|
League
History
Year
by Year
"Women
Building
Better Communities"
League
Today
Become
a Member
Provisional
Dias
Festivos
Merchant
Application
League
Cookbooks
Cookbook
Orders
Become
a Sponsor
Sponsorship Contract
Events
& Projects
Children's
Arts & Literacy
Festival
Community Projects
Scholarships
& Grants
Scholarship Recipients
Grant
Recipients
Publications


| |
|
CURRENT VOLUNTEER PROJECTS
|
Arts in
Medicine
The Arts in Medicine program at the Vannie
E. Cook Jr. Children's Cancer & Hematology Clinic is a project of the
Junior League of McAllen. Volunteers provide
an avenue for the children to express themselves and help the
treatment time pass a little quicker.
They organize art supplies, choose age appropriate
art projects for patients and their siblings, and work one-on-one with the
young patients on arts and crafts - both in the waiting area and during
lengthy treatments.
The mission of the Vannie E.
Cook Jr. Children’s Cancer and Hematology Clinic is to offer
comprehensive care and treatment to children of South Texas who
suffer from cancer and blood disorders. It is the region’s
first state-of-the-art pediatric hematology and oncology
clinic. Founded in 2001, almost 5,000 patients seen to
date and not one has been denied care.
|
|
|
|
Bully
Talk
Most studies
show that between 15% and 25% of American students are bullied with
some frequency while 15% to 20% admit that they bully others with some
frequency. Bullying can seriously affect the mental health,
academic work, and physical health of children who are targeted.
Children who bully are more likely than other children to be engaged
in other antisocial, violent, or troubling behavior.
With the increase of violence
in our schools on the rise, the Junior League of McAllen has implemented
a program called “Bully Talk”, which provides over
3,000 children with the information and tools necessary
to handle bullies successfully. Each
year, JLM volunteers visit every third grade classroom in the McAllen Independent
School District.
The children view a video featuring
children sharing their stories of having been bullied and allowing the students in the classroom to act out some real-life
situations of bullying. The children
are given further guidance by school counselors.
|
|
Community
Connections
Community
Connections enables the Junior League of McAllen to assist community
agencies which do not have a need for volunteers on an ongoing basis,
but need staff for a special event.
During a typical year, this committee lends a helping hand to: Quinta Mazatlan, The
International Museum of Art & Science, Food Bank of the RGV, American Cancer
Society, Mujeres Unidas, Keep McAllen Beautiful, Children Advocacy
Center, The Valley Symphony Orchestra. To apply for
volunteers for your event, please complete an online
application.
|
|
|
|
Fiction Addiction
Fiction Addiction is a reading program
created and implemented by Junior League of McAllen volunteers for the tween-aged reader
(youth between the ages of nine and twelve). Research indicates
that this demographic is often underserved by traditional literacy
campaigns. Fiction Addiction is designed as a book club and is
held on summer evenings at the McAllen Public Library under the
guidance of the children's librarian. The
program is free of charge and includes free books. In 2011, the
program began with the novel Escape Under the Forever Sky by
Eve Yohalem - a novel based on a true story and set in
Ethiopia.
|
|
Kids in the Kitchen
The
goal of the Kids in the Kitchen initiative, which is
supported by the Association of Junior Leagues International, is
to empower youth to make healthy lifestyle choices and help
reverse the growth of childhood obesity and its associated health
issues. Inspired by the Junior League of Calgary's Junior
Chefs program, the Kids in the Kitchen initiative began in
2006 with the goal of engaging kids in the preparation of healthy
meals as a means to educate them and their parents
regarding nutrition and healthy choices. Over 215 Leagues in
Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States conducted
the Kids in the Kitchen program in their communities in 2009.
The
Junior League of McAllen takes its Kids in the Kitchen program
into all of the McAllen ISD elementary schools with summer open
gym. By working with the City of McAllen during
this free summer program, the
event repeated itself on different days at different
elementary campuses in McAllen. At each school, volunteers demonstrate healthy snack
making and fun exercise. Participants have the opportunity to get active
through zumba, karate or dance instructions, learn to create
healthy snacks, as well as participate in arts and crafts
activities.
Community figures such as the RGV Vipers, the
RGV Killer Bee, and H-E-Buddy are present to teach kids
about healthy eating. Nutritionists from Doctor's Hospital at
Renaissance, Kidiatrics, and the WIC Clinic are on hand to offer advice as well. Each student
receives a goodie bag with items
that will help them recreate some of the nutritious recipes at
home, as well as remind them of the wonderful time they had.
The
Association of Junior Leagues International provides materials to
support the success of these educational and motivational
activities and supports the program with a website, www.kidsinthekitchen.org.
|

|
|
Palmer Drug Abuse Program's
"Special People"
| The
Special People program at Palmer Drug Abuse Program is an
education and prevention program that is designed to help
children ages 5-12 who have been affected by the chemical
addiction (drug or alcohol) of a parent, brother, sister, or
other family member. This
free program focuses on feelings, friendship, trust and
self-esteem. Through
music, games, arts and crafts, children learn that their
feelings are important and that they are truly special people.
The Special People program was led by a licensed counselor
and assisted by Junior League of McAllen volunteers.
|
 |
McAllen Police Department's
"Teen Court"
Teen
Court is a legally binding alternative system of justice that offers
young first-time offenders an opportunity to make restitution for their offenses
through community service, educational classes, and jury service.
Teen
Court tries real cases with real consequences.
Teen Court is a "hands on"
educational opportunity that allows both offenders and teen volunteers to better understand our
system of justice. Approximately 600 teens are served during each school year.
The Urban Institute’s Evaluation of Teen Courts Project,
published in 2002, compared recidivism outcomes for teen court
defendants with outcomes for youth handled by the regular
juvenile justice system. The six month recidivism rates
for the two teen court programs in the study whose results
were statistically significant were 6% to 9% compared with 23%
to 28% for youth in the regular juvenile justice system.
|
|
|
| |