The projects that we run teach our members business skills, project management experience, networking skills, and most importantly, they raise funds to support our community outreach efforts. We were able to provide Easter eggs, candy and gifts for the City of Hickory Easter Egg Hunt, give gifts and cards to over 20 low income seniors through our GrandPals project throughout the year with Catawba
County Meals on Wheels, give a Christmas for over 50 low income teenagers whose parents couldn’t afford to buy them gifts and support local scholarship funds and organizations with the proceeds from these projects. There are so many community outreach projects that we run throughout the year and none of that is possible without the support of our community partners and those business projects. Junior Chamber International has been an active organization since 1944, JCI USA was formed in 1946 and the Hickory Jaycees formed and have been part of the Hickory area since 1948. The Junior Chamber exists for active young citizens who bring energy and insight to solving problems locally and around the world. Our mission is to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change in their communities. Some of our past national accomplishments include establishing Airmail Service, creating the National Wildlife Federation, and leading the successful effort to grant Statehood to Hawaii and Alaska. On a more local level, some of Jaycee accomplishments include founding the Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, opening Camp Discovery, a summer camp for special needs children in Tennessee and building and maintain countless public parks, playgrounds and ball fields. JCI is one of the few organizations worldwide that are permitted to fly the UN flag because of our commitment to the sustainable development goals that they have enacted. Today, our members continue to identify the needs in our communities and strive to find sustainable solutions. What differentiates the Jaycees from other organizations is the hands-on concept – the learning by doing and taking ownership of the process with the goal of making our community a better place to live. The great thing about the Jaycees is the ability to create projects that support our members and the community at the same time. When you are interested in doing something, you do it when circumstances permit; when you are committed to something, you accept no excuses – only results.
