Who Are The Savannah Jaycees?

One characteristic that distinguishes the Jaycees from other organizations is our commitment to positively impacting our community. Throughout the years, the Jaycees have created a number of projects that help fill needs in the local area. Some of these projects include Santa's Helpers, Kid Care ID and Camp Dream.
 
The Santa's Helpers program was designed to ensure that underprivileged children in the community are not forgotten. Each December the Jaycees throw a Christmas party for the children at the Moses Jackson Community Center, complete with a catered lunch, Christmas arts and crafts, and of course, a visit from Santa!  Participants in Santa's helpers also shop for gifts and make a donation to the Chatham County Department of Family and Children Services.

KidCare ID Program was created to aid parents and the police in locating children should they ever become lost. You may have seen a Jaycees booth at various events over the past few years, such as the Godley Station Community Festival, the Gadsden Elementary Fall Festival, the Humane Society's Doggie Carnival, or the Magic Mark Show at The Savannah Mall. When a parent and child visit one of our booths, they will receive a "passport" packet containing a color photograph of the child, height and weight information, and a fingerprint kit.  The packet has additional pages that can be updated throughout the years. This is provided at no cost to the family.

Camp Dream was designed and built to be a barrier-free camp for people of all ages with a wide variety of disabilities and levels of severity. Camp Dream was created in 1975 by the Georgia Jaycees as a summer camp for children with disabilities. This facility is a gift of love to disabled Georgians, a place where they have an opportunity to develop their full potential as people in a rustic natural setting. The camp is held annually at The Center for Therapeutic Recreation in Warm Springs, Georgia. Each camper has his or her own volunteer counselor throughout the duration of the camp. In 2006, the Savannah Jaycees proudly sponsored 15 year old Robbie Massengale from Savannah, and committed further monies to cover the cost of one other camper and one counselor. If you are interested in sending a camper to Camp Dream, or would like to attend as a counselor, please contact any member of the Board, or email the site. If you would like more information on Camp Dream, please visit their website at www.jayceescampdream.org.
 
Below is a picture of Robbie Massengale. The Savannah Jaycees proudly sponsored Robbie's week at Camp Dream in June, 2006.
 


Donations. The Jaycees regularly donate clothing, reading material, and other items, to local charitable organizations such as The Old Savannah City Mission and Safe Shelter. We are also constantly on the lookout for community organizations to which we could donate our time and manpower. If your organization is in need, please contact any member of the Board, or email the website.