Thomasville JSL's Rose Ball a budding success

Jill Holloway, Thomasville Times-Enterprise, Ga.
·2 min read

May 14—THOMASVILLE- The Thomasville Junior Service League held its inaugural Rose Ball on Saturday evening at the Biscuit Company, with all proceeds benefitting the Thomas County YMCA's Learn to Swim program.

The JSL has been partnering with the YMCA for many years, supporting the Learn to Swim program, but wanted to create an event that would draw awareness to the much-needed program.

"We've been working about a year on how to best connect with the community and try to get them involved in supporting the Learn to Swim program," event coordinator Haley Morris said.

Originally designed to correlate with Rose Show Weekend, the Rose Ball was born. The ball encouraged the public to come and enjoy food, drinks, a silent auction, and live music to drum up awareness.

To the delight of Morris and the JSL, the community bought in and supported the ball in its mission.

"I was really pleased with how it all came together," Morris said. "We raised money for the program through our silent auction and financial sponsorships."

Morris said since the conclusion of the event, she's had many individuals reach out to her sharing their thoughts on the event. Everyone in attendance agreed the silent auction was a huge hit, but there was a request for more "male-geared" items next year, which Morris said she has made a note of.

"At the end of the day, we all got to support swim lessons, which are vital to the kids in this community," Morris reminded.

The JSL is now gearing up to continue its summer project, which is the Reading Roundup Program.

The Reading Roundup also partners with the YMCA, providing grade-level appropriate books to children throughout the summer at the YMCA feeding sights.

"The YMCA is excited to continue partnering with us throughout the summer and we are just thrilled the community has continued to buy into the initiatives we and the YMCA are providing," Morris said.

The JSL is still collecting new and gently used books for the Reading Roundup. They can be dropped off at The Thomasville Times-Enterprise office, located at 106 South St. between the hours of 8 a.m.-3 p.m.