The Kerrville Junior Service Guild has ambitious plans for 2022 to expand its offerings to organizations and people who need it most.
The women-focused nonprofit organization has several areas of emphasis, including the Hill Country Crisis Council, Hill Country Youth Ranch and the Special Opportunity Center, but it’s also centered on providing educational opportunities to young women.
In this effort, KJSG will hold a 5-kilometer run on March 12 at Louise Hays Park, and the proceeds go toward scholarships. Dubbed the “Diploma Dash,” the run is the first event the organization has been able to hold since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We had really great donors the last two years who were very accommodating to everything we had to go through to make it even happen,” said Brady Lehmann, KJSG vice president. “All of the money basically went to our scholarships, which was fabulous.”
Lehmann said the specifics of the scholarship are centered on women heading to college or trade school — it has been a defining mission of the organization for the last decade. The organization has taken on fundraising for Kerrville Pets Alive and the Riverside Nature Center. The diversity of the support is representative of the makeup of KJSG — women who come from varied backgrounds.
Lehmann, for instance, came to Kerrville to play tennis at Schreiner University. However, she’s no stranger to the Hill Country — her mother’s family ranched in the area for generations. After graduating, Lehmann went to work in Washington, D.C., where she was an aide to Rep. John Carter, who represents the 31st District in Central Texas. After her stint in Washington, D.C., she came home to Texas and started a family.
That doesn’t mean she’s not any less busy. With a nearly three-year-old daughter, Lehmann is part of a large family that is involved in many aspects of Kerrville's civic life. Along with her sister-in-law, Brittany Lehman, she serves on the board of the Special Opportunity Center.
It’s the giving back that she stresses the most, especially with the KJSG.
“All the girls in our group every week, try to do something to help,” Lehmann said. “For instance, the Hill Country Crisis Council, all the girls in our group get make meals and drop them off for the women and children that are there. Or for Kerrville Pets Alive, we try and help them whenever they have a fundraiser or Hill Country Youth Ranch needs letter stuffing for anything and then a special opportunity center whenever they have a party or something in need, we try to get there. So, it's great to give back to the community.”
To learn more about the Kerrville Junior Service Guild click here: https://kerrville-junior-service-guild.square.site/
To register for the 5K run: https://www.athleteguild.com/running/kerrville-tx/2022-kjsg-diploma-dash/signup
To watch the video interview, where do a deeper dive into tennis greats and the power of Harry Potter, click here: https://fb.watch/aVhC5aiBgc/
To listen to a podcast of the interview click here: https://anchor.fm/louis-amestoy/episodes/The-Kerr-County-Lead–Jan–31–2022-e1dnpvn
