The LBDI Initiative

I often think I have “nothing to wear”- but for many women this is a reality. And they struggle sometimes with one outfit for a job interview or whatever it is they need to do with their days.

To highlight this struggle The Junior League of Macon is participating in The Little Black Dress Initiative.

Beginnng next Monday until Friday March the 4th I and several other women will be wearing the same black dress every day that week. To everything. Work, my kid’s school, appointments, meetings, dates (ha!) all of it.

It’ll need to be something I can wash every day, too, so nothing too fancy! But likely women who really face this situation wouldn’t have that problem. They might just be lucky if they can, in fact, wash the dress every so often.

I encourage y’all to follow the #theLBDI and #JLMwearsLBD hashtags on social media.

The Junior League is an orgnization that is committed to developing the potential of women and supporting one another, and as a sustaining member I am proud to participate.

But this is also a charitable event! Here’s some of the things we will be doing along with participating in the LBDI event. From the Junior League of Macon President these events will be happening:

1.        Book Drive.  Since our vision in the JLM is to improve literacy and school readiness in our community, we love to distribute books to children who do not have books of their own.  It has been one of my favorite parts of being a League member to see how excited these children get when they realize that they are receiving a book of their very own that they get to take home with them and keep.  We will be accepting donations of new and gently used children’s books.  Donations may be collected by LBDI participants and brought to the League house on Thursday evening, or we will accept donations on Friday, March 4^th at the League house from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.

 

2.       Clothing drive in partnership with Crisis Line & Safe House of Central Georgia, Inc.  When we introduced the LBDI to our membership, one of the suggestions for a service component was to collect clothing for women at a local domestic violence shelter.  Crisis Line & Safe House is a local nonprofit agency serving family violence, stalking, and sexual assault victims and their children.  Through this single agency, Crisis Line operates 4 separate programs—24-hour Crisis Intervention Hotline, a Safe Shelter for victims and their families, a Legal Advocacy Program to help guide victims through the justice system, and a Sexual Assault Advocacy Program designed to intervene as soon as possible in reported cases of rape and sexual assault.  The agency exists to empower women, men, and children to begin reclaiming their lives after a violent or traumatic incident in order to help them begin healing.

 

How We Can Help:  Collect new and gently used clothing of all types and sizes.  What better reason to clean out those closets you’ve been putting off?  When we think about lack of resources and the LBDI, this service opportunity fits right in.  Residents of the shelter would greatly benefit from clothing that can be worn for interviews or employment, such as black pants/khakis.  Children also need school uniform pieces such as white, navy, red, and light blue short-sleeved polo shirts, and khaki, black, and navy bottoms.  Other items always in need include lounge wear/pajamas of all sizes and new socks and underwear.  Finally, winter coats, rain jackets, and umbrellas are often very useful to residents who are out and about in all of the elements while getting to and from appointments, interviews, and jobs.

 

Donations for Crisis Line & Safe House will be accepted at the League headquarters, 2055 Vineville Avenue, on Friday, March 4^th, from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.  Tax receipt forms will be provided.

3.        Financial contributions to the JLM.  To help us continue to further our mission and vision, we are also accepting donations to the JLM in honor of the LBDI.  Donations online can be made through the JLM website at www.jlmacon.org.  From the public home page, you should see a button on the right side with a $ sign that says, “Make a Donation.”  Clicking on that button takes you to a drop down menu, and the LBDI is one of the options in the categories.  Hopefully, this link will take you directly there: https://www.jlmacon.org/?nd=donate_summary .  Visa, MasterCard, and Discover are accepted online.  Please feel free to share the link on any of your social media posts during the LBDI.  If you encounter someone during the LBDI next week who would like to donate to the JLM but would rather mail in a check, we will have donor cards available.  You can pick some up on Saturday, or let me know if you’d like me to arrange to send some your way.