Junior Service League of St. Augustine
St. Augustine JSL is off to a great start for 2018! In January, we welcomed 11 fantastic ladies into the League as part of our 2018 Provisional Class. Each Provisional was matched with a Provisional Pal to serve as a mentor for them in their first year in the League. Provisionals got to know their Pals better at a Provisional Pal dinner held at Amici Italian Restaurant, organized by Membership Chair, Tristan Alfant. A great time was held by all! We officially welcomed our provisional class into the League at our annual Provisional Wine and Cheese, which was well attended by our active members and active sustainers. It was a wonderful time of sharing League history, celebrating sisterhood, and welcoming our new sisters.
Our Provisional Class has organized Operation Sunshine Units for their Provisional Project. They are collecting clothing and toiletries for the Family Integrity Program, which manages St. Johns County’s foster care program. They provide storage units, known as Sunshine Units, for foster families to get needed clothing and supplies when a child is placed in their home. Our Provisional Class has been working hard to clean and organize the storage units and obtain donations. We can’t wait to see the finished product!
In March, we hosted our annual Lighthouse 5K and Night Fest fundraiser. The Lighthouse 5K begins at the Lighthouse, goes through the nearby Lighthouse Park and Davis Shores neighborhoods, and ends back at the Lighthouse. This year, we had the St. Augustine Swashbucklers Pirates as part of the race. They delighted both children and adults alike! After a great race, runners were treated to pizza, drinks, live entertainment, face painting, and crafts at Night Fest. And of course, a climb up to the top of the Lighthouse! We were so happy to have our New Port Richey sister, Laura Luter, participate again this year in the Lighthouse 5K. Thank you Laura for your support! We raised around $10,000, meeting our yearly commitment to the St. Augustine Lighthouse. Many thanks to our Lighthouse 5K Chair Naomi Canup and Night Fest Chair Jill Johnson, our committee chairs, and League members for all of their hard work planning the race.
Our League has participated in several service projects this year organized by Service Chair Aubrie Simpson-Gotham and Committees. We have done three Service Saturday events at our Legacy Project, Kids Bridge Family Visitation Center. JSL ladies have sanitized toys in the visitation rooms, cleaned the Enrichment Center, and have done yard work. Service Saturday has been a great time to fellowship with one another and enjoy a meal together after volunteering. It is a joy to work together to maintain our treasured legacy project. Additionally, we have done gardening work at the Council on Aging’s Memory Care garden and crafts with children at the Homeless Coalition. The Active Sustainer and Scrapbook Committee did a Difference in a Day project delivering flowers and treat bags to seniors at Bayview Nursing Home for Valentine’s Day. Several of our members volunteered at Kids Bridge’s Charity Golf Tournament. The entire League participated in the event by recruiting golfers, donating goody bag items, securing silent auction items, and baking desserts for the reception. We look forward to our upcoming Gardening Day at the Lighthouse and Habitat for Humanity Women’s Build Day!
St. Augustine JSL is getting ready for our annual Feel the Wheels fundraiser to benefit Tag Children’s Museum and our Annual Gala. Due to Feel the Wheels being the same weekend as Convention, the majority of our League is unable to attend Convention. Tricia Hare and Aubrie Simpson-Gotham are attending Convention to represent St. Augustine JSL. We look forward to seeing all of our JSL sisters at Convention!
Our 2018 Provisional Class
From Left to right: Katie Larsson, Julie Kay, Gini Solano, Beth Watkins, Carice Parker, Nichole Novonty, Allyson Ropp, Alyssa Nelson, Cristina Sapp, Michelle Altmann, and Membership Chair Tristan Alfant
