Critters, Flowers, and Fun!

The last day of February was the culmination of JA’s collection of Critters for the entire month. We started our day with lunch and planned our route to visit participating businesses and collect Critters.  And collect them we did! 

The first two businesses we visited were Chico’s Outlet and White House/Black Market at Tanger Mall.  In addition to collecting Critters for us, Chico’s held a fashion show and encouraged customers to support us by donating either a Critter or $5 and be entered into a drawing for prizes at their store. 

Our next stop was at Branson Bank.  Employees there had been encouraged to support our project, and we once again received numerous Critters.  We then moved on to Arvest Bank and CoxHealth Fitness Center where we collected even more Critters and even picked up a Silent Auction donation at Arvest Bank.

It was then time to stop and smell the daffodils!  Spring came early to the Ozarks, and I just had to share the beauty of the hundreds of daffodils in my backyard.  Back to work!  Next stop was Belk’s where employees had collected Critters for us.  We picked up more Critters at Regions Bank, Central Bank, and Binswanger Glass.

PEO-Chapter IB, St. Joseph’s Anglican Church, and Party Magic contributed even more Critters.  Altogether we collected almost 450 Critters.  What a generous outpouring of caring from this wonderful community we call home! Many children will have their lives brightened by these Critters we collected.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that we recruited a possible new JA member along the way and sold a raffle ticket for Trivia. We also developed some good relationships with members of our community. And best of all, my day was brightened by the camaraderie I shared with 3 caring JATC sisters!