special to the star



Junior Auxiliary (JA) of Meridian welcomes its new board members for the 2009-2010 year. Elected by the general membership, board members direct the local chapter’s activities and serve as the chapter’s liaison to the National Association of Junior Auxiliaries (NAJA).

JA of Meridian is a charter member of NAJA, which was founded in 1941.  NAJA is headquartered in Greenville, and supports 101 chapters in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. With support from NAJA, JA chapters, including JA of Meridian, work tirelessly throughout the year on projects that focus on local children and families in need of assistance.

JA of Meridian reaches out to local children of all ages to address a wide range of needs. In consultation with the Lauderdale County schools and local professionals, JA of Meridian looks for areas of need and then researches projects that will help to meet those needs. Currently Meridian’s JA Chapter is running eight projects to serve local children of all ages that address issues such as reading skills, child abuse and neglect, health and nutrition, life skills, and financial management skills.

For more information on JA of Meridian go to www.jameridian.org or call Kristin Blackwell at (601) 479-2727. For more information on NAJA, visit www.najanet.org.