Junior League of The Woodlands donates over $90,000 at annual dinner

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- On May 17, 2018, Junior League of The Woodlands, Inc., (JLTW) hosted its May Annual Dinner to recap the 2017-2018 League year, recognize JLTW members for their contributions, and present selected community partners with funding grants through the League’s Community Assistance Fund (CAF) and Emergency Relief Fund (ERF).

Traditionally ERF is given to an organization for various difficult situations they may experience, however, this year’s dinner was unique, in that all of the ERF recipients were organizations that were impacted by Hurricane Harvey. In addition to ERF, JLTW created the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund immediately following the storm, which was funded by in-kind donations from the community, JLTW members, other Junior Leagues across the nation, and even an organization from Italy. Total cash gifts combined between CAF, ERF and the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund totaled $90,882.

The following organizations received 2018 CAF, ERF and Hurricane Harvey Relief funding: Love Fosters Hope, Montgomery County Youth Services, Northwest Assistance Ministries, Panther Creek Inspiration Ranch, Stronger to Serve, Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, Angel Reach, Assistance League of Montgomery County, Buckner Family Hope Center at Aldine, Community Partners of Montgomery County, Cy-Hope, Home Place of Texas, Humble Area Assistance Ministries, Friends of the Library Kingwood, Humble Area Assistance Ministries, Tamina Community Center, The Pearl Fincher Museum, Houston Diaper Bank, Interfaith of The Woodlands, Junior League of Corpus Christi, Mission Greenspoint, Montgomery County Food Bank, and JLTW members impacted by Harvey.

In addition to monetary donations, each year JLTW supports the local community with over 40,000 volunteer hours valued at over $1 million dollars. Highlights for the year include:

• $274,182 donated back to the community in financial and program support
• 1,939 community shifts, including 1,220 Done in a Day shifts with over 30 community partners
• 182 meals provided to Freedom Place during Hurricane Harvey, a safe haven for human trafficking victims
• Over $700 of food delivered to hospital staff stranded and working immediately after Harvey
• JLTW sponsored food fair with Montgomery County Food Bank served over 100,000 lbs. of food to 3,000 individuals
• 5,470 HAPPY backpacks with food and over 6,750 snacks delivered to 10 schools
• 200 Volunteer hours server over 9,000 children via the Texas Children’s Craft Cart
• 300 Stockings stuffed and delivered to Texas Children’s patients during the holidays
• Over 1,000 educators from 10 school districts and 11 private schools attended IMPACT, earning free CPE credits
• $6,000 was donated to local schools through the Dollar$ for Districts program
• 1,435 books donated through Literacy Carnivals to the Aldine community
• 600 children learned healthy eating habits from Kids in the Kitchen
• JLTW donated $1,500 to The Dictionary Project to purchase dictionaries for 600 children in Spring ISD
• New Beginnings donated $13,000 to replace the privacy fence at Freedom Place
• REACH collected 440 items and $350 to stock the CPS Rainbow Room
• $400,000 raised through Holiday Market
• Over $350,000 raised through Giving Goes Glam Fashion Show and Luncheon to benefit the missions of Interfaith of The Woodlands and Junior League of The Woodlands.

The League also welcomed 64 Provisionals as newly Active members after successful completion of their first year. The Provisional Class Project, in conjunction with The Giving Gown Foundation, collected over 30,000 items for swag bags, 1,380 dresses and over 600 accessories/shoes. They volunteered 2,270 hours and served as fairy godmothers to 1,200 teenage girls.

And lastly, three deserving League members were recognized for their individual contributions to the League, as they went above and beyond to serve throughout the year. Congratulations Perisha Burnham (Active of the Year), Bobbi Jo Miller (Sustainer of the Year), and Stacey Fontenot (Provisional of the Year).

For more information about JLTW, visit www.jlthewoodlands.org or call 281-376-5754.

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