So What is a DIAD?

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volunteer day
Author: Jayme Weekly, Chair of Done in a Day

Acronyms. We all use them and every industry often has their own acronym vocabulary. The Junior League is no exception. In Junior League lingo, DIAD stands for Done in a Day. A Done in a Day is time spent where members of the Junior League of Boca Raton (JLBR) provide volunteer assistance to qualified nonprofits for short term or one day projects or events. Giving time back to the community is one of the facets of how the Junior League impacts the community in which it serves.

The Why

As a League we seek to help nonprofits that fit within our current focus areas of hunger and child welfare and nonprofit support and often support requests from any 501(c)3 that is seeking assistance. One of the qualifying factors is location of the nonprofit. Nonprofits must be in the service area from North Broward to South Palm Beach counties. Volunteer support cannot be provided for fundraising events held by other organizations but time and talents can be used for other non-fundraising initiatives.

The How

In order to request assistance, organizations must fill out our nonprofit assistance form on our website, under “Nonprofit Assistance” or they directly contact the DIAD Chair by emailing diad@jlbr.org.

Organizations We’ve Supported

We have supported many organizations this year including: Boca Helping Hands, Best Foot Forward, Place of Hope, Love Boca Outreach, Wayside House, Boys and Girls Club of Delray Beach, Twin Palms, Milagro Center, Youth Activity Center, Gold Coast Down Syndrome, American Red Cross, Junior Achievement, George Snow Scholarship and many more. We are always looks to support more organizations in our community that fit with our League’s focus areas too. So if you are a member of one, work for one or are passionate about another organization in our community, let us know!

Some of My Favorites

With so many great organizations and supporting causes it’s hard to pick favorite, but there are definitely a few gems that stand out. My personal favorites would be Love Boca Outreach, Place of Hope and The Boys and Girls Club of Delray Beach. I loved working at Love Boca Outreach on Thanksgiving and serving those that had nowhere else to go. It was so humbling to sit with the homeless men and women and talk to them and share a meal. Place of Hope provides such an amazing service to children that are in foster care. The healthy snack program has been a huge hit this year with our members. The Boys and Girls Club of Delray Beach serves a large group of children and families in the Delray area. They have all kinds of activities and there are so many ways that JLBR can serve. My favorite was our Day of Impact shift which included the marshmallow tower building. We had the chance to work with the kids and help them work as a team to build the highest free standing building with a marshmallow on top. The kids loved it and quite honestly, so did I!  

I mentioned something above called the Day of Impact. This was our 3rd annual Day of Impact where the JLBR devotes an entire day to giving back to our local community and various nonprofits. We have shifts starting at 8am and running all day until 8pm. Instead of our usual March meeting for our members, The Day of Impact allows our members to really focus on volunteering and giving back. There are so many different shifts to chose from so there are areas of focus that appeal to member’s individuals passions and work schedules too.  As the DIAD chair this year, the Day of Impact was an extra amazing experience for me.  And what was our impact stats you ask?

2017 Day of Impact Results

  • 390 hours complete
  • 170 members participated
  • 13 Nonprofits were supported
  • 27 separate shifts offered

I was able to participate in so many of the different shifts and really take in the fact that we do incredibly great work in this community. I am proud to live here, to be part of this organization of outstanding women and to call them my friends! They say birds of feather flock together and I couldn’t have chosen a better flock to be a part of!