THE SEASON OF GIVING

The Junior Women's League of Smithfield was involved in several initiatives to make the holidays a little brighter for families throughout Johnston County and beyond.

JWL'S ANNUAL COAT DRIVE for two of our partner organizations, My Kid's Club (MKC) and Partnership for Children of  Johnston County warms all of our hearts. The Community Impact and Placement Committee (CIP) was given a list of 124 coats to provide for both organizations and through the generosity of our members, we filled every need. CIP members were thrilled to attend the coat presentation at My Kid's Club and see the joy firsthand as children modeled their new coats for each other.  

JWL in Action

On December 4, JWL Smithfield members were part of a community coalition to package 5,000 meals for people facing hunger. With food insecurity being a huge focus topic initiative for our league, these members were eager to volunteer and lend a hand to meet Rise Against Hunger's goal.

Spreading Joy from Town to Town

JWL Smithfield members participated in our reindeer food stations at Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremonies in Benson, Smithfield, and Clayton. JWL's "elves" loved being back at these events, seeing the excitement on each child's face as they made their own reindeer food and chatting with parents about what the league is up to these days. For the first time in our league's history, members also took part in Christmas parades in the towns of Selma, Kenly and Archer Lodge, spreading joy -and candy canes- to the spectators. They had such a great time that they are already making parade plans for JWL's float this year!

Partnering with NCDSA to Deliver Holiday Cheer 

While many of us exchange gifts with our family and friends to celebrate the holidays, there are plenty of people who aren’t as fortunate. The North Carolina Down Syndrome Alliance partnered with the Junior Women's League of Smithfield to bring holiday cheer to children by donating a large assortment of educational and fun games, toys, books, posters and various décor items to children in Johnston County. JWL facilitated the donations from NCDSA and delivered them to Smithfield Rescue Mission and the North Carolina Department of Commerce Agricultural Program, organizations that were in need of providing additional Christmas gifts for the families they serve in their outreach programs. Additionally, My Kid's Club was gifted with STEM/STEAM games and activities, books, toys and more for the children in their after school programs to enjoy in the new year. Kayte Rodriguez, Women, Children, and Client Services Manager of Smithfield Rescue Mission said, "This unexpected blessing couldn't have come at a better time for these families."

Letters from Santa: Outreach Expands to

Foster Children and Senior Citizens

Pictured Far Left and Far Right: Senior citizens receiving their letters through Johnston County DSS Adult Services. Pictured Center: Lizzie and Maggie were suprised to receive their letters while visiting their Aunt Jennifer. 

FALL PROVISIONAL CLASS MAKES AN IMPACT 

JWL's 2021-2022 Fall Provisional Class partnered with the Clayton Fire Department to build and install two new Blessing Boxes at Clayton Fire Station 1 at 325 W. Horne Street and Clayton Fire Station 2 at 800 NC 42 Highway to further combat food insecurity in Johnston County and help our neighbors in need. We are so appreciative of their combined efforts to bring this project to fruition for the benefit of families and individuals in the Town of Clayton and the surrounding area. 

These Provisional members also secured monthly donations of non-perishable food items from two local churches and are actively seeking more community partners to help keep our Blessing Boxes stocked during a time when the need is greater than ever. In addition, the Provisional class held a very successful food drive during Touch-A-Truck garnering a truck load of donations from attendees which were able to fill all of our Blessing Boxes. 

A member of the community recently posted this anecdote on our Blessing Box Facebook group and it resonated deeply with our mission: "I was driving past the Archer Lodge box...looking to see if it needed love. I saw a little elderly man shuffling towards the (blessing) box & couldn’t help but smile knowing that he wasn’t going to have to go to bed hungry. What we do matters to our community. Let’s keep going!"  We encourage community members to donate non-perishable food, personal hygiene items and household goods to any of our ten Blessing Boxes in the county to help keep them stocked or make a monetary donation here. Please contact JWL if your organization would like to partner with us.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

December

Each month, we recognize members who embody our mission and go above and beyond in their service as a part of the Junior Women's League of Smithfield and extend our appreciation to them.  Thank you to these amazing women!

UPCOMING EVENTS