The New Tampa Junior Woman’s Club and Lutz/Pasco Juniors will be their “charity of the month” and will split the donation of 10% of that day’s sales. This includes take-out orders, so feel free to call-in or place an order on-line!

A table will be set up where members from both the New Tampa and Lutz groups can pass out information and answer questions to those interested.

Hope to see you there!

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This group of approximately 25 eighth grade students will then use the supplies for their club sewing projects (which has little to no funding), as well as making pillowcase style dresses for NTJWC to send to the non-profit agency Little Dresses for Africa.

Source: littledressesforafrica.org

Sewing supplies needed

Please consider bringing in any of the following new or used sewing supplies to our meetings this year:

• pillowcases
• fabric
• thread
• rick rack
• lace
• appliqués
• ribbon
• elastic
• cinch drawstring style backpacks (to use the cording for making fabric backpacks)
• double biased tape

We are also accepting completed pillowcase dresses.

So, if there’s anyone out there that sews and is interested in sharing their work, they are welcome to contact me for more details.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at littledressesforafrica@gfwcnewtampajuniors.org

Thanks in advance for helping two deserving groups of children!
Margaret

Our featured charity this year is The Fisher House. It is a “home away from home” for families of acutely hospitalized veterans and active-duty service members who live more than 50 miles away from James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.

Sponsorship opportunities range from $100-$5000, so there is something available for everyone’s budget.

A sponsorship can be “In memory of ____” or “In Honor of ___’s years of military service” in any amount. This will be treated just as a business and would receive all the same marketing/advertising/tickets/listings as noted in the Sponsorship Form.

Find out more information on our Night of 5000 Sponsorship Opportunities page.

Download the Juniors Getaway Cruise Flyer

Imagine, if you will, what it would’ve been like to spend most of your life in foster care. As you carry painful memories from your childhood, you try to move forward, hoping that, someday, you’ll find the stability you’ve never known, the stability most of us take for granted.

Years pass…

And then you turn 18. Tonight, on your birthday, there’s a decent chance you’ll sleep on the streets. On your 18th birthday, you officially “age out” of the foster care system, becoming ineligible for most state-funded assistance. After all, you’re now an adult. Responsible for your own well being.

For finding housing. For finishing high school and finding a job. Without any family support.

Were you ready to become an adult at 18?

Most of us certainly were not. Already, they’ve endured horrific tragedies few of us can comprehend. Many have suffered brutal physical or sexual abuse. Yet others were neglected and abandoned, no longer wanted by the
ones who brought them into this world.

But still, they hold on to hope … hope that, somehow, they can create better futures for themselves.

In Florida, more than 800 will age out this year.

Few finish high school; a diploma isn’t quite as important when you’re looking for a place to sleep and struggling to find your next meal. And for the 60 percent who have a baby within four years, the circumstances are even more dire.

Young adults ages 18-23 are one of the fastest growing segments of Florida’s homeless population.

Within three years of aging out, 33 percent of former foster teens will be on the streets. Most of these teens have been in foster care for the majority of their lives, experiencing instability, broken promises and false hope.

What we (GFWC New Tampa Junior’s) are going to do to help:

We will be collecting items to create 10 “Hope Baskets” for teens aging out of Foster Care. These baskets will provide
the most basic of needs that most of us just took from our parent’s homes when we moved into our first dorm or apartment. These “Hope Baskets” will be given to the Hillsborough County Family Partnership Alliance who oversees approx. 800 children in foster care throughout the Tampa Bay area.

What is needed to make a “Hope Basket”

LARGE laundry baskets
Full size blankets
2-pack paper towels
4-pack toilet paper
Boxes of trash bags
All purpose cleaners
Tubes of toothpaste
2-4 pack bar soap
Sets of bath towels (2 bath, 2 hand, 2 washcloths)
Sets of plastic dishes

Where can you drop off your donations?

Drop them off at our Feb. 13th meeting at the YMCA between 6:30-7:00pm.

We hope to collect enough to put together at least 10 “Hope Baskets”.

Precision Kia of Wesley Chapel is giving away thousands of dollars and Books for Troops has accepted an invitation for a chance to win $1,000 for our cause.

Each month on Precision Kia’s Facebook page, five local charities are selected to see who can get the MOST VOTES.

Will you help us be the $1000 WINNER in February?

We only need a couple of minutes of your time on Facebook. Don’t have a Facebook account? Look at the bottom of this post for instructions.

To Vote for Books for Troops

1. Log on to your Facebook account.
2. Visit Precision Kia of Wesley Chapel’s Facebook page. You can use the search bar at the top of Facebook and type in “Precision Kia of Wesley Chapel” to get to their page or use the link http://www.facebook.com/precisionkiaofwesleychapel
3. Once on the page, read their instructions and become a Fan by selecting the Like button (you only have to do this one time)
4. Select the Wall link below their picture on the left side of the page.
5. Vote for your favorite charity in the box that says Write Something and click on submit.

Make your vote count even more by voting every day. You are allowed to vote once per day, so please vote and vote daily.

Precision Kia has guaranteed that they are not collecting any names, addresses, emails, phone numbers or other private information. There is no registration required, you only need to Like their Facebook page in order to write on their wall.

Thank you very much for your support.

If you have any questions, please contact me.
Yours in Federation,
Patricia Murphy
GFWC New Tampa Junior Woman’s Club
Chairman, Books for Troops

Instructions for Creating a Facebook Account

Start at the homepage. When you go to http://Facebook.com, you see a screen that asks you to login or sign up for a free account. Click on “Sign Up,” which takes you to a Web form.

Fill out the form that asks for your full name, your current status, email address, a password and your birthday. You’ll also have to type in a series of letters and numbers for a security check as well as check a box saying that you understand and agree to the terms of use and privacy policy. Click the “Sign up now!” button when you have completed the form.

Wait for your confirmation email. Facebook sends this email to confirm your registration. When you get the email, click on the link in the email to confirm that you did in fact register for a Facebook account. You will then be logged into Facebook.

Search for friends and coworkers. When you first set up a Facebook account, you have the opportunity to search your email address book for possible friends and contacts. Type in your email address and password to do a search, or try searching by school or company.

]]> http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/2012/books-troops-win-1000/feed/ 0 http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/2012/ntjwc-new-member-meeting/ http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/2012/ntjwc-new-member-meeting/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:53:45 +0000 NTJWC http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/?p=1755 We will be having another new member orientation on Feb. 2nd at Ciccio’s in Tampa Palm starting at 6:00pm.

We would love to have you come and see what our organization is all about and meet some of the women in the group.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Laurie Philpot, VP of Membership Recruitment, at vp_recruitment@gfwcnewtampajuniors.org

]]> http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/2012/ntjwc-new-member-meeting/feed/ 0 http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/2012/pinwheels-for-prevention/ http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/2012/pinwheels-for-prevention/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:24:45 +0000 NTJWC http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/?p=1694 For over a decade, market research consistently has shown that the public views child abuse and neglect as a serious problem.

As a national organization whose mission is “to prevent the abuse and neglect of our nation’s children,” we must apply that research to engage all people in our society to act to prevent abuse and neglect from ever happening in the first place. Therefore, Prevent Child Abuse America is proud to unveil its new campaign, Pinwheels for Prevention^™, introducing the pinwheel as a symbol for child abuse and neglect prevention nationwide.

See complete information in our GFWC-Florida-Pinwheel-Garden-Campaign Flyer.

Through this campaign, we will create a national effort to effect measurable change in the public’s beliefs and behaviors regarding the prevention of child abuse and neglect. This goes beyond making Americans aware of our issue, to motivating them to take an active role in prevention and in their community.

The pinwheel represents PCA America’s efforts to change the way our nation thinks about prevention, focusing on community activities and public policies that prioritize prevention right from the start to make sure child abuse and neglect never occur.

How can you help?

• Sponsor the Pinwheel Garden – If you would like to make an individual donation ($25 or more), please contact us to find out where to mail your check. Deadline to be included in banner is March 1st.
• Assist in the planting of the garden on March 24, 2012, at 9 a.m. Come ready to plant 1,000 pinwheels in the ground to bring awareness to our community. (The planting of the pinwheels will take place on a Day of Service which is at HQ, so if you volunteer for Day of Service ($25) you will get a t-shirt as well.)

Prevent Child Abuse America

Founded in Chicago in 1972, Prevent Child Abuse America is the nation’s leading organization working solely to prevent the abuse and neglect of our nation’s children. Through its chapters in 47 states and its voluntary home visitation services provided by Healthy Families America^® in more than 400 communities nationwide, Prevent Child Abuse America helps provide healthy, stable and nurturing experiences for more than 100,000 families every year.

For more information, please visit www.preventchildabuse.org and www.healthyfamiliesamerica.org.

]]> http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/2012/pinwheels-for-prevention/feed/ 0 http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/2012/inspire-5k-february-18th-telecom-park/ http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/2012/inspire-5k-february-18th-telecom-park/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:53:24 +0000 NTJWC http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/?p=1658


Ready to run?

The first “I Will Inspire 5K” is only about a month away!

The GFWC New Tampa Junior Woman’s Club is presenting the Inaugural I Will INSPIRE 5k and 1 Mile Fun Run at 8am on February 18th, 2012 at Telecom Park.

Hosted by Florida Orthopaedic Institute, this chip timed race has been designed to include athletes of all abilities, whether running, walking or wheeling!

Beneficiaries of our event include The Operation Helping Hand and The I Will Foundation.

Being surrounded by the amazing athletes and their stories can only serve to INSPIRE us all! Please join us for this special event and challenge yourself to INSPIRE those around you. Dry fit tee shirts, goodie bags and INSPIRATION included! Additional information is available at www.IWILLINSPIRE.com or REGISTER NOW.


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]]> http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/2012/inspire-5k-february-18th-telecom-park/feed/ 1 http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/2012/books-troops-thank-you/ http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/2012/books-troops-thank-you/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:30:28 +0000 NTJWC http://gfwcnewtampajuniors.org/?p=1653 We received a thank you note from one of the recipients of our books through the Books For Troops program. It is always wonderful to hear from those benefiting from our efforts.





I wanted to say thank you for the generous donation of books. We received a box of books a few weeks ago. I am a Marine stationed in North Carolina but deployed aboard the USS Bataan in the Red Sea. Our squadron is out of New River, North Carolina. We are part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and are getting ready to set a new record for the longest continuously deployed MEU. We left 3 months early to support operations in Libya which will make our total deployment just shy of 10 1/2 months. As long as our return dated does not change. Needless to say there is not a lot to do aboard a naval ship and the books are a welcomed distraction from the monotony. Again, I would like to thank you and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.

Sincerely,
Name removed for privacy
SSgt USMC

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