Festival of Trees Pizza Party to Support Chester Senior Center

December 2013

Thanks to all who came out to support the 11th annual Festival of Trees - a community celebration featuring decorated holiday trees in a rustic winter wonderland setting. The Junior's sponsored Pizza Night on Saturday was a wonderful family event featuring a holiday sing-a-long and a "Decorate the Dads/Grandpas" contest!

Juniors Annual Holiday Gift Exchange

December 4, 2013

After a year of hard work, Juniors threw themselves a fun and festive holiday party on December 4. An annual tradition, a friendly, but competitive game of Yankee Gift Exchange takes place. Special thanks to Chris Dellaratta for graciously hosting this fun night for the second year in a row! To see images from the event, click here.

Outstanding Community Support for Annual Food Drive

November 2013

The WMJWC Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive proved to be another major success.  In total, the Club donated 111 meals, 131 turkeys, four truck Loads of Food and nearly $250 to Family Intervention Services. FIS supplies over 250 Thanksgiving Meals to families in Morris County each year. FIS was overwhelmed with the generosity of the people in Mendham!  

In addition to the tremendous support from members, Hilltop Elementary, Mendham Township Elementary and Mendham Township Middle School all participated in the food drive. At Hilltop, a “feather’s for Food” contest was held to help drive up enthusiasm and support for the drive. Each classroom competed for a first, second and third place trophy that the Club will present this week. The competition was fierce and the students at Hilltop brought in over 1500 cans of food in two weeks! The Mendham Township Middle School also held a contest through their student council. Besides copious amounts of food, they donated 113 turkeys!  

Committee chairs Corrie Viola and Tania Cosmi would like to thank Kelly Rice, Lisa Lowe, Kate Rizzo and Chris Dellaratta for helping sort and bag meals! And, thanks to all of our members who donated meals and money online! 

West Morris Junior Woman’s Club Announces 2014 Slate of Officers & Committee Chairs

November 11, 2013

On Monday, November 11, the WMJWC announced the 2014 officers and committee chairs. Click here to read more.

WMJWC Announces the 2013 Halloween Poster Contest Winners!

October 2013

Congrats to all our little ghosts in goblins in Mendham who took home prizes in this year's West Morris Junior Woman's Club Halloween Poster Contest! The Club would like to thank Hilltop School, Mendham Township Elementary School and St. Joseph's School for your participation once again this year for this fun and festive Mendham tradition! The winning posters will be on display at King's throughout this week so make sure to stop by and check them out! Have a wonderful and safe Halloween everyone! To see the list of winners, click here.

Juniors Sponsors "Fashion & Fun" to Fight Childhood Cancer

September 26, 2013

Event to honor co-president Kelly Rice raises more than $3,000

The West Morris Junior Woman’s Club was a proud sponsor of a special event to honor five-year member and co-president Kelly Rice for her tireless work to raise funds for pediatric cancer in the memory of her son Thomas. More than 85 event goers attended the special event which was a fashion-themed cocktail party and runway show on Thursday, September 26. 

Earlier this year, Kelly was selected as one of five national winners for the national clothing brand CAbi Hometown Heroine Real Model Fall 2013 Content. The contest called for nominations of extraordinary woman who exemplify grace and strength. Kelly was nominated by members and friends Allyson Daly and Kate Rizzo for her work this past year with the Valerie Fund to create Tunes for Thomas and serve other parents who’ve lost or are caring for young children with terminal illness. In late March, Kelly learned that she won the contest and joined four other winners for the CAbi Fall Real Model photo shoot in Beverly Hills. Her image and story was debuted in the CAbi Canary Fall 2013 catalog which is distributed to more than 350,000 households in the U.S. and Canada.

Many Juniors members and alumni joined countless other volunteers from the community to help make the night a success. In her opening remarks, Kelly expressed her gratitude. “Shortly after Thomas' passing in June of 2012, I was determined to find a way to remember my little boy, raise awareness of pediatric cancer, and try to make a difference. With my amazing family, amazing friends, and amazing community behind me 100 percent, we have truly been able to make a difference and not only make Tunes for Thomas a reality, but a growing and successful organization.”

In total, the event raised more than $3,000. The mission of Tunes for Thomas is to establish a grief support initiative at the Valerie Fund Children’s Center at Morristown Medical Center to help families cope with the loss of their child to cancer. The 2nd Annual Tunes for Thomas event will be held May 17, 2014. 

Juniors was joined by many other local businesses and organizations to make the night a success. A special thanks especially goes to Juniors friend and CAbi consultant Deb Randolph for her generosity and support. Also, thanks to Cecil Diaz Hair, Jazzercise of Mendham - Molly Higgins, Gold Canyon Candles - Kris Wagoner, CAbi - Deb Randolph, Chloe & Isabel - Francesca Mullany, Arbonne - Kim Pudlak, Mendham Boot Camp - Kristen McNair, Macy’s Flagship Store, NYC, Windswept Boutique, Nassau Communications, Erika Desimone Design, Life in Motion Photography, Allyson and John Daly of Merck, and Hayley Zindell. To see a photo gallery from the event, click here. To learn more, visit the event's Facebook page.

Porch Party Draws Crowd, New Interest

September 4, 2013

Thanks to all those who came out to join in the fun for the WMJWC Annual Summer Porch Party. The event, which was held September 4, was well attended with more than 25 participants and many potential new members. Special thanks to Tania Cosmi for offering her beautiful home for the fun night to catch up with co-members and meet new women interested in becoming a member of the Club. The Club traditionally hosts one or two membership drive meetings in the spring which will be announced early next year. To see images from this event, click here.

FIESTA Support Strong Despite Tropical Storm

June 7, 2013

Thanks to all those who came out to join our Fiesta Night on Friday, June 7! Despite the winds and rain from Tropical Storm Andrea, we had a great time and helped raise funds to support our scholarship program and our many community projects. All together, the night raised more than $3,000! Special thanks to Nicole Geary and her husband Jason for graciously hosting the event. We couldn't have done it without you. Also, thanks to all those who contributed to the success of the event especially the Fiesta planning committee - co-chairs Kate Rizzo and Jenna Rosselli, Kelly Rice, Laura Wilson, Nicole Geary and Allyson Daly. To see images from the event, click here.

Juniors is Proud Sponsor of First Tunes for Thomas Music Festival

May 4, 2013

More than 200 people attended the first ever Tunes for Thomas event Saturday, May 4 in Lewis Morris Park to honor the memory of Thomas J. Rice, the son of WMJWC co-president Kelly Rice who was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a brain tumor, at the age of two and succumbed to the disease on June 7, 2012.

The event invited friends and families from the area to enjoy children's music from artists such as The Deedle Deedle Dees, Circle Time Live, Bobby Beet Cut and Mr. Ray as well as dance performances from local dance academies Art in Motion, Junior Jazzercise and Shining Starz Dance Team.

The event was made possible through the generation donations of community businesses and organizations like the West Morris Junior Woman's Club.

The event was underwritten by the The Valerie Fund, a 501 (c)(3) charity whose mission is to provide support for the comprehensive healthcare of children with cancer and blood disorders. The Valerie Center at Morristown Medical Center was the basis of support and care throughout Thomas' treatment. The funds raised at today's Tunes for Thomas event will support Kelly's vision to one day make more comprehensive grief counseling available to other parents who are caring for have lost a child to cancer and other terminal illnesses. To read more about Thomas' journey, please visit his website. To see images from the 2013 Tunes for Thomas event, click here.

GFWC Northern Region Announces Spelling Bee Winners

February 24, 2013

The GFWC Northern Region of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs – Junior Membership is proud to announce the top six Finalists in their Northern Region Spelling Bee, held on Sunday, February 24, at the Rutherford Woman’s Club in Rutherford. “Mischievous” was the winning word.  The winners are listed as follows – congrats to Mendham’s own Nicholas Vitebsky for his 4th place win!1st, Nina Osso, Harrington Park JWC/ Palisades; 2nd, Anna Skrobala, JWC Somerset Hills/ Highlands; 3rd, Krishi Desai, JWC of Paskack / Palisades; 4th, Nicholas Vitebsky, West Morris JWC; 5th, Ethan Herbst, JWC River Edge/Palisades; 6th, Anthony De Witt, JWC of Paskack / PalisadesAll 47 contestants in the bee were invited to compete after placing in the top five in their own club-level bees, sponsored by one of 10 Junior Woman’s Clubs of the Northern Region:  From the Highlands District: Long Valley Area JWC, West Morris  JWC, JWC of Sparta, & JWC of Somerset Hills; From the Palisades District: Paskack JWC, JWC of Harrington Park, JWC of Hasbrouck Heights, JWC of River Edge, & JWC of Rutherford, & from the Ramapo District: Ramsey JWC.

The top six finalists of the Northern Region Spelling Bee will compete against other 4th and 5th graders from throughout New Jersey in the NJSFWC-JM State Spelling Bee on March 9 at the NJSFWC Headquarters on the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

Juniors Hosts Annual St. Patrick's Day Luncheon

March 11, 2013

More than 40 area seniors joined together on Monday, March 11 for a decades old tradition of enjoying corned beef and cabbage and traditional Irish music at the Garabrandt Center in Mendham. The event, which has been hosted by the West Morris Junior Woman's Club (previously the Mendham Junior Woman's Club) for more than 40 years, is a much anticipated and appreciated event for the members of the Mendham Area Senior Housing (MASH) organization. The event was co-chaired for the second year by WMJWC member Cynthia Dreeman who was joined this year by co-chair Tania Cosmi. Special thanks to the many members who helped make the event a success once again this year: Jenna Roselli, Dawn Nutt, Kate Rizzo, Chris Dellaratta, Elise Lam, Kim Accardo, Kelly Rice, Allyson Daly, Sandy Greco, Corrie Viola, Nicole Geary, Lisa Lowe, Christina Zaybekian and Francesca Mullany. Visit our photo gallery to see images from this festive event.

WMJWC Hosts 18th Annual Spelling Bee

January 27, 2013

The WMJWC 18 Annual Spelling Bee was held Sunday, January 27 at West Morris Mendham High School. The event was co-chaired for the second consecutive year by Juniors members Jenna Roselli and Chris Dellaratta. 

This year’s top five winners, who will now go on to the Northern Region Spelling Bee on February 24, include: Nicholas Vitebsky, Daniel Hellriegel, Keshav Chhawchharia, Michelle Zychowski and Sophie Hawkes.

Special thanks to WMJWC members Dawn Nutt (judge) and Francesca Mullany (word caller) (you may want to check her spelling). Also there to help were WMJWC alumni Wendy Parrinello and Colleen Murphy who helped with the judging. Friends of WMJWC Kris Wagoner and Jill Chetta of Mendham who helped with the certificates and prize distribution. Congrats to all the winners! Best of luck at the regional contest!

WMJWC Welcomes Eight New Members

January 23, 2013

At the WMJWC annual banquet Wednesday, January 23rd, eight new members were welcomed to the club as well as the official installation of new officers. At the banquet which took place from Dante's Ristorante in Medham, the following new members were welcomed into the club: Amanda Culbertson, Nicole Shaw, Corrie Viola, Laura Wilson, Sandy Greco, Teresa Hecht, Lisa Lowe and Tania Cosmi. New officers for the 2013 year include new WMJWC co-president Kelly Rice who will join current president Nicole Geary for the year, secretary Christina Zaybekian, third-term treasurer Elise Lam and second vice presidents Kate Rizzo and Jenna Rosselli. Also honored with the annual WMJWC awards were members Jenna Rosselli and Allyson Daly. Rosselli, a two-year member, was presented with the Fernanda Smith Memorial award for her dedication to the club and its various charities. Daly, a five-year member, was presented with the Junior of the Year Award for her continued support and enthusiasm throughout the years. To read more about all the new installations and positions for 2013, see the recent announcement. View the image gallery from the event.