For Immediate Release

January 16, 2013

Lyme-Old Lyme Junior Women’s Club Announces 2013 Art Show Beneficiaries

Funds from sale to benefit local charities for 26th year

(Old Lyme) The Lyme-Old Lyme Junior Women’s Club (LOLJWC) is pleased to announce the organizations that have been chosen to receive funding from the proceeds of the club’s annual Art Show and Auction fundraising event for 2013.

The selection of recipients was determined by membership vote at the LOLJWC December meeting. The recipients for 2013 are: The Lyme Art Association, Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut, Safe Futures (formerly the Women’s Center of Southeastern CT), The Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library and the Lyme Ambulance Association.

Exact dollar amount awards will be based on the overall proceeds from the sale and will be distributed to the organizations based on their original request.

This is the 26th year that the LOLJWC has been helping to fund organizations and projects in the region with the proceeds from the annual art show. Through the years, hundreds of thousands of dollars has been raised to benefit everything from local library computer programs, Lyme Youth Services Bureau, local fire and ambulance departments and various other service organizations.

The 26th annual LOLJWC Art Show will return to the Lyme Art Association and be open to the public from Friday, April 26th through Sunday, June 9th, 2013. An opening night reception will be held on April 26th and will feature live music and a silent auction. This year, art from the LOLJWC show will remain on display for an extended period at the LAA, and art sold from this show will continue to generate funds to support the beneficiaries during this time.

About LOLJWC:

The Lyme-Old Lyme Junior Women's Club is celebrating 48 years as a not-for-profit service organization. The club’s objective is to bring together local women interested in community service, fellowship, and cultural, educational and civic advancement. New members are welcome and encouraged to join.

For more information on the LOLJWC and the 26th Annual Art Show, please go to www.loljwc.com.

About Lyme Art Association:

Lyme Art Association, incorporated in 1914 continues the tradition of presenting fine art exhibitions and sales by its artist members in the historic gallery. Exhibitions of Lyme Impressionists began in 1902 and were held at various locations every summer in Old Lyme until August 1921 when the present Lyme Art Association gallery opened.

The Lyme Art Association remains a vibrant art center with a gallery where professional as well as developing artists mount major exhibitions throughout the year.

Funding from LOLJWC will be used to establish a scholarship fund that will be available for individual students and adults to defray the cost of art lessons at the LAA. Scholarships will be both need and merit based.

About Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut, Inc:

The Child and Family Agency of SE CT focuses on the prevention and treatment of a variety of children’s behavioral and physical health issues as well as providing early childhood and after school programs. This is the largest non-profit service provider in SE CT. The involvement with the LOL community includes providing mental health resources and programs to address family counseling issues, the growing needs of substance use, juvenile issues, intensive home based counseling services for families and consultation services that address the prevention of child abuse, family violence, teen pregnancy, health care, parent education and children’s mental health services.

Funding from LOLJWC will be used for a furniture upgrade at the organization’s Essex Child Guidance Clinic.

About Safe Futures (formerly the Women’s Center of Southeastern CT):

Safe Futures saves lives, restores hope, and changes the future for those impacted by domestic violence and sexual assault throughout southeastern Connecticut. Each year, nearly 6,000 residents of New London County receive the agency’s free, confidential and life-saving counseling services. In addition, Safe Futures educates thousands of area school children in violence prevention by teaching skills to recognize and reduce violence. This past fall, the agency changed its name to be more inclusive and to reflect the importance of violence prevention and breaking the cycles of violence in the community as a whole.

Funding from LOLJWC will be used to enhance services and support provided by the agency’s Family Services Advocate to mothers and children in their emergency shelter, transitional living program and clients from the community who are victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault.

About The Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library:

The mission of the OLPGN Library is to serve as a free center of information and foster cultural enhancement and development of an informed and knowledgeable community. As an association library, support for the operating budget is derived from multiple sources including the town of Old Lyme which contributes 41% of the operating budget as well as endowment support, contributions from Friends of the Library, grants and donations.

Funding from LOLJWC will be used to effectively run the Summer Reading Program for patrons entering grades kindergarten through grade 12. The incentive based summer reading program uses awards and motivational tools to recognize summer reading efforts with prizes to encourage participation during the summer months. Funds will be used to purchase incentives, books to compliment the required and suggested summer reading lists created by the school district, and educational and enriching programming at the Library during the summer vacation period.

About Lyme Ambulance Association:

Established in 1976 Lyme Ambulance Association has provided emergency medical services to Lyme residents with a completely volunteer staff. The organization is the last EMS service east of the CT River to provide this service free to patients.

Funding from LOLJWC will help to install a backup camera in the second ambulance to assist the organization's drivers to operate more safely.