Smithfield — Once again, the Junior Women’s League of Smithfield (JWL) is teaming up with Santa Claus to address food insecurity by offering Letters from Santa.
For just $5, Santa will send a personalized letter from the North Pole to his biggest fans. Proceeds from the Letters from Santa fundraiser will allow JWL to sponsor Johnston County children through Interfaith Food Shuttle’s Backpack Buddies program, which provides children from low-income households with 10-12 pounds of nutritious, kid-friendly groceries for the weekends, when free school lunches and breakfasts are not provided.
According to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, 9,360 children under the age of eighteen in Johnston County, or 19.4% of that population, are food insecure, which means that they do not have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
“JWL has been working to fight food insecurity over the last several years in many different ways,” stated Erin Smith, VP of Community Outreach and Engagement. “Through our 2018 Letters from Santa campaign and support from our community, we were able to sponsor three children for an entire year for the Backpack Buddies program. Our goal this year is to sponsor more children through the Letters from Santa campaign. We look forward to continuing our efforts to fight food insecurity and make an impact on this significant issue in Johnston County.”
Letters from Santa can be ordered at www.jwlsmithfield.com until December 12.
About The Junior Women’s League of Smithfield
The Junior Women’s League of Smithfield (JWL) is a non-profit organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action of trained volunteers. Our organization was founded in Smithfield, but is dedicated to the betterment of all communities within Johnston County. Since the League’s establishment in February 2016, JWL has made $71,000 in donations to Johnston County nonprofit organizations and completed more than 7,600 hours of community service.
