Coats for the Community - October 15

Junior Auxiliary of McMinnville's

Coats for Community and Book giveaway

will be Saturday, October 15th
10am-1pm at Three Star Mall (in the former Bookland location).
Please help us spread the word!

JA of McMinnville collecting donations now!

Junior Auxiliary of McMinnville is currently accepting donations to support three of their annual service projects: Coats for the Community, Pencil Pals and the JA Book Drive.

THIS IS AN ONGOING COLLECTION BY MEMBERS OF JA.

Items can be dropped off at Ashley's Attic in the Plaza Shopping Center, Peg Broadcasting Radio Station (Home of 105.3 Wow Country, Star 107, 1230 WAKI and 960 WBMC) or Security Federal Savings Bank. You can also contact any member of Junior Auxiliary of McMinnville to arrange pickup or delivery of any donations.

Coats for the Community

Provides coats and other cold weather wear and accessories to community members in need.

JA is COLLECTING new and gently used coats, sweaters, sweatshirts, hats, gloves, scarves, shoes and other cold weather clothing and accessories.

Pencil Pals

Provides school supplies to local schools for underprivileged children to be distributed by school guidance counselors on an as-needed basis.

JA is COLLECTING new and gently used backpacks, pencils, pens, pencil boxes, safety scissors, folders, glue sticks, composition books, and other school supplies.

JA Book Drive

Provides books to community children in order to foster an appreciation and love of reading.

JA is COLLECTING new and gently used, age appropriate books for children in grade levels pre-k to middle school. All appropriate genres accepted.

Thank you for supporting Junior Auxiliary of McMinnville and the children of McMinnville and Warren County!

Yankee Doodle Children's Parade

Please join the ladies of Junior Auxiliary of McMinnville for their annual Yankee Doodle Children’s Parade on July 4th at 10:30 am in Downtown McMinnville. The Children's Parade is a part of the City of McMinnville's Independence Day Celebration.

For children 0 - 5th grade.

NO ENTRY FEE!
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Schedule:
9am - Check in/registration begins
10:15am - Particiants must be in assigned areas and judging begins
10:30am - The PARADE begins!
10:45am - Awards presented

Parent Information:
- No gas-powered - battery operated "Hot Wheels" type vehicles are ok
- Entries should have a patriotic or state/community-pride theme
- An adult must accompany small children on the "parade route."
- Entry numbers must be on the child (not the float), clearly visable to judges.
- Awards will be given immediately following the parade.
- Entry suggestions: decorated bike, tricycle, wagon, stroller, or any push/pull/pedal toy or "float" - kids and parents, use your imagination!

Pre-registration applications can be picked up at Ashley's Attic, McMinnville Civic Center, Chamber of Commerce, 105.3 Wow Country Radio Station, Magness Library and the Southern Standard.

Applications can be turned in to: Ashley's Attic & McMinnville Civic Center
Mailed to: Junior Auxiliary of McMinnville/Yankee Doodle Parade/P.O. Box 791/McMinnville, TN 37111.
or Entries can be handed in: at the parade location until 10am on July 4th.

Winners will be chosen in each category.

Contact Stephanie Ward at 931-808-9291 with questions about the event.


Thanks to our sponsors:
McMinnville Parks and Recreation
105.3 Wow Country
River Park Hospital
Southern Standard
Ashley's AtticSee More

"Hoppy" Easter from Junior Auxiliary!

Happy Easter from Junior Auxiliary of McMinnville!

We had our fifth annual Hopping into Health Easter Egg Hunt last weekend and, even though it was a little cold and drizzle-y, we had a really great event

There were over 200 kids there, thousands of treat-filled eggs and dozens of special prizes...a good time was had by all! Thanks to our sponsors and to everyone who had a hand in making this year's Hopping into Health a success. Thanks especially to all of the kiddos and their parents who braved the yucky weather to come out and egg hunt with us!

Check out some of the photos from the event:

National Junior Auxilliary Week Project Ideas

National JA Week is Sunday April 2 - Saturday April 9. NAJA suggests that JA members from all chapters go out into their communities to perform acts of service during this week to promote JA and also to help the community.

This year JA of McMinnville members are encouraged to do individual or small group service projects between the 2nd and 9th to show our community a little love for National JA Week - just get the project approved by President Stephanie Ward or Public Relations Chair Ashley Wright and the hour(s) can count towards your 2010-2011 hours calendar! Here are just a few ideas, but feel free to use your imagination about ways to help out in the community this week.

• The CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER will be placing bows downtown McMinnville on Monday, April 2nd. Contact Ashley asap (607-6599) if you would like to help out with this project because we will only need a few helpers.


• Warren County's HABITAT FOR HUMANITY will be working on a build on April 9th. The actual build will be very heavy duty work, but some ideas for JA members might be to take the workers some treats for lunch on the 9th, or buying some household supplies to help fill the house when it is complete. If you would like to participate in the build, however, they won't turn you away. Let us know if you would like to help out Habitat for Humanity of Warren County.


• Also on April 9th, River Park Hospital will be hosting their annual SPRING WELLNESS FAIR at the Three Star Mall from 10am until 2pm. If you would like to attend the health fair to hand out Hopping into Health flyers or to volunteer in some other way, let us know.


• Also on April 9th at the River Park spring wellness fair, BLOOD ASSURANCE (the non-profit blood center that provides the blood products to many of the region's healthcare facilities) will be hosting a BLOOD DRIVE and will be registering folks for the NATIONAL MARROW DONOR REGISTRY. Donate blood or get swabbed to register for the National Marrow Donor Registry for service hour(s). Blood Assurance will also be doing the same setup at COVENANT FELLOWSHIP CHURCH from 7am until 11am on Saturday, April 2. Your donations there can count towards your JA week hours too!


• If you get it approved with a local school's guidance counselor (or we can get approval for you), you can VISIT SCHOOLS to read a book, do a craft or be a classroom helper in a classroom anytime during the week.

Please contact Stephanie or Ashley to let them know what project(s) you might like to participate in. Happy JA Week everyone!

Another successful Coats for the Community!

Thanks to all members and provisional members who came out to help with our 12th annual Coats for the Community project!

We would also like to send out a special thank you to our 2010 JA Little Sister Blair Fisher for coming out to help with the project, to Three Star Mall for allowing us to set up each year, to the mall shops (most notably Roses, Goody's and J's) for supporting this cause and for not getting upset when we take over the mall for a few hours and to our many many donors who make this project possible by donating their gently used coats and other cold weather gear!

We gave out 618 + coats and many hats, sweats, socks, shoes, sweaters, etc. and we saw so many moms, dads, grandparents and children come through to pick out coats to keep them warm this winter. We saw a larger number of people than we have in years past - the line started in front of the Bookland building and wrapped all the way around to the front of Goody's! We heard touching stories and met some really great people. Unlike some of our more anonymous or larger service projects, we got to see the faces of the people that our service helped. No wonder this project is the favorite of so many of our members!

We also gave out books to all kids that came through. The books were collected through our JA Book Drive project in late summer/early fall.

Congrats to project chair Danielle Miller and co-chair Carly Bruce for pulling off a very successful project!

Hopping into Health - This Weekend!

Come out to Hopping into Health - the Junior Auxiliary of McMinnville FREE Easter egg hunt - this Saturday, March 27th behind Hickory Creek Elementary at 1pm!

Thousands of eggs!

Prizes!

Snacks!

The Easter Bunny will be there too! So parents be sure to bring your cameras and/or camera phones for free picture opportunities!

Easy Beef Stew Recipes

Several members have been asked to make beef stew for the upcoming Wings Ministry Family Fun Event. Having never made beef stew, I immediately started looking for easy, yummy recipes for the dish. I found a couple that sounded really good and I thought I'd share.

Amazing Beef Stew

From the cookbook: Daymaker Countertop Inspirations - Simple Slow Cooker Meals

You will need:

• 2 cups chopped carrots
• 3 cups chopped raw potatoes
• 2 small apples, chopped
• 2 pounds beef stew beef, cut into pieces
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 2 tablespoons minced onion
• 2 cups apple cider
• 1 to 2 tablespoons flour

Directions:

1. Place vegetables and apples in slow cooker.
2. Add meat and sprinkle with salt, thyme and onion.
3. Add cider.
4. Cook on low heat 10 to 12 hours.
5. Thicken with flour during last hour of cooking.

(Remember, a slow cooker works best when it is two-thirds full. More food may lead to an undercooked meal and less food may lead to an overcooked meal.)

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Old-Time Beef Stew

From Paula Deen via the Food Network web site

You will need:

2 pounds stew beef

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups water

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 or 2 bay leaves

1 medium onion, sliced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Dash ground allspice or ground cloves

3 large carrots, sliced

3 ribs celery, chopped

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:

1. Brown meat in hot oil.
2. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice.
3. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours.
4. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove.
5. Add carrots and celery.
6. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer.
7. To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid.
8. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth.
9. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot.
10. Stir and cook until bubbly.

Happy cooking everyone!

A few pics from the Crown Jewels Art Gala

The inaugural Crown Jewels Art Gala seemed to be a great success. The food was great, the band was entertaining, the kids' art work was inspiring and a good time was had by all.

Here are just a few pictures from the evening.

Hopping Into Health

Saturday, March 27, 2010

1pm

Hickory Creek Elementary

Come one, come all to this free event that focuses on encouraging kids to have healthy habits!

FOR MEMBERS:

Every $5.00 spent on Easter egg fillers = 1 service hour

Water and healthy snacks (goldfish® crackers & Go-Gurt® are recommended) to serve the kids at the egg hunt are currently being collected. Please bring them to the February or March meeting.

1 snack or water = 1 service hour

On March 27th, JA members arrive at 11a.m. to help spread out the eggs and set up.

Contact chair Jessica Higgins for more information.

Passing the Torch - Snow Princess Pageants

One goal of Junior Auxiliary is to create projects for the community and then, when it becomes necessary, to turn the project over to other groups or individuals who can continue the good work that the project has done.
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Well,we decided (this year) to drop the Snow Princess Pageants as a Junior Auxiliary project in hopes that we could "pass the torch" for someone to raise money for another cause.

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Miss Susan Burks, a former JA president and current active associate member (and the creator of the Snow Princess Pageants), decided that she would take over the pageants to use as a fundraiser of her own for a charity that is very close to her heart.

HERE ARE (RIGHT TO LEFT) SUSAN, RANDI FUSTON JENNIFER SAIN AND LINCOLN SAIN DURING A SERVICE PROJECT WITH SCHOOL CHILDREN
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AND HERE IS SUSAN PASSING ON THE JA OF MCMINNVILLE PRESIDENCY TO NATALIE MILLER AT THE ANNUAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE IN 2008.
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Her son Theo was born in March 2009 with a heart condition that could be fixed with surgery.
Over the past few months since his birth, Susan and her husband Matt have spent a great deal of time in Nashville while Theo was in the hospital. While they were there, they often stayed in the Ronald McDonald House. Susan says that the RMH provided her with a place to put her feet up and relax a little after giving birth to Theo. The RMH also gave her and Matt a place to recover when they needed a break from the stress at the hospital - a place to recharge.
Many Warren County families have benefited from the RMH's services, so even though it is located in Nashville, RMH is very much a local cause.
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Susan says after seeing firsthand the great things that the RMH has done for hers and so many other families, that they have her heart.
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So on February 20th, Susan will host the Snow Princess Pageants and all of the proceeds will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Nashville. Children are at the heart of Junior Auxiliary so we're very excited to support her endeavors!

Here's the info:

The Snow Princess Pageants

Saturday, February 20, 2010 - 5pm

Covenant Academy Gym

Little Miss Snow Princess - 5 to 7 years old

Young Miss Snow Princess - 8 to 10 years old

Miss Snow Princess - 11 to 13 years old

Applications are available at Ashley's Attic, Kathy's, Memories Bridal and at Mommy & Me.

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Deadline to enter: February 10th

(Late applications will only be accepted with prior approval and with a $10 late fee.)

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Check out the Snow Princess Blog for more details about the pageants.

Contact Susan with any questions at 931-273-4195 or susangburks@hotmail.com .