Bringing the Eastern Region Jack and Jill community together in support of New York City organizations serving women, children, and families.
This proposal presents three service project ideas for the Metropolitan Chapter's Metro Area Work Day. Each project partners with a trusted New York City nonprofit and creates an opportunity for our families to support women, children, and families while giving our teens the chance to lead through service.
The chapter will select one project to develop and carry out as this year's Metro Area Work Day.
We'll collect gently used and new business attire, shoes, and handbags, then organize every donation into a professional clothing closet that Sanctuary for Families can offer to women preparing for job interviews, court appearances, and new beginnings.
Visit Sanctuary for Families ↗We'll partner with Ancient Song Doula Services to assemble care packages filled with postpartum recovery essentials, newborn supplies, and handwritten notes for families receiving doula care during the first weeks after birth.
Visit Ancient Song Doula Services ↗We'll collect new and like-new board and picture books in English and Spanish, with an emphasis on stories that celebrate Black history, culture, and heritage, including many titles that have been challenged or banned in schools and libraries. We'll curate the collection and deliver it to Room to Grow's South Bronx Family Center, where the books will reach families with children from birth through age three.
Visit Room to Grow ↗Delivery: South Bronx Family Center, 424 East 147th Street, Floor 5, Bronx, NY 10455 · new or like-new board & picture books, by scheduled drop-off.
No matter which project the chapter selects, our teens will play a central role in the day's service. They'll organize volunteers, oversee the workstations, mentor younger children, and help prepare every donation for our nonprofit partner.
Our teens asked that this year's event focus on women and helping women — a priority reflected in our recommendation below.
Option One · Sanctuary for Families
Our teens asked to focus this year's Work Day on women and helping women. Two of the options center women directly — The Dignity Closet and the Postpartum Care Packages — and The Dignity Closet gives them the most hands-on way to lead it.
We recommend The Dignity Closet because it draws on something our chapter already has in abundance. As professional Black women, many of us have high-quality business clothing that no longer serves us but could make a meaningful difference for a woman rebuilding her life after domestic violence. Together, we can turn those donations into a professional wardrobe that helps someone walk into a job interview, a courtroom, or a new job with confidence while giving our teens the opportunity to lead a service project with immediate, tangible impact.