Childhood Health and Welfare
	The artwork was the winning entry in a contest for our community partners working with children; this entry is from a 4 year old girl at TAP’s Arnold R. Burton Center and describes what it means to her to be “healthy and happy.”  I hope it will serve as a reminder of the beneficiaries of our work this year! There are many statistics illustrating the importance of working with children in our community, and in the coming months you will hear a great deal about them.  Tonight I wish to share with you two of the most startling ones provided by CHIP of Roanoke Valley:  28% of children under the age of 6 in Roanoke City may be living in poverty; 1 out of every 5 children in the Roanoke Valley is seriously under-prepared for kindergarten, lagging behind in reading, math, and language skills by 3rd grade.  Our new community programs for this year—TAP’s “I am Moving, I am Learning” Program, Young Audiences of VA’s Early Childhood Family Arts and Creativity Series, the continuing Healthy Kids Program with Second Harvest and the Boys’ and Girls’ Club and the Foundations of Leadership program with Hollins University and William Fleming High School, provide opportunities to serve children in our community, and hopefully, the enjoyment of quality activities.  Whether it is in a regular committee placement or a Star Sampler spot job, the boundless energy of our membership is sure to make an impact in the Valley.  And along the way, I hope each of us can take a moment to enjoy the children with whom we are working and the work itself. To read the full speech click HERE

	Rebuilding Together
	Rebuilding Together National Rebuilding Day Saturday, April 25. The JLRV is funding three homes in the Roanoke area that need renovations in order to make the homes more livable for the owners. All three of the League sponsored homes have children living in them with their families. On April 25, Junior League volunteers will be working on two of the homes we sponsored - one on Melrose Avenue and one in the Bent Mountain Area. We will need volunteers to fill three shifts 8 - 11 am, 11 am - 2 pm, and 2 - 5 pm All Junior League members are needed to help us complete the work on these two homes on April 25. In order to create a little “friendly competition” within the League, the Community Council is challenging all League councils to participate in our Done in a Day challenge. The Council with the highest percentage of members who volunteer on April 25 will win a special celebration. No experience is necessary! Rebuilding Together is providing a contractor to help guide our volunteers on what needs to be done in the home. All home improvement projects have been selected based on the ability to be completed in a day. To sign up, please contact Sally Nichols (snichols04@cox.net) or Angela Thomas (angelathomas2@aol.com). Remember, we need all the help we can get in order to complete the homes on April 25. Hope to see everyone there!