It’s time for peeling and eating once again at the 37th annual Junior Auxiliary of Brookhaven Peel ’Em and Eat ’Em Shrimp Dinner.

From 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, boiled shrimp plates can be picked up in a drive-thru or pick-up at the Lincoln Civic Center. Each $15 plate comes with shrimp, potato salad, corn on the cob, crackers and cocktail sauce. A Sweet Shoppe Bake Sale will also be available, with traditional community favorites such as Mississippi Mud and Ooey Gooey cakes.

Nearly 200 local businesses have helped sponsor this year’s fundraising event. Proceeds will help fund JA service projects throughout the year, benefiting the children of Brookhaven and Lincoln County. The shrimp dinner is JA’s only fundraising event.

Life Member Amy Valentine was the chairperson for the first JA Shrimp Dinner. She said the dinner began because many members felt the club’s Antique Show and Sale — which included a limited food service area — had “run its course.” A few other financial projects were attempted, including dressing up as Easter bunnies and delivering “happies” and baskets.

“The year I took over as Financial Chair was about the same time that St. Francis Catholic school made the decision to close,” Valentine said. “The school had always had a shrimp dinner as a major fund raiser and since the school would no longer be doing it we thought JA could give it a try!

“Some of the members who had worked the St. Francis project were a big help but the JA project was somewhat larger in scope. We had to determine where to buy the shrimp, how to get it cooked, what to serve, how to keep it cold and where to host it. We basically knew nothing about what we had gotten ourselves into for this project.”

The first year held some memories that are funny to Valentine now, but also a nightmare.

“Looking back, I can chuckle and every member associated with it can probably laugh out loud.  Because we knew absolutely nothing about what we were doing we didn’t allow for shrinkage and we ate shrimp all day as we picked and cleaned it for plates. We also didn’t weigh correctly and we may not have had a very good handle on ticket numbers. It was a perfect storm,” she said.

“Near the end of the day we realized we had run out of shrimp. At that time Sack and Save had a seafood department.  Several of our members grabbed ice chests and loaded up in a station wagon and headed to Sack and Save. They waited patiently, camping out on their ice chests and we bought ever last steamed shrimp they had … and we still ran out. I know they didn’t, but I felt like the entire organization left the Armory and I had to face some of the kindest, most understanding people in the world.  There stood Joe Brewer, Pat Hennington, George Brumfield and others I have forgotten. I had to explain to them that we had no shrimp. I told them we’d return their money the next day and apologized profusely. And of course they told me not to worry about returning their money and every single group or person was gracious and understanding. The entire community knew we were in on a totally new project and they supported us in a grand manner. They still do.”

Valentine said since then, she doesn’t think JA has run out of shrimp again, and the entire process appears to work seamlessly. Though the cost of a plate has increased over the years, each sale still gives back to Brookhaven and Lincoln County.

“Laugh throughout it all,” Valentine advises current JA members as they work in this year’s sale. “And keep in mind, it’s only one or two days of actual on-site work. Enjoy it and remember that every single one of (you) is making a difference.”

“A former JA president, Susan Aycock, reminded me one day that no matter how hard we had to work, or how tired we got, or how frustrated we became, we needed to remember exactly why we were doing what we were doing,” said Valentine. “If every member can keep those words in mind, every project will be a success.”

Tickets for the Shrimp Dinner are available now at K&B Seafood, Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce, and from active JA members.

 

JA-sponsored programs

Crown Club is a community service group for 10th- and 11th-grade girls, who are trained and directed by active members of Junior Auxiliary, and work hand-in-hand with Active members on the Chapter’s many service projects. A thorough application process, including submitting a resume and writing an essay, ensures that those participating have a “heart” for community service.  Through Crown Club, these young women learn about community volunteerism, and gain insight into the world of charitable organizations. It helps build the next generation of community volunteers.

Crown Club members not only assist with Chapter programs, they also organize projects of their own: such as free face painting at Ole Brook Festival and a picture with Santa at their annual Milk & Cookies Christmas event. This gives them an opportunity to learn the value of service and also how to fundraise to make it possible to hold these events.

In 2023, the Junior Auxiliary of Brookhaven proudly awarded $5,500 in scholarships to high school seniors. Scholarship applications, available in January, include scholarships based solely on volunteerism, such as the Will Valentine Memorial Scholarship; as well as several scholarships which include a combination of academic merit, leadership, and volunteerism.

JA also created an Endowment Fund in Honor of our 60th year of Junior Auxiliary of Brookhaven:  our Cannon, Perkins, Smith Endowment allowed participation and completion of the world renowned TEACCH program at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for four local teachers.  Just a year after its inaugural class of local educators completed the program, their students are demonstrating benefits of this outreach effort. The TEACCH program helps educate teachers with new strategies to improve classroom behavior, as well as new methods to guide children through self-regulating techniques in order to remain in school, alert and ready to learn.

NAJA also offers scholarships to those pursuing higher education, specifically those who work with children.  The Junior Auxiliary of Brookhaven has proudly supported this scholarship program since its inception.

This committee also hosts the award-winning Reality World for our local ninth-grade students.  The goal of Reality World is to create a better understanding of the connection between school, good grades, and future opportunities for our students.  The students receive a budget based on their GPA and have to manage life expenses, learn how to write a check, and begin to grasp the cost of living based on lifestyle choices. Most students walk away with a greater appreciation for their caregivers and we hope this experience persuades them to work hard throughout their high school career.

The 2022-2023 Provisional Project, Stronger Together Hand in Hand, was adopted and chosen as our Child Welfare project at the end of the 2023-2024 service year. This project involves organizing monthly activities at the Boys and Girls Club such as arts and crafts, sports, and making healthy snacks. This project seeks to provide the children of Lincoln County with positive adult interactions and teach life skills to help break the cycle of dependency. The 2023-2024 Provisional Project, Reaching Readers, should be incorporated at least one time per service year at the Boys and Girls Club. Reaching Readers is a literacy event centered around one chosen book. The event includes a read aloud, literacy stations including Art, Discussion + Writing, Face Painting, Free Read, and Play.

In addition, Child Welfare works with our city and county schools to stock “emergency” Clothes Closets at every area school and helps provide basic first aid supplies to school nurses. The committee also provides assistance to families in times of economic despair.

The 2021-2022 Provisional Project, Fill the Gap, was adopted and placed under Child Welfare. This project seeks to stock essentials (clothes, hygiene products, diapers, etc.) at CPS for children as they are often removed from homes with few belongings in a garbage bag.

The premise of our Wish Tree project is that no child should wake up on Christmas morning to find an empty stocking.  The committee works diligently with counselors, teachers and social service agencies to develop a list of needy children in Lincoln County.  The committee decorates Christmas trees with our children which are then available for “adoption” by members of the community, who provide clothing, toys, and other holiday treats.  In 2023, Wish Tree served 170 children ages 3-12.

The JA Special Focus began in 2017 with a project like the special Olympics called Smile Games. Students spend the morning mastering several physical challenges and receive medals for their participation. We also added Fall Festival to bring a carnival style event to those who may not be able to participate in a normal setting of a fall carnival.

Adaptive Soccer is a fun event offered on Tuesdays nights in partnership with the rec department. The participants run drills, play games and enjoy an encouraging environment while getting some physical exercise. The rec department has also begun Adaptive T-ball class for the Spring.

Brookhaven Junior Auxiliary, founded in 1954, is part of Region 5.