker during the meal. Our suggested attire is "denim & diamonds," which means you are still welcome to wear your cocktail dress, but your date is also welcome to wear his blue jeans and boots! The members of JA do not want to intimidate potential guests by requiring them to dress in formal attire. We want our guests to feel comfortable this year, wearing whatever they desire, from formal, semi-formal, business casual, to casual. As you know, the success of your sponsorship in conjunction with the benefit determines how many children we will be able to help during the upcoming year. Thank you again for your continued support of our projects for the children of White County. Your gift truly makes a difference. The Ball is earlier this year than it has been in past years. For dates, times and more information go to SearcyLiving.com. Tickets may also be purchased at Blackbird Clothing Store, The UPS Store on Beebe-Capps, and area banks. Projects that the JA worked on this past year: CROWN CLUB Crown Club enables 10th-12th grade girls to work along side JA members in our projects throughout the year. This year we have 50 outstanding members from Searcy High School. On September 6th, with the help of David and Brenda Allen, $1,500 was raised for the Sunshine School at the Big Splash Car Wash on Race Street. DAY OF CARING JA participates in the annual community outreach "Day of Caring." In 2008, we served sack lunches to approximately 1,500 people and babysat 37 children in the day care facility. SCHOLARSHIPS Each year JA awards $3,000 in scholarships to local college bound seniors involved in community service. COVERING KIDS Our Covering Kids projects give area students coats, clothes, and backpacks at the recommendations of school counselors. In 2008, JA provided 29 backpacks to students and provided 35 other children with clothes this school year. During the Day of Caring we also distributed undergarments to 530 children in need. CHILD LURES Child Lures is a week long course presented to third graders in area schools, aimed at preventing child exploitation and related crimes. ANGEL TREE Angel Tree project provided Christmas presents for 597 children in White County in 2008. The members sit with the "angel tree" in various locations around the community and encourage citizens to adopt angels for Christmas. The Junior Auxiliary then purchases gifts for any un-adopted angels and then coordinates delivering the angel tree gifts of clothes and toys to the parents. FOOD BASKET Food Basket projects gives large boxes of nonperishable food items to local families during the Thanksgiving holiday. This year 343 food baskets were distributed. Searcy Schools collects canned goods for Food Baskets during a food drive, then the JA members pick up the cans, sort them and organize boxes for each family and coordinate the distribution to needy families in White County. SUNSHINE SCHOOL At the heart of Junior Auxiliary's service to children of the community is the Sunshine School. JA championed its establishment in 1966 and continues to offer all forms of support to this school for special needs children. We enjoy hosting and assisting in various Sunshine School events throughout the year. We help paint pottery and teach swimming at their Camp Wyldewood Day Camp. We host a fun-filled Halloween Carnival for the students and parents in October and throw an Easter Party in April. The teachers at Sunshine School are truly amazing. Each year we serve them a homemade Teachers' Appreciation Luncheon. We really enjoy helping the Sunshine School raise funds with their annual Flea Market. We also make hundreds of sandwiches for the Region 6 Special Olympics. This year we assisted in taking the students to the White County Fair for a special day out. Paintings by the Sunshine School at their Day Camp will be up for auction at the Charity Ball. Go Back to Contents Go to SearcyLiving.com |
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