National News

HOT NEWS STRAIGHT FROM NATIONAL!!

Did you know that you can earn patches for Americanism, Community Service, Leadership, Membership and Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation? That�s Right!! You have until June 1st to submit your activity sheets. Activity sheets can be obtained from your local Junior Activities Chairman!!

Department News

The annual Department Junior Campout will be held on May 3rd and 4th with our convention on May 5th. Elections will be held at this time.

Registration forms are due by April 21st, so be sure to get yours in soon because this is an awesome experience that you won�t want to miss!!

District News

This is a district newsletter and that�s a good thing because we have TONS of district news! We just held a movie matinee as a fundraiser which was great fun and a success. We collected $27 for refreshments and our 7th District Junior Coordinator donated $15. One chairman donated $20. The Donations totaled to $62!! Thank you for your generous donations and our guests for coming.

Our bowling party with the SAL will be held on April 13th at Sunset Bowl in Geneva at 2pm. We hope to have a good turn out because "We Are All Family".

There will also be a sleepover at Geneva post on May 17th and 18th beginning at 7pm on Friday.

Stueben County Juniors have been very active this year holding meetings every month and attending as many District and Department functions as possible. We have also done dinners, crafts and raffles. Our next dinner is May 11 and will be chicken and Biscuits. It will be held at Hammondsport post home from 5pm to 8pm.

Wayne County:

There will be a Wayne County Afternoon Tea on Sunday, April 21, 2002 at the Newark Post from 1pm to 4pm. This activity is open to all Wayne County Juniors, Legion, Auxiliary and SAL members. Invitation to 7th District VIPs, Juniors and advisors will be sent. Guests and members are welcomed, but need to pre-register. See your local Unit Junior Activities Chairman or President for more information, or call Michelle Lathrop @ (315) 597-1118.

Unit News

Winnek Unit 396, Geneva:

These Juniors have been very busy. For Thanksgiving they made cards for the Canadaigua VA and at Christmas, they rang bells for the Salvation Army. They made holiday packages for the Kline home veterans, made ornaments and sang for them as well. They helped with the Children and Youth Christmas Party by providing Arts and Crafts and helping Santa. They made ornaments and distributed them to different organization like the CDA and Bingo Players. The Juniors volunteer for Tuesday and Friday night Bingo at their post.

They made 40 Valentines cards for the Veterans and helped out at the 7th District Movie Matinee. They are currently preparing for the Children and Youth Easter Party as well as the Americana Concert on April 1st at the Smith Opera House at 7pm to honor the Armed Forces.

They have also formed a March of Dimes Walk Teams and have invited any Juniors to join them. They are also accepting donations for the walk. Remember all Juniors are welcomed to the sleepover, it was great fun last year. A special thanks to Priscilla Imburgia for your generous donation. Wayne County:

August Maur Unit 286, Newark:

The Newark Juniors have been very busy as well. First off, they are proud to report that by the end of April, they will have accumulated 71 hours of volunteer time between December and April.

On January 23rd, they put on the very first Wayne County Afternoon Tea at the Williamson Post. Thank You Nancy Gravelle for hosting the event. Their Senior Auxiliary, for the first time, sent President Felicia Lathrop to Department Conference. They sang �Of Stars and Stripes� written by MIchelle Lathrop at their Local Membership Dinner in February. They attended the Junior Conference in Hammondsport.

They also helped out at the Children and Youth Easter Party on March 24th at the Newark Post where they provided crafts and activities for the children attending, as well as setting up and clean up. The activities that they have planned are listed below: ALJACH: American Legion Junior Auxiliary Helpers - This group is a committee that they have begun to make their community and environment a safer and cleaner place for their peers and other community members.

Donations:

Operation Uplink: They will be donating a phone card to the VFW�s program that will be given to a deployed service man or woman to aid them in contacting their families back home.

To Any Service Member: The girls will be sending an email message by way of the internet to the "To Any Service Member" Program hosted at http://anyservicemember.navy.mil/.

Donation to Navy/Marine Relief Society: They will be purchasing a book called "Korea: the last of the fun wars". $2 dollars of the cost will go to help fund the Navy/Marine Relief Society. More information can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/co3/annette/index.html.

Operation Just Cause: The Juniors have decided that each one of their active members will adopt a POW/MIA through Operation Just Cause. Each Junior will also be creating a dedication page in remembrance of their POW/MIA. For more information, go to http://www.ojc.org.

Spirit of Youth: They will be holding a Dime drive to donate to the Spirit of Youth Program beginning April 21st.

Coupons: They will be holding a coupon drive to donate coupons to our military families that are in need of financial support beginning also on April 21st.

Junior Speak

Other

Samsung Scholarship: eligibility is open to any high school junior or senior who participates in an completes either an American Legion Boys State or American Legion Auxiliary Girls State program and be a direct descendent of a US veteran who served during a period war. Please see your local Empire Girls State chairman for more information. Empire Girls State: June 30 - July 6 at Union College in Schenectady, NY. The Deadline is May 15th, 2002. Some of the activities include such things as conducting campaigns, participating in debates, and writing legislation. Girls from all over NY State participate in this week long programs. If you are interested, please see your local Girls State chairman.

National Junior History Award: Did you know that you can submit a historian scrapbook to Department and possibly receive an award for your unit? That�s right, the deadline is July 1, 2002!! See your Local Historian for more details.

Junior of the Year Award: presented to a Junior member in each national Division who, through her participation in the Auxiliary�s programs has given unselfishly of her time and talents. Each Unit can nominate one Junior. Deadline May 10th, 2002.

Commitment Award: presented to a Unit in each National Division reporting the most outstanding service projects in the community as part of the Auxiliary�s commitment to America�s Promise. Deadline May10, 2002.

Junior Essay: This year�s Junior Essay Title is "What Makes America Great". Deadline April 15, 2002. For more information on these awards or others, contact your Unit Chairman.

Dates to Note

April 15: Junior Essay Deadline
April 21: Department Camp Registration Due
May 3-5: Department Camp @ Painted Post
May 10: Commitment/Junior of the Year Deadline
May 10: Poppy Project Deadline @ Department
May 10: Poppy Poster Deadline @ Department
May 10: Miss Poppy Contest Deadline @ Department
May 11: Chicken & Biscuits Dinner @ Hammondsport
May 17-18: 7th District Junior Sleepover @ Geneva
June 2: Flag Diposal Ceremony @ Lima
June 8: 7th District Conference @ PennYan
June 20: Poppy Poster Contest Deadline @ Division

Coordinator�s Corner

I would like to remind you to call me or email me and let me know if you�re attending the bowling party in Geneva, it would be so terrific to have good attendance. Don�t forget to spread the word to all the Juniors you know. Our next conference is in PennYan on June 8th, so don�t forget to make your registration. At the upcoming conference you will be doing elections for the next Auxiliary Junior Year.

Don�t forget to work on the coupon program and win your prize!! (hint: cash for your group!!) Also remember to get those dimes for the Spirit of Youth fund, which you can report as an activity under Americanism. See you at the next conference, and remember... email me or call me if you have any questions.

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (315) 597-1118

Editor�s Note

Issue 3 Deadline: June 15th, 2002.

We are holding a Design Contest and a Name Contest to help us with our new newsletter. The Contests are open to all 7th District Juniors. See below for details. Winners to be announced in our next issue.

Design: submit images or ideas for our front cover & back. Winners shall be announced in our next issue. If you include images, please send in digital format or photo. Images are preferred to be sent via email if possible. Submissions should be no larger than 8� X 5� (half of 1 sheet of paper folded top to bottom) per cover.

Title: submit a title for our newsletter. Title must be no longer than 5 words. Submissions are not to include lettering style.

Junior President�s Corner

Greetings!! I would like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Kelley Colopietro. I am 11 years old and in 6th grade as a homeschooler. I am very active in many activities throughout the community. I belong to the YMCA swim team and lacrosse team, I sing with the Fingerlakes All Girls Choir and my church choir. I am also a teacher�s aid in Sunday School and an altar server at my church. I play trumpet and take dance lessons as well as president of Junior Unit 396.

As President of my Junior Unit, we have participated in many activities such as marching, installation, speaking events, conferences and the movie matinee.

I have learned about leadership and it�s importance. A good leader needs to listen, delegate, care, understand, appreciate others and have direction. As a leader, you need to include everyone and focus on their area of strength. By focusing on their strengths, the activities will become more fun and enjoyable for all. I want to thank all of you for the great work at the meetings.