Boyertown Junior Woman’s Club Donates $12,500 to Operation 143

by Danelle Matlack

[Photo]: BJWC board members present Operation 143 with check in the amount of $12,500. From left to right: Jo-Ann Miller, BJWC member; Joan Hannahoe, BJWC member; Annette Mueller, BJWC treasurer; Lisa Heverly, Operation 143 executive director; Kristen Duffy, BJWC president; Bridgit Petrauskas, BJWC member.

[Boyertown, Pa- May 17, 2024] – Boyertown Junior Woman’s Club held their annual Girls' Night Out Basket Raffle Fundraiser in March. The evening proved to be a major success and helped raise over $17,800. BJWC members selected Operation 143 to receive a portion of the event's profit this year.

On Thursday, May 16th, members of Boyertown Junior Woman's Club invited Lisa Heverly, executive director of Operation 143, to their end of year banquet where they presented her with a contribution check in the amount of $12,500. Commenting on the donation, Heverly said, “The donation from BJWC has come at an important time. The cost of running the program has increased, reflective of the need that has grown within the communities we serve. The donated funds will be used to help cover the cost of everything we do to keep serving the students in the program.”

Operation 143 is a nonprofit organization that offers a program called SWFP (Student Weekend Food Program), which provides food to students in our local communities who would go without over the weekend. Operation 143 works to help homeless and food insecure students succeed by addressing the issue of childhood hunger. Currently the program helps students in six local districts including Upper Perk, Boyertown, Pottsgrove, Pottstown, Spring Ford, and Norristown. Students referred to the program in the forty-eight schools receive food bags that contain enough food for dinner Friday night, breakfast, lunch and dinner Saturday and Sunday, as well as snacks and water. All meals are ready-made and require no cooking. This school year alone, Operation 143 is supporting 367 students and they have served 72,259 meals.

If you are interested in supporting Operation 143’s mission to address childhood hunger by volunteering or through a financial contribution, you may reach out to Lisa Heverly at Lisah@operationbp.org.

For information about getting involved with Boyertown Junior Woman’s Club, visit their Facebook page GFWC Junior Woman’s Club of Boyertown.

The Boyertown Junior Woman’s Club is comprised of a group of dedicated women who volunteer their time and talents to enrich the Boyertown area and beyond with projects benefiting our youth and those in need. BJWC organization is a member of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC), one of the world's largest and oldest nonpartisan, nondenominational, women's volunteer service organizations.

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