Milton Junior Woman's Club Serves the Community

Leila Lee Mitchell is the president of the Milton Junior Woman’s Club. Founded in the 1930s, the club has eighty members, all Milton women, who make a difference in each others’ lives, as well as in the life of the town. Mitchell talked with columnist Julie Fay about the club, its mission and activities, and how it helped her become an active member of the community.

Tell me about your membership.
We have anyone from people who’ve grown up in Milton, to people who moved here last year. The underlying current is that everyone wants to take action to help the community, and the Milton Junior Woman’s Club provides venues and events where they can do that.

What are some of the ways members take action to help the community?
We have three underlying ideas: service, community and support. Physical actions of service include working at the Milton Community Food Pantry, participating in events to help Cradles to Crayons, or participating in a drive, such as the toiletry or kitchen drives for DOVE (Domestic Violence Ended.) We pull from our group to help other entities within the community.

How is that different from the community area?
We hold events to bring the community together, like the pumpkin sale, or a kids’ event or outing during February vacation week. We are responsible for the 5K and 10K road race in June – that’s a well-known connection with the community. We also provide grants, as well as scholarships to Milton residents who are graduating from high school.

And the support?
That part is a little bit about us. We’re helping people who might be in need, like providing people who just had a baby with meals, but we’re also giving women a chance just to get out of the house. A lot of us work and have kids, and so many women say (when asked why they’re part of the club) “I just wanted to meet other women in my community.” There’s a social component to it, definitely, and there’s a variety of activities – the book club, the sewing club, serving on different committees.

How does the Milton Junior Woman’s Club make the world a better place?
Each of the three strands – service, community, support -- plays its own part. It’s an opportunity to ‘think globally, act locally,’ like the bumper sticker says. You may want to do something about domestic violence, and a small part of that can be donating a Mother’s Day kit to a woman at a shelter. We provide the opportunity and rally the effort for women to act locally

We start with ourselves (in the club) and connect with others, both in the Milton community and in the womanhood community.

Why are you part of the club?
I’ve been involved for seven years, and I think it’s changed over that time. Originally, I had just moved here, and I didn’t know many people. I’m an active person, and the club allowed me to connect on a social level, but also on a community-active level. I was a little shy, but through the years I have developed a number of close relationships. I hold it dear to my heart. It helped me become an active member of the Milton community.

What else would you like people to know?
The biggest thing is to collapse any misconceptions of the club, to really show that there is an offering for anyone. Some people think that it’s only for moms with school-age children, or that it’s for old-school Miltonites. That’s not true. My vice-president, Maile Panerio-Langer, is from Hawaii. I’m from Virginia. There’s something to offer everyone. You can find your connection and find your place to weave yourself into the community.

For more information on the Milton Junior Woman’s Club, visit http://www.miltonjuniorwomansclub.com.