Now WJC has the elderly in mind along with organizations that may get overlooked when it comes to funding.
"It's hard to get help for small towns. It's time to bring it home," Hargis said. "We have elderly and kids in this town that do without."
On Sept. 11, the group reached out to the community with a special day for "local heroes." Three meals were prepared that day and served at Stith Funeral Home and Family Center in Junction City for local firefighters and policemen. With so much food left over, the group delivered plates to people they thought needed and would appreciate it.
Nothing went to waste that day
Ann Yager Hamlin with Stith Funeral Home said watching them walk out the door with those plates of food, and hearing the stories when they returned was amazing. She said the way they worked together and compiled a list of people to whom to deliver was neat to watch.
"They were so worried about the people of the community. Nothing went to waste that day," she said.
That's one reason Stith Funeral Home is allowing We Just Care to use its Junction City facility. Hamlin said as long they are using it to serve the community, they are welcome to use it for meetings and storage of donations.
We Just Care has made a commitment to JCES of $1,000 to go toward the purchase of band instruments. Johnson said when the group asked the school about its biggest need, the instruments topped the list. Johnson said of all the marching band members at Boyle County High School, only three were students at JCES. Hargis said donations of used instruments would be appreciated, as long as they are at least repairable.
One upcoming fundraiser is a roast of Donnie Coffman on Oct. 28 at JCES. Tickets for the roast go on sale Oct. 15, and will cost $10, including a chili supper. Admission to the roast alone is $5 or five cans of food. A new, unwrapped toy also will be accepted as admission.
Funds from the roast also will help with a Thanksgiving Day dinner planned for the community at Stith Funeral Home and Family Center. Everyone is invited, and the group said any kind of donation will be accepted - food, money or volunteering. "You name it, we're looking for it," Johnson said.
All about involvement
"It's not for the poor, down-trodden," Hargis said. "That's not the picture we're trying to paint."
Margaret Daugherty, another volunteer coordinator with the group, said, "Come and visit, enjoy the crowd. I think we're all really excited about it because we want to meet our neighbors."
Being the only male in the group of women of We Just Care, Hargis said he knows there are other single men out there who want to get involved with the community but don't know where to start.
"There was so much I wanted to do," Hargis said. "I know there's other guys out there that go home at night because they don't know how to get involved."
Hargis said it's all about involvement - getting together and changing things for the better in their community, and doing it on a personal level.
"They are extremely involved in their community," Hamlin said. "We love being a part of Junction City now. We help whenever we can."
WJC focuses primarily on the people of Junction City. Johnson she hopes people look at the group as an example, and help others in need out of kindness in their hearts. "We know there's other people out there that care."
Melissa Piscatelli, secretary of WJC, said, "We're helping home first because sometimes it gets overlooked."
