CONNECT
Community
Back in Action: Community Placements 2021 The League Gets Back to Serving In-Person With our Community Partners By: Nancy Funkhouser McTyre
W
hile we may not have completely turned the page on COVID-19, we have turned the page on the lockdowns and more restrictive measures that will forever be ingrained in our memories when we recall the year 2020. Moving forward is excellent news for The Junior League of Austin (JLA), our members and our community partners as we return to in-person placements. We have the opportunity to work alongside one another and interact with the members of our community who are the ultimate motivating force behind all we do as JLA membership. Below, we highlight three community partners to see how they pivoted during 2020 and how they are moving forward safely with in-person interactions at the current stage of the pandemic. First, we spoke with Jill Gonzalez, the Executive Director of Women’s Storybook Project of Texas (WSP). WSP is a women’s prison program that connects children with their incarcerated mothers through the joy of literature, with the goal of reducing the rate of re-incarceration by strengthening the mother-child connection. The WSP literature project has
“It’s been such a challenge, but also allowed us to be very creative, to pivot to figure out how to continue being of service to our moms, our clients, without being [physically] there.” Jill Gonzalez, Executive Director of WSP
22 The Junior League of Austin
It’s good to be back at the Community Impact Center (CIC)! In Fall 2021, members have started to meet again safely, while adhering to City of Austin city guidelines.
volunteers travel to female prisons in Texas to record incarcerated mothers reading stories to their children. These recordings provide a chance for children to hear their mother’s voice while they are away. Ms. Gonzalez described the challenges of 2020, especially how, at the time of the sudden lockdown, WSP was serving approximately 250 women through 10 classes. The organization was able to find a way to continue its mission by having volunteers handwrite letters to each woman, asking the mothers if WSP could send a book to their child on their behalf. Once a woman granted permission, WSP would—with the help of masked volunteers—pack a book along with a handwritten note and ship it to the child. Despite mail system delays, WSP was able to fulfill its mission by helping make a personal connection between mother and their child. In a reflection of the good that many of us found in the midst of 2020, Ms. Gonzalez noted how WSP was able to send each mother and child the same book, “The Invisible Strings,” so that the child was able to follow along with the book as their mom read to them when she had phone or video call privileges. The message of “The Invisible break the invisible Strings” was especially fitting during Page Sponsored By: Samantha and Oscar Diaz
