Service Projects

2010-2011

Reading is Fundamental

Laura Grice - Chair, Cassie Davis, Laura Rush, Mary Jane Collins, Jennifer Wedgworth, Bryn Taylor, Julie Culpepper, Amber Eddins, Allison Autry, Tracy Bell, Angie Null

JA  members visit with most schools in Meridian and Lauderdale County three times a year to distribute books to more than 2,400 students in 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades.  Motivational, hands-on activities are also conducted to help encourage and promote the love of reading. Surrounding children with books to choose, keep, take home and read helps ensure that every child believes in the values of books and the importance of reading. Funding for this project is in part by the Phil Hardin Foundation.This is our oldest service project, started in 1975.  



Helping Hands

(Suzanne Helveston - Chair, Nicole Ward)

Members provide the basic needs of children in the community whose families cannot, due to extenuating circumstances, do so themselves.  JA works with city and county schools and their agencies to provide a variety of services and necessities for children in need.  We coordinate the preparation of seasonal baskets which are given to agencies such as Hope Village for Children, Care Lodge, Hilltop House and Wesley House.

Hope Village - JAMS

(Christy Caldwell - Chair, Edie Simmons, Lynn Hale, Rhae Darsey, Tracy Mitchell, Sherry Rowlett)

 Someone to Talk To

(Jennifer Jones - Chair, Kristin Blackwell, Amy Drummond)

JA members address the difficult issue of child abuse with the help of a puppet show. Presented to all area 1st graders and reaching around 1200 children in our community, the puppets highlight four different types of abuse.  Following the show, JA members lead the children in a discussion designed to educate them about to whom they should go for help if they ever encounter any type of abuse.

Community Events

(Jeanna White - Chair, Holly Triplett)

Mini-Grants

(Elizabeth Honeycutt - Chair)

Working with school nurses, councelors, administrators, social workers and other agencies in the community, JA identifies and responds to needy Lauderdale County children.  Services include vision and hearing screening for children in K, 1st and 4th grades, Mini-Grants for teachers to fund special projects in their classrooms, sponsored speakers to talk to 9th-12th graders about key issues such as teenage drinking, drugs and violence, and Girls State sponsorship and NAJA scholarships.


Reality Check

(Dawn Gore - Co-Chair, Michelle Thames, Co-Chair, Allyson Hooper, Leslie Carruth, Lindsey Brown, Stephanie Belk, Kathy McDonnel, Beth Turnage, Allyson Hooper, Michelle Brady, LaFondra Kenney, Cherie Seale, Amy Temple)

Reality Check  is a hands-on, real life simulation which gives high school students the unique opportunity to experience life as if they were the sole or primary support of their household.  The students participate in the “Realville” simulation to experience firsthand what life is like after high school.  During the simulation the students go to “Realville” and find housing, transportation, get utilities and go grocery shopping. Through all of this the students learn to prioritize their financial decisions so that they can pay for all the necessities of life.