Lagniappe Spring 2023

LAGNIAPPE STAFF

Editor and Communications Council Director

Kristin Durand

Assistant Editor

Kylie June Tahana

League Photography Vice Chair

Bailey Morrison

Writers

Kristin Durand, Taymika Sharrieff, Angela Vance

Photographers

Jennifer Bigelow, Kristin Durand, Rachel Kellogg, Delana Lynn Photography, Karen Phan, Kendra Reade

PUBLISHER STAFF

Art Director

Ali Sullivan

Production Manager

Rosa Balaguer

Production Designer

Meghan Rooney

Chief Executive Officer

Todd Matherne

JLNO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President Holly Adkins Paczak

President Elect Ashley Llewellyn

Secretary Elizabeth Vincent Frein

Treasurer Nancy Kirkeby

Assistant Treasurer Trish Thibodeau

Business Council Director Tara Waldron

Communications Council Director Kristin Durand

Community Council Director Kathryn McLeod

Membership Council Director Lindsey Labadie Raborn

Planning & Development Council Director

Erica Washington

Ways & Means Council Director Amy Flower

Nominating Committee Chair Michelle Clarke Payne

Sustaining Advisor to the Board Jeanne Boughton

Addressing Diaper Need JLNO’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

Written by: Angela Vance |

“What are you doing for others?” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed this to be one of life’s most persistent and urgent questions. The ladies of the Junior of League of New Orleans (JLNO) answer that question by improving the lives of women and families across the Greater New Orleans area every day; however, on the holiday dedicated in Dr. King’s honor, JLNO volunteers spent their day off from work and school making a direct impact in their community.

During its annual MLK Day of Service, over 40 JLNO members pitched in packaging baby diapers, adult incontinence products, and period supplies for families at the JLNO Diaper Bank Warehouse. Eighteen women even dedicated a full day to volunteering from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Together, the volunteers sorted enough diapers to provide 50 diapers a month for more than 280 children. This translates into 570 weeks of childcare for babies and infants who may not have otherwise had access to clean diapers.

“I chose to work the MLK Day of Service diaper bank sort to improve and give back to the community,” says Kabrina Smith, JLNO Diaper Bank Committee member. She was happy to make new friends and learn new skills during the day-long event. “We worked as a team and put our hearts into the task at hand,” Kabrina continues. “At the end of the day, I felt a sense of accomplishment, pride, and self-satisfaction.”

Diaper need is defined as the lack of a sufficient supply of diapers to keep a baby or infant clean, dry, and healthy. Babies without clean diapers are at a higher risk of health problems including painful rashes and urinary tract infections. Many families are often faced with making the tough choice of deciding between personal care products, like diapers, and buying food.

The National Diaper Bank Network estimates more than 20% of the over 15 million children under the age of three in the United States are living below the federal poverty level. A study by the Diaper Bank of Connecticut found that parents missed an average of four days of work because they

by: Rachel Kellogg

did not have an adequate supply of diapers to send with their children to childcare – a burden disproportionately shouldered by women. It’s statistics like these that motivate The Junior League of New Orleans to partner with numerous nonprofit organizations to offer much needed outreach.

• Covenant House Executive Director, Rheneisha Robertson - “We could not keep our promise to provide relentless support to our young people, including those with children, without the partnership of the Junior League of New Orleans. Diapering supplies are an essential health and wellness need, but many of our youth have little to no income and diapers are not covered by any government program.”

• Yvette Sapp, Operation Pathways Forest Park - “This program gives the resident and neighboring apartment complex residents a financial break that allows them to take care of other responsibilities they may have had to put to the side. They are appreciative of this blessing and do not take it lightly. Junior League staff are always helpful, friendly and courtesy to their partners. I give them great appreciation and thanks for all that they do to assist us.”

• Melonie Pichon, Giggles Child Development Center - “The JLNO Diaper Bank is a lifeline to more than 55 families throughout Orleans and Jefferson parishes! My families no longer have to make a choice between a diaper or dinner! Thank you, JLNO!”

The Junior League Diaper Bank is one of four diaper banks in Louisiana and one of more than 300 around the country working to eliminate diaper need by providing families with diapers. If you would like to donate diapers, dollars, or host a diaper drive, we invite you to visit jlno.org/diaper-bank or email diaperbank@jlno.org •

Photos

Daphne Stratton and Joanna Kuebel sort diapers during JLNO's Day of Service

Toni Harrison, Sydni Raymond and Elena Kraatz volunteer at the Diaper Bank during JLNO's Day of Service

Sustainer of the Year Elizabeth "Liz" Creel

Written by: Taymika Sharrieff | Photos by: Delana Lynn Photography

For nearly a century, The Junior League of New Orleans (JLNO) has been a fixture in the humanitarian landscape of the Crescent City. Women with a desire to share their time and talents to improve their community have chosen JLNO as the vessel to pour themselves into –one that gives back ten-fold to the people it serves. This description is embodied by our Sustainer of the Year, Liz Creel.

Liz has been the proprietor of the Park View Historic Hotel for fourteen years. She has a bright smile and offers hugs of welcome. As soon as you walk inside the front doors of this charming bed and breakfast on St. Charles Avenue, you

see a quaint room to the right adorned with a beautiful bar. Liz states with some amusement, “Some people had COVD babies; I had a COVID bar. We got our license in June, and it’s one of my favorite rooms in the house.” The name of the bar is the Gilded Perch where her bartenders enjoy crafting cocktails, many of which use ingredients sourced from their farm. Behind the bar and over the mirror is a beautiful peacock named Kipling who once lived on her farm where Liz and her husband breed peacocks.

An ornate mural on the wall is made to look like the front porch looking out onto Audubon Park. Liz explained how the artist put in several “Easter eggs” if you

“Always be open to possibilities, and always pay it back.”

- Liz Creel

look closely. “There are Sacred Heart cardinals, because I went to Sacred Heart; honeybees because my husband and I are beekeepers. I have pet camels on my farm, so there is a camel in the distance. And this is Ida - the cat that showed up during Hurricane Ida - who we feed and take care of. It really just tells a story.” There’s even a carved heart in a tree with the initials “T + L” – an homage to Liz and her husband, Terry.

Seated in the hotel’s parlor, Liz recounts her experience during her years in Junior League. She joined in 1991 when she was a newlywed - before she had her four sons. “At that time, it was just something we all did. So I joined out of a sense of duty, and over time I came to just love it.” She felt fulfilled by developing deeper relationships with her fellow League members and loved learning from a group of such extraordinarily intelligent women.

Liz admits when she became JLNO President, she was nervous walking into the auditorium. She made it a habit to find someone who was standing alone, begin talking with them, and bringing other people over. She admits, “That skill which was born out of my own discomfort has served me in every capacity. It’s what I do running a hotel. It’s what I do in fundraising. I make people feel welcome and comfortable.”

She speaks passionately about a historic property she and her husband purchased outside of Jeanerette on Bayou Teche named Albania Mansion. They first found the property twenty years ago, but it was purchased by an artist from New York named Hunt Slonem, who saved the property and stabilized it. The land came on the market again after COVID started winding down, so they bought it. The passion in her voice when she speaks about the surrounding community and their efforts at promoting racial reconciliation is captivating.

“A year later, we find ourselves at the very epicenter of hope and potential. This family of Creoles of Color and their White cousins have come together as a unified group to show their support for racial reconciliation and town renewal. We invited this group to come together because we feel because we feel that owning this complicated property requires us to help solve some of the challenges the surrounding community faces.” Upon reflection, she states, “Of all the things I’ve ever done, this is quite a remarkable experience. I’ve learned that we must talk, we must listen, and we must be open. The possibilities the world will bring to you if you are open to dialogue are unbelievable.”

Liz is highly invested in her church Parish. Not only do she and her husband help prepare couples for marriage in the Catholic faith, but she is also helping to lead the Capital Campaign for the Holy Name of Jesus. She has volunteered over the years with Boys Hope Girls Hope in a variety of ways from helping to fundraise to welcoming the kids into their home annually to see the Muses Parade, and she has helped raise funds for Café Reconcile. She believes her most important community service is her involvement in the racial reconciliation in Bayou Teche. Her training in the League has helped her become a servant leader, and she strongly believes we are led to where we are supposed to be.

When asked why the Junior League was important to our community, she doesn’t hesitate. “We train women volunteers to become leaders - whether they are on a nonprofit board or in a corporate boardroom. And the training is second to none. You can always tell when you are in a meeting who’s been trained by the Junior League.”

Liz takes extreme pride that the Junior League of New Orleans has reached its 99th year. After Hurricane Katrina, Anne Dalton with The Association of Junior Leagues International told her the most important job was to ensure the survival of JLNO. And that’s what she did. The Board of Directors set about ensuring The Junior League of New Orleans would still be here for their 99th anniversary. Liz says, “I am so grateful my board and I played a role in making sure we would still be here to mark this celebration.”

As a Sustainer, she expresses how much she loves being part of the Sustainer’s Garden Club. “I did not think I would ever be in a Sustainer club, but I love spending

time with these women. I love that - after all the work associated with your active years - there’s still this great opportunity to really have fun and learn things together.”

Liz believes it is critically important for JLNO to continue bringing women together through training and voluntarism. She speaks directly to the variety of opportunities offered to League members, any one of which could prove to have life-changing impacts. She admits some of her fondest memories were made simply by folding clothes at Bloomin’ Deals Thrift Shop with a fellow provisional – a woman who ended up becoming one of her closest friends.

One of the most impactful moments she experienced during her time in Junior League was standing up at the Annual Conference after Hurricane Katrina and inviting the entire membership to come to New Orleans to help with a rebuilding project. She said, “Wendy Barron and Ellen Coleman, my two immediate predecessors and mentors, came on board and the three of us co-chaired the League’s Rebuilding New Orleans Project. It was such an extraordinary experience.”

Liz is grateful for the lessons she learned and the opportunities that have come her way due to her involvement in The Junior League of New Orleans. She is always willing to answer that phone call, text, or email that says, “Liz, would you be willing to…”. It’s that everlasting willingness to serve along with her convivial personality that makes The Junior League of New Orleans proud to call Liz Creel our Sustainer of the Year. •

League Faces

JLNO Provisional Emily Anderson arrives at YEP with donations from Sustainers on December 3, 2022.

Photo By: Rachel Kellogg

Committee members were merry and bright at the annual Holly Jolly Market, held at The Academy of the Sacred Heart. Photo By: Delana Lynn Photography

(L-R) JLNO President-Elect Ashley LLewellyn, JLNO Past-President Jennifer Couvillon, and JLNO President Holly Paczak share the spirit of the season together at the Sustainer Holiday Party held at Jennifer's home on December 8, 2022. Photo By: Kristin Durand

JLNO Provisional Parker Miller helps to sort and stock the Covenant House closet on December 2, 2022.

Photo By: Rachel Kellogg

Members packed into JLNO's newly renovated headquarters building for the first time since summer 2021 at the February General membership Meeting.

Photo By: Kristin Durand

JLNO Members brave the cold to catch some throws at the February Front Porch Friday which was held on the parade route during the Krewe of Cleopatra Mardi Gras parade on February 10, 2023. Photo Submitted By: Karen Phan

Merchandise Committee Chair and Vice-Chair and JLNO Actives, (L-R) Emily Sandefer and Jennifer Bigelow, show off some of our fantastic branded items for sale at the February GMM at JLNO Headquarters. Photo By: Kristin Durand

Run, Walk, Give Committee Members start training (and meeting) early to get our members ready to #runonpurpose as JLNO charity runners during this year's the Crescent City Classic 10k race. Photo Submitted By: Jennifer Bigelow

JLNO Active Kylie June Tahana shows off her creative skills at the Ellen MacComber Headdress Workshop held on February 13, 2023 at The Shops at Canal Place. Photo By: Kristin Durand

JLNO members to the rescue! When a delivery arrived at the JLNO Diaper Bank Warehouse a day early, these volunteers unloaded 78,000 period products that will soon be distributed to women across New Orleans. Thank you! Photo Submitted By: Kendra Reade

Seeking Shelter From the Storm The ABOLISH Movement Advocates Awareness for Human Trafficking

Written By: Kristin Durand | Photo By: Kristin Durand

It was a dark and stormy night. As the rumblings of a winter cold front pushed its way through New Orleans on January 24, over 150 members of the Junior League of New Orleans (JLNO) signed on to address a different kind of storm. The ABOLISH Committee was hosting a virtual panel discussion to raise awareness of the plight human trafficking has inflicted on thousands of women across the state of Louisiana.

ABOLISH Chair Juana Lombard and Vice-Chair Melissa Nick took turns emceeing throughout the hour-long discussion. Their guests included Sgt. Nicole Barbe with the Louisiana State Police Department as well as Jennifer Best, Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and Clinical Director of JLNO community partners at Eden House New Orleans. Participants were also given a first-hand account of the realities of this crime by a human trafficking survivor who found their way out of the trafficking world.

Eden House has been operating in New Orleans for just over a decade, offering residents two different long-term care options. “We provide a plethora of services for survivors of trafficking … anywhere from seeking safety to life skills to budgeting,” says Jennifer. Residents can stay onsite for up to two years, but they can leave whenever they feel like they have accomplished their goals. For those women who need emergency placement, Jennifer was thrilled to announce the opening of their emergency care center which can house up to nine women in need of short-term housing.

Jennifer was particularly proud of the low barrier to entry for this program. “The only criteria that we have for a woman to be admitted into our program is that she is a survivor of human trafficking.” That may lead some to ask what constitutes human trafficking or differentiates it from domestic violence. The key differentiating factors are force, fraud, and coercion.

The survivor (who will remain anonymous) was able to speak directly to this point. They grew up in an abusive environment, making them easily manipulated by anyone showing them attention or affection. “The person who groomed and trafficked me was a woman. She did not fit the typical ‘boogeyman’ stereotype.” They went on to say how the interest they were shown by their abuser was balanced by a sense of fear and worthlessness, which kept them from ever trying to leave. Despite these challenges, they eventually found their way to Eden House and now operate as a peer advisor, sharing a message of hope and recovery to Treatment Centers across Greater New Orleans. “Eden House has given me my life back.”

Sgt. Barbe provided insight on how the Louisiana State Police handle the investigation process of human trafficking. The law defines a trafficker as any person who will “knowingly recruit, harbor, transport, provide, solicit, receive, isolate, entice, obtain, patronize, procure, purchase, hold, restrain, induce, threaten, subject, or maintain the use of another person through fraud, force, or coercion to provide services or labor.” Often, her victims were underage runaways who were approached online through social media channels. “Some of our most [at-risk] victims are underprivileged kids, runaways, kids who are having trouble at home, or kids in the foster care system, but really it could happen to just about anybody.”

The ABOLISH Movement Committee is entering its fourth year of involvement in JLNO. This is Melissa’s second year on the committee. She says, “As a social studies teacher, the idea of trafficking was not new [to me] - forcefully moving people from one area to another or exploiting them for personal gain is evident throughout history. Learning more about this issue and helping to educate others by joining the ABOLISH Committee just seemed like a natural step.” What keeps her motivated are finding out other organizations dedicated to this fight, including Truckers Against Trafficking, the Polaris Project, and the Greater New Orleans Human Trafficking Task Force. •

If you suspect somebody is a victim of human trafficking, call The National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1.888.373.7888 or text 233733.

You can also visit:

The ABOLISH Movement - abolishmovement.org

Eden House New Orleans - edenhousenola.org

The Greater New Orleans Human Trafficking Task Force - nolatrafficking.org

The Polaris Project - polarisproject.org

Jennifer Best, LPC Clinical Director Eden House New Orleans

Sergeant Nicole Barbe Louisiana State Trooper Louisiana State Police

(Clockwise from TL) The ABOLISH Committee Vice-Chair Melissa Nick, JLNO President Holly Paczak, JLNO Community Council Director Kathryn McLeod, and The ABOLISH Committee Chair Juana Lombard