Juniors’ Special Program: Advocates for Children

Juniors’ Special Program: Advocates for Children

Girls on the Run

GFWC Colorado – GFWC Southwest Region Women’s Club

The club collaborated with Girls on the Run, a nonprofit program for girls in grades three to eight. The program aims to develop and enhance girls’ social, psychological, and physical competencies to navigate life experiences successfully. The girls develop competence, confidence, connection, character, caring, and contribution through lessons that incorporate running and other physical activities. Club members donated athletic shoes, socks, headbands, hair spray, hair chalk, and pens.

 

Washcloth Teddy Bears

GFWC Georgia – GFWC Vienna Woman’s Club

The Washcloth Teddy Bears project ties creative challenges to random door prizes at their monthly meetings. At a meeting, a set of twelve washcloths was the “prize,” and the challenge was to create a hands-on project for their next club meeting. As Foster Care Month is in May, the research resulted in ways to creatively use washcloths to help foster children. Each member brought twelve washcloths and learned to craft them into cloth teddy bears. The finished teddy bears were delivered to the Department of Family and Children’s Services office for distribution to foster children.

 

Christmas Stockings

GFWC Illinois – GFWC Coal City Junior Woman’s Club

The club received names of children within the foster care system in Grundy County, IL, and members designed seventy-five holiday stockings personalized with the child’s name. The members stuffed the stockings with donated candy and small toys they had collected and provided an ornament for each child. The stockings and ornaments were given to CASA to distribute.

 

Supporting Youth Oasis

GFWC Louisiana – GFWC Literary & Civic Club

Youth Oasis is a facility for at-risk youth aged 10 to 17, placed by court order for their protection. With twenty-five young people in residence, club members helped them celebrate Valentine’s Day with cards, candy, and fresh fruit. At Easter, club members decorate cupcakes. For July 4th, watermelon and picnic fixings were supplied. At Halloween, club members delivered two bags of apples and candy. During holiday time, twenty-five stockings filled with candy and a $25 gift card from Walmart were delivered to the residents.

 

The Smile Project

GFWC Mississippi – GFWC-MFWC Decatur Progressive Woman’s Club

Created by the club, The Smile Project, in honor of MFWC’s partnership with GFWC Affiliate Organization Operation Smile. The project aimed to collect toothbrushes and toothpaste for local underprivileged children. The club held a BUNCO fundraising event and asked attendees to donate items. Club members donated items, and the club collaborated with a local dentist who donated $100 of toothbrushes and toothpaste. Club officers delivered the items to school nurses at the county schools for distribution to children.

 

Auction to Benefit GFWC Missouri Girls Town

GFWC Missouri – GFWC Woman’s Club of Ste. Genevieve

At its November meeting, members arrived at the DuBourg Center laden with gifts, grab bags, delicious treats, cash donations, and more, all to be auctioned off with funds to GFWC Missouri Girls Town (MGT). GFWC Missouri Girls Town provides a home for abused and neglected girls referred to by the GFWC Missouri Division of Family Services, the Department of Mental Health, or the juvenile courts.

 

Pajama Drive

GFWC Nevada – GFWC Mesquite Club of Las Vegas

The club held a pajama drive in connection with their Annual Holiday Luncheon. Each member and guest were asked to bring sets of pajamas for children at St. Jude’s Ranch in Henderson, GFWC Nevada. For 50 years, St. Jude’s Ranch has provided a safe, nurturing home with therapeutic residential treatment services to thousands of abused and neglected children in GFWC Nevada. Through the generosity of our members and guests, 149 pairs of children’s pajamas were collected at this event.

 

Big Smiles in Little Bags

GFWC New Hampshire – GFWC Dover Area Woman’s Club

The club members partnered with End 68, a weekend food program for food insecure students. Members packed 120-200 food bags once a month, staffed a Saturday donation drop-off station, and helped unload food deliveries. Before vacation recess, members made small zipper treat bags to pack extra treats to bring smiles to the kids, and members painted Kindness Rocks for every kid. A local dentist donated toothbrushes/paste, and members purchased treats like candy, crayons, bookmarks to color, candy canes, seed packages, and cards to fit in the bag.

 

Recycled Jeans for a Head Start

GFWC Pennsylvania – GFWC Woman’s Club of Milton

The club created forty bags from recycled jeans using a cord donated from a local factory as drawstrings. The bags contained: a book, crayons, pencils, a tablet, an activity pad, a coloring book, a drawing pad, toothpaste, a toothbrush, a comb, shampoo, soap, lotion, and packets of cheese crackers, cookies, and a scarf made by a club member. A local dentist donated toothpaste and toothbrushes, and a local hotel donated shampoo, conditioner, soap, and lotion. The fronts of used holiday cards were used to write a short message and the club’s name to show who had donated the bags. They were delivered to the Head Start program.

 

Books to Shelves Project

GFWC South Carolina – GFWC Woman’s Club of Rock Hill

The club collaborated with The Sanctuary of Life Outreach Center (SOLO) to establish a reading program in the underserved areas of Rock Hill. The program promotes reading by students to achieve grade-level reading abilities by providing culturally relevant books for elementary and middle school reading levels. The books are placed in local businesses, and students can choose a book at their reading level rather than one determined to be at grade level. As they become more invested in reading, their proficiency can move toward achieving grade-level abilities. The club donated the bookshelves and books for three locations and is in the process of providing the bookshelf and books for a fourth location.