JLS Receives $500,000 Pledge For Crisis Nursery Project

(Springfield, MO) Junior League of Springfield (JLS) received a $500,000 pledge from the O'Reilly/Wooten Family Foundations, to fund the development of a local crisis nursery. The contribution was announced during the 2006 JLS Annual Meeting Tuesday, May 9, 2006 in Hickory Hills Country Club.

The Annual Meeting highlighted several key accomplishments and community projects supported during the 2005-2006 JLS year. First Lady Melanie A. Blunt was named the Honorary Chair of the Crisis Nursery of the Ozarks. Blunt was one of the nearly 200 JLS members and community partners in attendance at the meeting.

The $500,000 pledge from the O'Reilly/Wooten Family Foundations is part of the $1.3 million that has already been pledged toward building a local crisis nursery, scheduled to open in spring 2007. A total of $3.5 million is needed to open the doors to the public. A crisis nursery is a proven tool in the prevention of child abuse and neglect and a recognized community need.

While the development of a local crisis nursery is currently the JLS signature project, other areas of JLS community impact were recognized at the Annual Meeting. These include nine "Done In a Day" projects which are supported by JLS funds and volunteers. More than $31,000 was donated by JLS to support these projects, along with 159 JLS volunteers.

Since 1959, the Junior League of Springfield has contributed over $2.3 million and more than 1.2 million hours of volunteer service to the Springfield community. The Junior League of Springfield is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action of trained volunteers. Its purposes are exclusively educational and charitable.
 

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