Your gift will help Junior League of Lafayette sustain lasting community impact in our three (3) focus areas: Collaboration for Lasting Community Change, Health and Development of Women and Children, and Women’s Leadership.

Collaboration for Lasting Community Change:

• Junior League of Lafayette’s Collaborative Opportunity Grants provide local nonprofits with direct and indirect resources, namely financial contributions and volunteer hours, to expand upon the impact these organizations make in our community.
• Our SMILES committee Back-to-School project is just one of the many events our SMILES committee does all year long. Committee Members gather school supplies for more than 100 students to help relieve financial and emotional strain for families with a parent or child fighting cancer.
• Opportunity Knocks is a committee that focuses on serving the immediate needs in the community. This is an opportunity to mobilize our volunteers to programs and events that serve our community during vulnerable times and extends our reach in building community partnerships.

Health and Development of Women and Children:

• The Health Essentials Resource (HER) committee was developed to fill a huge void in our community – providing women and children tangible resources that impact their health and wellbeing. The committee is made up of three subcommittees: Diaper Bank, EmpowHER. (pronounced Empower Her Period), and Happy Wheels – each specializing in a specific area. Low-income families are impacted by the financial cost of diapers and period products, as government assistance programs typically do not cover these costs. Partnering with several local community organizations, Junior League of Lafayette’s Diaper Bank and EmpowHER. helps to assist those families in receiving basic needs. Happy Wheels, a rolling Ronald McDonald House on wheels, offers comfort and care to patients at Our Lady of Lourdes Women’s & Children’s Hospital.

Women’s Leadership:

• Spark Teen Board and Spark Jr. were created to help “spark” a culture of voluntarism and leadership in young women within Lafayette Parish. The two programs will provide the youth of our community a chance to not only gain a love for volunteering but also develop strength, foster confidence, and inspire leadership skills.
• The placement of our members on External Nonprofit Boards helps us to truly collaborate and support our vision of women as leaders for lasting community change.