 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
History of the Junior Service League of Rome Junior Service League of Rome was organized in the fall of 1934 by a group of 13 charter members. Its first major projects included the sale of tuberculosis seals, working with crippled children who were outpatients of Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta, and sewing for the Open Door Home. In September 1947, the League received their charter from the State of Georgia and became the Junior Service League of Rome, Inc. Through the years, many hands-on projects have been undertaken that have continued our founders’ efforts to serve Rome and Floyd County. These are too numerous to recount, but some of the highlights are below. In the area of the arts, JSL has sponsored countless plays, concerts, art workshops, talent shows, reading hours, drama workshops, a music enrichment program, and most recently, Kaleidoscope, a creative art program for children encouraging them to stretch their imagination and personal creativity. Working with the school system to help provide the best possible environment for education has always been a priority within JSL. Early on, JSL equipped and staffed lunchrooms for underprivileged children at local schools, provided playgrounds for local schools, helped provide a school for Negro children at Battey State Hospital, paid for speech therapists and helped support a reading consultant for schools. JSL has also encouraged the pursuit of learning by providing Humanities and Arts scholarships, as well as scholarship funds for teachers to attend graduate school. JSL awards an annual nursing scholarship to a young woman who has demonstrated commendable community service. Currently, JSL provides school supplies to needy children in the Rome City and Floyd County School systems and League members visit these schools to read to children as a part of the “Reading in Schools” Program. Finally, JSL has helped establish a wonderful history classroom out in the community. In 1970, Celanese presented the Junior Service League with the deed to “The Chieftains," Rome's oldest house, for preservation. The League not only preserved the home, but turned it into a museum that provides Romans and visitors with a look into the history of the Cherokees and the Trail of Tears. We continue to have a close relationship with Chieftain’s as we support their efforts to enlighten the hundreds of school children that visit the museum each year. On the health front, JSL also has a lengthy list of accomplishments. Back in the 40s, League established a dental clinic. For many decades, members performed vision and hearing screening in the schools using audiovisual screening equipment they had purchased through fundraisers. When the Northwest Georgia Speech and Hearing Clinic became a reality in 1969, the League provided 20 percent of the cost of equipment and furnishings. In the 80s, League began helping the Health Department with scoliosis screening. This project continues to this day. At one time, the Junior Service League was responsible for cancer education in Floyd County and not only raised funds for cancer research and prevention, but also worked in the cancer clinic. Later, the League took on drugs and presented numerous drug prevention seminars to school children, parents, industry and the community at large. In the mid ‘80s attention shifted from drug prevention to fire safety. Seventeen hundred smoke detectors were distributed to low income families and educational material about fire safety, the tools to present it, and sprinkler systems for three residential patient homes at Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital were purchased. Most recently, Junior Service League hours and/or funds have supported the work of organizations such as Hospitality House, Harbor House, Habitat for Humanity, the Rape Crisis Center, Good Neighbors Ministry, Angel Express, Friends of Foster Families and the Open Door Homes. Other programs such as Meals on Wheels or the child abuse prevention program, First Steps, were actually begun by League members. Fundraising projects that support our service efforts have included such diverse activities as modeling, selling football tickets and magazine subscriptions, putting together a cookbook, and hosting dances, carnivals, and even horse shows. At one time JSL even had its own "Soap Suds" washboard band whose performances raised money for League projects. One of our current fundraisers, Follies, has been a part of League since 1940, when it was held for the first time. Although our rummage sale, held every two years, has had many different names, it also has been around since the early days of the League. In contrast, our annual poinsettia sale is still in its infancy, having been started in 2003 as a replacement for Chieftain’s Road Race, an event that had been conducted by League members since 1979. |
