Junior Woman’s Club of Raleigh Member Highlight

We want to take a moment to focus on our members and why they continue to volunteer with this organization!  It’s extra time out of their lives but for most, they have made great friends and find it rewarding and continue to be a part of JWC year after year.  Every few weeks we will highlight a member so you can understand why they are a part of JWC and what it means to them.   Our first member highlighted in this series is Misty Deyo!  Thanks Misty for your contribution!

Junior Woman’s Club of Raleigh Member Series

It is hard for me to believe, but I have been a member of The Junior Woman’s Club of Raleigh for eleven years.  I joined the Club as a young, newly married professional in order to meet new women and give back to the community that had come to mean so much to me since I moved to Raleigh in 1994.  I had no idea at the time how much this organization would come to mean to me.

It did not take long until I fell in love with being a Junior.  I fell in love with organizing the Governor’s State Tree Lighting ceremony, spending time reading books to children at the Raleigh Rescue Mission, and promoting Domestic Violence awareness. I fell in love with the opportunities and traditions that came with being a part of the General Federation of Woman’s Clubs, our larger, international service organization.  I fell in love with a club whose women willingly spent their free time serving dinner at the Ronald McDonald House, playing bingo with the inmates at the NC Women’s Prison, or gathering canned food to be donated to local food pantries.

The thing I love most about The Junior Woman’s Club of Raleigh; however, the thing that cemented my membership as part of my identity, was my fellow members.  I have found some of my best friends here in this Club.  Women who brought me food during my sleepless first nights at home with a newborn, who sent me cards when a family member passed away. and  Women who have said, “Let me help you” and “don’t worry about it” and “you can do it.” These amazing women, above all else, are the reason I am so passionate about this organization.

Since I first joined The Junior Woman’s Club of Raleigh, my life circumstances have changed dramatically.  I am now stay-at-home with my two beautiful children; however, my commitment to this organization and to our community remains as strong as ever.  I feel my time spent organizing, planning, and leading club projects has made me a better mother, a better wife, and a better person.  I became a Junior to give back to my community, but I am astounded at how much this Club and its members continue to give me.

-Misty Deyo, Immediate Past President