The Junior Auxiliary of Greenwood’s annual Cotton Ball is going virtual this year.
The event, which is Junior Auxiliary’s only fundraiser of the year, will kick off at 9 a.m. Monday with a weeklong online silent auction.
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“We always have an amazing silent auction,” said Rachel Goldberg, Cotton Ball finance chair. “People really look forward to it, and this year is absolutely no different. We’ve got the same great items and new items.”
This year’s virtual Cotton Ball will also include a drawdown, which will be held live on Junior Auxiliary’s Facebook page at 5:30 p.m. March 7. Each $100 ticket offers a chance at the $5,000 grand prize.
“If you do buy a ticket, you have a 1 in 300 chance” of winning the grand prize, since Junior Auxiliary is selling only 300 tickets, Goldberg said.
The Junior Auxiliary made the decision to hold this year’s Cotton Ball online because of health and safety concerns amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
“We consulted with some of the members of our board who are medical professionals, and it was just the safest option for us as members who would be responsible for putting on this event and also for the people of our community,” said Sarah Waldrop, president of Junior Auxiliary. “Since we serve the community, we had to make the right decision that would benefit our community in the long run.”
In 1957, the first Cotton Ball was held. The event remains the auxiliary’s primary fundraising project. This will be the first year since it was established that the event has not been held in person. Going virtual, therefore, was not an easy decision for the members to make.
“It’s something the people of Greenwood and the people who have been involved with Junior Auxiliary look forward to every year,” said Waldrop. “So it was not a decision that we made lightly. Lots of heartache involved.”
Goldberg added, “We know everyone is super disappointed. Everybody looks forward to the grandeur of Cotton Ball. It’s such a tradition in our community.
“At our core, fundraising is the most important thing that we do, and that’s what we are choosing to focus on.”
Going virtual will not only continue the Cotton Ball tradition, but it also enables Junior Auxiliary to raise money, which will go toward its various service projects and donations.
The virtual fundraiser, “allows us to still raise money and offer some of the things that we’ve always done,” said Waldrop.
The silent auction includes more than 170 items, which can be viewed and bid on at one.bidpal.net/jagreenwood/auction.
“We always have such amazing support from businesses in the community,” said Goldberg.
The auction will include artwork, a Viking Range microwave, home interior items, photography sessions, gift certificates, pottery, jewelry and vacation trips, among other items from various Greenwood-area businesses.
“We know it’s been a hard year for a lot of businesses in Greenwood, and we’re overwhelmed by their generosity and that people have continued to donate to our auction,” said Waldrop. “I know the auction art is always very popular. We have a lot of great gift cards to local retail stores as well as restaurants, so it’s definitely worth checking out.”
The online event will provide bidders with a unique opportunity to keep up with the auction.
Members of Junior Auxiliary of Greenwood’s board include, front row, from left, Rachel Goldberg, Rachael Faught, Sarah Waldrop, Ashley Tillman and Anna Sims; back row, Britt Carter, Sulee Blansett, Kate Evans, Stella Britt, Meredith Buford, Elizabeth Whites and Nicole Lindsey.
“The best part about it being online is that you can watch items and get a text message to let you know if you’ve been outbid,” said Waldrop. “It will be interesting to see how it goes this year, and if virtual is going to be the way of the future as far as auctions go.”
The auction website is live and features all of the items available to bid on with pictures and descriptions. Instructions on how to begin bidding are located on the auction’s website and Junior Auxiliary’s Facebook page. The auction closes at 9 p.m. Saturday, March 6.
The proceeds from Cotton Ball go toward Junior Auxiliary’s projects, such as:
• R.E.A.D. (Renewing Education, Activating Development) is JA’s literacy program that focuses on encouraging reading and literacy opportunities through Bucks for Books, a reading program that encourages children to read during the summer by using monetary incentives; Homework Buddies, a project that serves God’s Helping Hands Learning Academy, where the members volunteer reading one book a month; and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth to age 5.
• Clothing Corner is a program that supplies uniforms and other essentials for children in Leflore County who are recommended by school counselors each year.
• Crown Club is a service organization for 10th and 11th grade girls from Leflore County. Members are expected to dedicate at least 20 hours of service to the area each year and must maintain a B average in school.
• C.A.R.E. aims to meet the needs of area organizations including the Boys and Girls Club of Leflore County, ArtPlace Mississippi and Special Blessings of the Mississippi Delta. Committee members help to ensure that these groups have the volunteers and programming support needed to continue to serve area children.
• Feed the Delta serves The Food Corps and the Community Food Pantry through mini service projects. Members volunteer twice a month at the Community Food Pantry. Members also provide and serve meals for Young Lives of Leflore County during a monthly time of fellowship with teenage mothers and their mentors. The program supports the efforts of Delta Streets Academy by serving lunch to students on an as needed basis.
• P.A.L.S. (Providing Aid, Lending Support) provides an ongoing relationship with a family or families that need support to help break the cycle of dependency. This project provides for the basic necessities of life, such as food, encouragement, budgeting needs, job training and educational assistance.
• Pediatric Connection partners with the Greenwood Leflore Hospital to host the annual Child Safety Fair, providing educational and fun activities. Members work with the hospital to maintain a room on the children’s wing that is equipped with toys, DVDs and books.
• College scholarships are awarded each year by a panel of non-Junior Auxiliary judges. Last year, Junior Auxiliary awarded $22,750 to five students in Leflore County.
• S.T.A.R.S. (Studying Together and Revealing Smiles) is a Biblical mentoring program that aims to enhance the self-esteem of fifth grade girls.
“Our main goal at Junior Auxiliary is to raise money and to support different agencies in our community,” said Goldberg. “We have multiple projects that we support, and the most important thing to us was to continue to fundraise to support our projects.”
With the money raised from this year’s Cotton Ball, Junior Auxiliary plans to donate $12,000 to directly support multiple organizations in Greenwood.
The members are optimistic that the community will continue to support the fundraising event as it moves to online this year.
“The community is just super generous in general, and our life members are very supportive in helping us raise money and just supporting us in any way they can,” said Waldrop. “It’s really been a team effort for our board and our Cotton Ball chairs to pivot from working to plan this huge event that we’ve done for so many years to figuring out how we can fundraise. So many people are involved to make this possible. I’m thankful for a great board, and I’m thankful for great Cotton Ball chairs, and that we’ve truly all been in this together.”
For more information, visit Junior Auxiliary of Greenwood’s Facebook page. Drawdown tickets can be purchased from any Junior Auxiliary member or by sending an email to jagreenwoodms@gmail.com.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7235 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
What: The Junior Auxiliary of Greenwood’s 2021 Cotton Ball will include an online silent auction from 9 a.m. Monday to 9 p.m. Saturday, March 6 and a drawdown, which will be held live on Junior Auxiliary’s Facebook page at 5:30 p.m. March 7.
Details: Each drawdown ticket is $100 for a chance at the $5,000 grand prize. Drawdown tickets can be purchased from any Junior Auxiliary member or by sending an email to jagreenwoodms@gmail.com. The silent auction includes more than 170 items, which can be viewed and bid on at one.bidpal.net/jagreenwood/auction.
