CLEARWATER - Members of the Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin, Inc. filled the Christmas wish lists of 268 children in foster care. More than 100 members donated gifts and nearly $6,000 in cash to make Christmas possible for children currently in foster care who might otherwise not receive gifts on Christmas morning. The Junior League worked with the YMCA's Safe Children Coalition to determine the specific Christmas requests made by the children.
"It's a wonderful feeling to know that on Christmas morning a child will wake up to the very gift he hoped for. Every child deserves that and it is gratifying to know that I played a small part in making that happen," said Amy Loope, an active Junior League member who collaborated with a group of fellow members to purchase all of the gifts on an 8-year-old boy's wish list.
The Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving its community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. In Pinellas County the JLCD was instrumental in establishing projects such as the Community Pride Daycare facility, Heritage Village and the F.U.N. Bus, a project currently serving children in public school.