Neighborhood Philanthropy: Junior Auxiliary of Oxford

Oxford is host to some wonderful non-profit organizations that provide for our community in so many ways. We want to provide a glimpse of these organizations each month.

I remember my mom going to Junior Auxiliary meetings while I was growing up in Forest, MS. I didn’t know what she was doing at those meetings, but I know she enjoyed volunteering her time and energy to help the children of my hometown. I learned more about JA and what they do when I joined the local chapter here in Oxford. During my membership, I was amazed to learn that it began in 1935 in Greenville, MS to help underprivileged children and now has nearly 100 chapters with over 15,000 members in 7 states in the South.

The local JA chapter in Oxford has 76 members and relies solely on contributions from sponsorships and donors to fund all of their service projects. They currently have 12 projects in the works - Camp Bats & Balls, Adopt a Family, Children’s Book Festival, Camp Sunshine and Headstart Helpers, just to name a few. The chapter accepts a new provisional class of women each year in late Spring by nominations from current members or anyone else who has reached out to apply. They have a membership committee who reviews applications and have a quota they adhere to each year. The chapter President, Kara Parham, shared, “I love JA because I have the ability to give back to my community in so many different ways. I love that we focus only on children because the need is so great in our community. I love the service, but I also love being surrounded by women who truly want to make a difference.”

Junior Auxiliary of Oxford is hosting their local charity ball Saturday, March 5th at 7:00 pm at The Country Club of Oxford. They are inviting the community to celebrate with them featuring the wildly popular band, Mustache the Band. Tickets for the event are $75 each and include entertainment, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and select wine & beer. Please visit this link to get your tickets today!

Learn more about Junior Auxiliary of Oxford here. A HUGE thank you to the officers and volunteer members who provide over 4,000 service hours to reach 2,442 children in the Oxford/Lafayette county community!