Today, HerKentucky welcomes blogger Jessica K. Peace-Urgelles. Jessica is a runner, photographer, news journalist, blogger, and advocate. She is also the mother to a rambunctious little boy name Gabriel and his faithful sidekick, a French Bulldog named Escobar. Jessica has written for several publications including her blog, Blog of a Bluegrass Belle, Ask Miss A, and most recently The Mountain Advocate newspaper. Following a personal tragedy, Jessica became a passionate advocate for several causes including domestic violence and poverty. She is now a board member for Bluegrass Junior Woman's Club,and a General Federation of Women's Clubs Champion for the United Nations Foundation Shot@Life campaign. When she isn't mothering, writing, or advocating, she can generally be found with a camera in her hand at her business, Jessica Urgelles Photography. Today, Jessica will be sharing the BJWC's Poinsettias for a Purpose campaign with us. Thanks so much to Jessica for reaching out to HerKentucky! -- HCW

Every year many families "deck the halls," but what if your seasonal decorations could help support charitable projects in your community? Bluegrass Junior Woman's Club in conjunction with Pemberton's Nursery are offering poinsettias, fresh wreathes, and garland. A large portion of the proceeds will go to the Bluegrass Junior Woman's Club and the many projects we conduct in the community. Bluegrass Children's Fund, Santa's Shoppers, along with partnership organizations such as Bluegrass Domestic Violence (now known as Greenhouse 17), Ronald McDonald House of the Bluegrass, Hope Center, Children's Advocacy Center, and many more local agencies benefit from the hard work of Bluegrass Junior Woman's Club. We are unable to fulfill all of our commitments without the support of our community. We ask that you consider purchasing your live and fresh holiday decorations from BJWC this year. Poinsettias are $13 each.

In addition to the poinsettias, we have several greenery options:

22” Mixed Noble Fir w/ Cones Wreath - $24

20” Boxwood Wreath - $26

75 Feet of White Pine Roping - $35

Orders will be placed on Wednesday, November 20 so any order will need to be received on the evening
Tuesday, November 19. Please contact bjwc@twc.com or me directly.

Your generosity allows us o contribute to and continue our partnerships with many other non-profit organizations in the Lexington, Kentucky community. Have you satisfied all your holiday decorating needs? You can still help us. We are asking for Santa's Shoppers sponsorships.
Federated in 1970, Bluegrass Junior Woman’s Club (BJWC) is a non-profit organization made up of women who are committed to improving the quality of life for disadvantaged women, children, and families in central Kentucky through volunteerism and fundraising. During the 2011-12 club year, the BJWC donated over $16,800 and many volunteer hours to local charitable organizations such as the Children’s Advocacy Center, Ronald McDonald House, and the Bluegrass Domestic Violence Program. Our hallmark project is Santa's Shoppers. The event aims to help selected children and their families have a happier holiday season. We generally have the privilege of shopping for approximately 25 students. BJWC purchases gifts for each participating child. These are wrapped prior the event and handed out by Santa Claus. The children are allowed to shop for a new coat, shoes or boots, hats and gloves, pajamas, socks and underwear. The children are then allowed to purchase small gifts for each member of their household. The children are sent home with their new winter necessities, gifts, and a large box of grocery items. It is a very successul event due to a collaborative effort among the event chairs, membership, prospective members, volunteers, and school staff. We are each reminded of how truly blessed we are during the holiday season, and our club couldn't pull off the event without our fundraising efforts and generous donations from members of the community.

Bluegrass Juniors cordially invites anyone interested in learning about membership to contact the club or to attend one of our meetings. The next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, November 19th at 7pm at the Beaumont Centre Clubhouse in Lexington, Kentucky. We really enjoy guests, so always feel welcome to attend! Feel free to visit us on the web, Twitter, or Facebook!