Women Build 2011

JWA was glad to be part of the Women Build with Habitat for Humanity of Pitt County.

Halloween at the Howell Center

I had a lot of reservations about volunteering at the Howell Center when I first heard that we were adding the center to our volunteer opportunities.  The first thought in my head was, “That’s not for me”.  I didn’t think I could handle seeing and working with children with so many disabilities. 

When the Halloween party was announced, a different thought ran through my head…”Hey, maybe I SHOULD get out there and see what it’s all about, and maybe I NEED to as well.”  It was a three hour time slot, and I knew I could handle anything for three hours.  I kept thinking about the employees of the center, and all that they do to help these children every single day, and that I could certainly get out there and try to make a difference for a few hours. 

I got to the center the day of the party, and immediately began asking Crystal, the Director of Social Work, a million questions about their center, her role, the children, their daily living situations, and their families.  She made me feel more at ease, and answered every question I threw her way.  Some children were there because of birth/genetic defects, some because of horrible accidents, and some because of abuse/neglect.  Walking through the center, I was able to peak in some of the rooms at the children. That helped me prepare myself for when they all came in for the party.

As the children started in, all decked out in their Halloween costumes, it was awkward at first learning how aggressive to be with them, and how interactive they would actually be.  Crystal made it clear that something as small as an eye twitch from some of the children was a good response.  As more rolled in, we all learned how to interact and what to do.  Every child was ‘hand over hand’, which means that you literally use your hands on theirs to get them to touch and pick up things.  I don’t want it to sound as if it was ‘hard’ to work with them, because it was actually the opposite.  Many of the children could make eye contact and showed interest, and a lot of them were handing out smiles by the dozen. 

There were as many nurses and teachers in there to assist with the children as there were children.  You could tell that these people REALLY loved these kids.  One teacher referred to herself as “Aunt” to them all and said she had 30 children, right here.  She humored me as I began asking her tons of questions as well.  About individual goals of each child, where they go from here, etc, and also told me that they do a lot outside of the center, like go to the aquarium, the park, and the county fair.  She informed me that one of the sweet four year old’s goal in her classroom was just to sit up unassisted.  He was literally the size of a four month old.  His mother didn’t approve of Halloween activities so he wasn’t allowed in the room for the party, but I went into his classroom and sat with him for a while.  Every single time I spoke to him, a HUGE grin broke out on his face.

It has been a few weeks since the party, and I still think almost daily about the children there that really touched my heart.  Timothy, the cute little frog, had a smile on his face for the entire three hours. Madison, 14 years old, has a great sense of humor, and used sign language to communicate with me.  She was quick to tell me that she loved the color aqua, and that purple and gold, were, “Just ok”.  I think everyone there fell in love with Shanyjah and Patience, the cute little ladybug and pumpkin.  Michelle had a tragic accident when she was three, I believe.  She swallowed a marble and was poisoned, which caused her to be in the state that she is now in.  She’s a teenager, has an older brother, a younger brother, and a three month old brother.  It was very heartwarming, and a little nerve wracking, to see her hold her baby brother.  But the tiny smile on her face was priceless.  Crystal told me that her mother and brothers were the only family coming to the party.  Her mother comes to visit almost every day.

In the end, I had a WONDERFUL time that day, and am grateful for the opportunity to visit the children at the center.  Each child has their own personality and likes and dislikes, and it was fun getting to know some of them.  I will definitely be going back to volunteer there.  Coming out of the experience, I am even more grateful for the blessings in my life, and have certainly learned to not take so much for granted.  We are guaranteed nothing, and our lives could change in a split second…just ask Michelle.

- Traci Anderson
JWA member

Sweet Potatoes for Families

Today, we volunteered at the Food Bank for Kids Day.  We bagged up approximately 2,500 lbs of sweet potatoes in family-sized portions to be distributed.  We spent time with some volunteers and kids of the Little Willie Center which is a non-profit organization that tutors and mentors children ages 3-17.  According to their member Jennifer Roberson, the program was started in 1990 by founder, Renee Arrington.  Their mission statement is "Empowering the Youth, Rebuilding the Community and Reestablishing the Family Structure".   We also hung out with some other families and have two potential new JWA members for the fall.  We had a great time!

Pictured left to right in the group shots are: Jeana Willis, Olivia Sutton, Ashly Grubb, Kathleen Belknap

-Jeana Willis
JWA member

Cooking Dinner in the Ronald McDonald House Kitchen

Jeana Willis, Jennifer Watson, Kim Whitfield, Stephanie Ham, Missy Clark, Michelle Segrave 

Food Bank

JWA Volunteers at the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina on Wednesday, November 2, 2011.

A Fresh Coat of Paint Makes All the Difference!

On Saturday, October 8, 2011 JWA members volunteered with Habitat for Humanity to paint and stain sheds and decks at two different work sites in Greenville. Volunteers freshened up the workshop behind a rehabilitated home with two coats of paint and then traveled to a new construction site to add some finishing touches with paint and stain. JWA members enjoyed the opportunity to make a difference while enjoying the beautiful fall weather!

Members Pictured: Cindy Barbee, Traci Anderson, Heather Roebuck, Jennifer Thorne, Kelley Bunn, Carter Stocks, Barbie White, Stephanie Bunn, Amber Stallings

- Stephanie Bunn

PR/Communications Committee, JWA

G.I.R.L.S. program gets crafty for Mardi Gras

JWA members helped the girls make Mardi Gras masks at the February G.I.R.L.S. program at the Boys and Girls Club. We broke into smaller groups to help the girls with their masks and also to get to know them better. The girls loved showing their artistic side and spending time with JWA members. Some of the girls even taught us a few dance moves to practice at the Winter Gala!

Victoria Respess and her new friend show off their masks.

- Heather Stepp

JWA member

JWA members help Habitat for Humanity rebuild a home in the heart of Greenville

On Saturday, March 12, 2011 ten Volunteers from the Junior Women's Association of Greenville joined Pitt County's Habitat for Humanity and fellow community members to continue rehab on a local home. The house on Greene Street was originally constructed ten years ago and is now it is being outfitted for a new family. Activities included installing shingles and a vented ridge cap on the roof and painting walls and trim work inside the home. It was a gorgeous day and members enjoyed the opportunity to serve the community by helping this house become a new home!

 

JWA Volunteers: Kelley Bunn, Emily Haddock, Melissa Thompson, Stephanie Bunn, Jennifer Smith, Rebecca Breedlove, Amy Butcher, Jennifer Watson, Cynthia Webb, and Jessica Davis. For many of us volunteering it was our first time on scaffolding - but surely not our last as JWA continues to volunteer with Habitat!!!

- Stephanie Bunn
PR/Communications Committee, JWA

Sunday dinner at RMH

Six JWA members (Aimee Barnes, Tiffany Griffis, Missy Clark, Lauren Bowers, Tracy Langston and Jaclyn Morgan) enjoyed preparing dinner for the families at the Ronald McDonald House on Sunday, Dec. 12. Barbeque chicken, greenbean casserole and potato casserole were just a few of the yummy homemade dishes our group prepared. The RMH families and staff were so appreciative of our being there and we look forward to going back again very soon. We wish everyone associated with RMH a wonderful and blessed holiday season.

- Jaclyn W. Morgan
PR/Communications Committee, JWA

Ronald McDonald House says "Thank you"

I thought I would share a few pictures from Craft Night at the Ronald McDonald House. We appreciate the members that came out for our first event. Unfortunately, we had few family members that were able to participate, but the ladies made a tremendous impact on the mother pictured. She has talked about how much fun it was just to have time to talk to adults and be creative.

Thank you for all of the support!!

- Kim Kazda

Development Director

Ronald McDonald House of Eastern North Carolina

JWA gets to work at Habitat

On Sept. 25, 2010, JWA sent its first group to volunteer for the Habitat construction at 442 Cattail Court. We had ten volunteers from JWA: Tiffany Griffis, Rebecca Breedlove, Jennifer Creemens, Lina Brittle, Kelly Jones, Jessica Nottingham, Grey Parrish, Amber Godwin, Jennifer Campbell, and Anne MacKenzie. Our job that day was to hang vinyl siding and sheating under the roof overhangs. Many of us had never done any of the such, but had a ball learning!!! We met new people, worked with the family who will be moving in, and were inspired by all the other volunteers as well. We definitely worked up an appetite, and treated ourselves to Chico's afterwards. I look forward to volunteering again for Habitat, because not only was it rewarding to give back, but we had fun at the same time!!

- Amber Godwin
Treasurer, JWA

JWA lends a hand at the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina

Recently, several JWA members spent their time at the Food Bank (9/24 and 9/28) putting labels on hundreds and hundreds of cans of yams. We taped labels to each can so the ingredients could be identified. We also inspected each can for dents and put those cans aside.

The staff at the Food Bank was easy to work with and very friendly! They appreciate any and all help that the JWA can provide.

- Christi Coiner
JWA member