Saturday was my first official Cleveland Junior Auxiliary event-- Stuff the Bus with school supplies for our JAM (JA Mentors) project. Cleveland JA has several students that they mentor each year-- we provide school supplies, field trips, one-on-one time, food for holidays, Christmas gifts, etc. We do whatever it is that these kids need to do be able to focus on school and getting good grades.
I really miss my Laurel Junior Auxiliary ladies and our projects that we worked on. I love getting to work with the kids and my friends in JA and I was extremely sad to leave them. But, now I have a new group of fun ladies and exciting projects to get involved with. Its a bit intimidating to drop into a group in the middle and not know any of the projects or even the other ladies, but I'm looking forward to getting involved. This should be a good project!
So Saturday, we took our Crown Club (ok, I say "we took" as though I had anything to do with it-- I didn't. I merely showed up!!) to Wal-Mart and asked for donations of school supplies and/or money for our mentor students. Crown Club is like a Junior Auxiliary for young girls-- getting them involved in volunteering young! We had a great time and raised almost $250.00, plus we had a lot of school supplies that were donated. I took lots of pictures-- its a habit (thanks, Mom!) plus it gives me something to do so I'm not standing around being awkwardly new all the time!!!
I LOVED school supply shopping when I was in school. Loved it. It was so much fun and so fresh and exciting-- new supplies, new clothes, new teachers, new experiences. Loved it. I loved getting all my new supplies organized and ready-- I would organize and re-organize and get everything all perfect. It was so much fun. But let me be clear-- this experience, with Stuff the Bus, at Wal-Mart the weekend before school started in Cleveland, Ms, made me appreciate my mother even more. I mean, it wasn't pretty. The aisles were crowded, products out of place, or sold out entirely, people everywhere, pandemonium reigned. It was nutty. I cannot imagine having to navigate that place with actual children, talking, crying, yelling and wanting to pick out their own supplies (I'm not talking about me. I'm super perfect smiles and rainbows. Betsy and Nick, on the other hand....). Thank you mom, for not running away screaming and leaving us in the notebook aisle to fend for ourselves all those years ago. It was bad enough having to pick out the correct supplies (1 inch binder v. 2 inch binders, ball-point pens v. gel, gluesticks v. regular glue) as an adult. At least I got to go home to a quiet house after it was all over!!
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| Its technically called "Stuff the Bus", but we didn't have a bus, we had a "buggy"! |
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| They worked hard but by the end of the day, even the girls were tired! |
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| We went inside and bought a ton of supplies on our list with the donated money. Let me say this-- I am SO glad I don't have to fight the school supply aisle for my kids. It was overwhelming. |
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| The entire group of Crown Club girls and Junior Auxiliary Ladies |
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