The Ongoing Legacy of Building a Better Beaumont

day in the life of...

Children And Families

TheJunior League of Beaumont’s history is as entwined with helping children as an organization’s can be; from its inception through the present the League has made it a priority to be champions for children, providing assistance and support within our community.

During the 1938-1939 League year, under the tenure of our first president Isabel Camp Jackson, the League assisted in organizing and operating the Crippled Children’s Clinic and donated funds and volunteered time to provide school lunches at the Family Welfare Bureau. Under our next president, Bernice Blair Dickinson, the League continued this legacy, instituting classes in hydrotherapy for crippled children, donating baby incubators to Hotel Dieu, and assisting the Y.W.C.A. in establishing “Stay at Home” Camp. During the 1940s the League supported the Beaumont Children’s Home, helped establish the Children’s Theater, equipped the Isolation Nursery at the new Baptist Hospital, assisted Boys’ Haven and Helbig Negro Nursery, and much more. As the League grew, so did its reach and its ability to give back—and in the decades since, the Junior League of Beaumont’s support of children and children’s services has remained steadfast. More recent projects like Lemonade Day and Jr. Junior League have continued this legacy, as well as the financial assistance provided to organizations such as the Shorkey Center, the Women and Children’s Shelter, Girls’ Haven, the Beaumont Rainbow Room (formerly the Beaumont Community Partnership for Children), and scores of others. Current Junior League of Beaumont community projects aimed towards helping children, and their missions, include:

• Healthy Behaviors (Project 5210)To combat childhood obesity and diabetes through health education, encouraging healthy eating habits and physical fitness

• Transitioning Youth - To work with Court Appointed Special Advocates of Southeast Texas, Inc. (CASA) and Child Protective Services (CPS) to help ease children’s transition out of foster care and prepare them for independent living

• Service Squad - To make a difference in the community by assisting with 1-2 day projects, including the Art Museum of Southeast Texas’s Family Art Days and CASA’s annual Kids Carnival

Beaumont Children’s Home / Buckner

The Junior League of Beaumont began a lasting partnership with the Beaumont Children’s Home in 1946, when it funded new playground equipment and interior decorations. The League supported the Beaumont Children’s Home every year from then until 1970, when the home became the Beaumont charter of Buckner International, operating under the name Buckner Children & Family Services. The Junior League continued to assist the new organization over the years through volunteering as well as financial assistance until Buckner relocated its services from Southeast Texas in 2021.

Garth House - Mickey Mehaffy Children’s Advocacy Program

The cause championed by the 19901991 league under president Becky Dickson Mason was “Children at Risk.” In collaboration with Catholic Charities and local law enforcement agencies, the League helped to establish and open a Children’s Advocacy Center. Mickey Mehaffy, a provisional League member and assistant district attorney, worked tirelessly on the project. When she was tragically killed in an accident in the spring, the decision was made to honor her service; shortly after, the center’s doors opened under the name Garth House - Mickey Mehaffy Children’s Advocacy Program, Inc. Since its opening, Garth House has worked with over 11,000 children and their families, offering a safe space for victims of child abuse.

Southeast Texas Family Resource Center

In celebration of sixty years of service to the community, the Junior League of Beaumont endeavored to create something lasting: a Family Resource Center. The League reserved funds, raised community interest in the center, and coordinated with MobilOil for a land grant. Work on the project began under president Suzanne Wolfrom’s stewardship (1997-1998) and continued over the next few years under presidents Marleen Roosth Swerdlow, Johnnie Slovak Broussard, Joanne Brown Adams, Melanie McAllen Heartfield, Julie Alyssa Richardson, and culminated in a ribbon cutting during Elizabeth Brandes Pratt’s presidency. The Family Resource Center continued to be a major focus for the League over the next few years, including Done in a Day volunteering and additional CAF Grant funding until it became selfsufficient. The SETX Family Resource

Center is still open, serving more than 200 children each year through after-school programs and summer educational enrichment.

Beaumont Children’s Museum

In 2008, a group of Beaumont citizens including Junior League members formed a board of directors and created a nonprofit with the intention of creating a children’s museum. The Junior League of Beaumont became instrumental in helping to establish the Beaumont Children’s Museum, making it the League’s signature project beginning with the 2007-2008 year. The League assisted with and contributed to the museum’s capital campaign to purchase a location and offered volunteers for their “Museum without Walls” traveling exhibits to raise awareness. The museum opened in 2015 and that year the Junior League of Beaumont was presented with a Community Partner Award for continued support and recognized as a Visionary partner in the creation of the museum. The League’s contributions haven’t stopped there—JLB’s Service Squad continues to assist the museum onsite and in community outreach drives and programs.