[title subtitle=”WORDS Catherine Frederick with the Junior League of Fort Smith Board of Directors
IMAGE courtesy Junior League Fort Smith”][/title]
The Junior League of Fort Smith is an organization of women that has been empowering women to act as agents of social change since 1960. They committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Their purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. Do South® reached out to Trish Puckett, Vice President of Communications, to learn more.
Junior League Fort Smith
311 Garrison Avenue
Fort Smith, AR 72901
(479) 783-3930
www.jlfs.org
DS: Tell us about the focus of Junior League Fort Smith and how it impacts our community.
In 2013, JLFS turned its focus to the foster care crisis. We launched the Skills for Life class, which provides monthly life skills lessons for foster youth preparing them for adulthood, skills such as applying for a job, budgeting, housing, nutrition, and vehicle maintenance. Last year, we also announced the new Junior League of Fort Smith Scholarship, which will be awarded to college-bound teens in foster care. This year we created a new HEAL (Health, Education, Awareness & Leadership) Program in which we partner with other community organizations that are also working to improve the foster care crisis in our community.
JLFS also develops the potential of women, training our volunteers and equipping them with the skills needed to be better leaders and social advocates. Each year, JLFS provides hundreds of volunteer hours and impact thousands of local residents. Past community impact projects include Children’s Emergency Shelter, CASA, Project Literacy, Table to Table, Immunization of Children, Pregnancy Clinic, Comprehensive Juvenile Services and more.
DS: How can our community get involved and support Junior League Fort Smith?
Currently, our most pressing need is for more members. Women desiring to join JLFS should show interest in voluntarism with a commitment to community service, be 22 years of age or older and live in the nearby area, complete new member application, and demonstrate ability to meet the requirements: which includes attending meetings, financial commitments, and other placement responsibilities. New member applications will be available on our website in early Spring. If you are interested in joining JLFS, please contact us at any time to receive more information. Want to support us but not sure about joining? Please attend our upcoming Spring Market event to learn more about us!
DS: Are there any upcoming events our readers should know about?
Spring Market takes place March 13-14 at the Fort Smith Convention Center with general shopping from 10AM-4PM on both Friday and Saturday. Our Sixth Annual Fostering Fashion Show will be Friday evening from 6PM-9PM. This exclusive fashion show showcases upcoming collections from over 65 local and regional vendors. Grab your best friends and plan a fun night out filled with VIP treatment, shopping, fashion, drinks, and dinner provided by Zapata’s Mexican Grill. This event is open to only guests who are 21 years of age and older.
Family Night takes place on Saturday from 6PM-9PM. This event features kid-friendly activities such as a character meet-and-greet, face painting, bounce houses, and more! There will be fashion and goods for all members of your family! Proceeds from all Spring Market ticket sales benefit the Junior League of Fort Smith and our community impact projects with local foster care teens. Visit jlfs.org. to learn more. Spring Market tickets are now for sale with zero online fees at jlfsevents.org
Next month, we’ll showcase another worthy charity in our area free of charge. If you have a non-profit you’d like to see recognized, email us at catherine@dosouthmagazine.com.
