NJWC hosting free kids concerts

The Norwood Junior Women’s Club (NJWC) is hosting its 11th annual Norwood Free Kids Concert Series next week and the following Tuesday.

Next week’s concert will feature Tiny Tunes Music, and, because of this week’s rain on Tuesday, Small Singers & Shakers is tentatively scheduled to perform on Aug. 4 as a rain date.

Co-Chair Laura O'Brien Charis said it’s still up in the air, but confirmed they will have at least the previously approved July 28 concert as planned.

Charis said the concerts are just one of the many ways the NJWC tries to give back to the community. She said the organization works to raise funds for some fun events like the concert series, which she said is a blast for younger children and has a big crowd participation element, but said the club is about directing effort and work towards those in need.

“One of the things we do is we sponsor the Care Closet up at the Middle School or Annie’s Closet at the Food Pantry, and putting events on like the concerts is always a really good way to get in front of a crowd – we usually have about 75 people and the kids have such a good time,” she said. “So a care closet is there if a student needs soaps, shampoo, toothpaste – basically anything but razors – we supply that to the closet through the guidance department.”

She said that Annie’s Closet is a clothing distribution that takes place during food distributions at the Norwood Ecumenical Food Pantry on Saturdays. She said the program was founded for the late Annie Dixon-Lavery, a local resident a nurse who was known to refer to Norwood as “the center of the universe.”

Charis said anyone is welcome to the distribution, and the NJWC club helps to both funnel donated items to the shop as well as providing new socks and underwear, which she said cannot be donated.

“We also supply soap, shampoo, conditioners and makeup even,” she said.

Charis said they also partner with other organizations to make the concerts happen, including the Boch Fund, Poirier, Dempsey Insurance and One Local Bank. She said the idea is to provide entertainment for families with younger children, which she said she felt was a missing piece in Norwood.

“I feel like the events at the Rec Center are aimed at older elementary school kids, while this is aimed at little little kids,” she said.

Charis said the NWJC is a small group, but punches well above its weight and is always looking for new members.

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“We’re a very small group in comparison to the amount of work and donations we do; like we’ve given out college scholarships the last two years,” she said. “We’ve given out $2,000 in scholarships last year and $1,500 the year before. The amount we give back for such a small group, is very good – and we’ve been recognized for it – and so getting some more members would be very helpful.”

She said the time committeemen is very loose, and any interested parties should keep an eye on the calendar when they meet back up in September.

“You could show up once a month to meetings and just have verbal input,” she said. “It’s whatever you want to give back. Myself and Jen Conley are the presidents, and we do a lot, but we have a social media person, we have a secretary, a treasurer, and it’s not just one person doing everything. The commitment is as much time as you want to give.”

For more information, email NorwoodJWC@Gmail.com or go to https://gvimes.link/njwcfb