Junior Service Club Holiday House Tour Set for Dec. 4

The Edwardsville Intelligencer, Friday, November 18, 2016
http://www.theintelligencer.com/local/article/Junior-Service-Club-Holiday-House-Tour-set-for-10761029.php

For more than 20 years the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Junior Service Club has hosted its biennial Holiday House Tour which serves as a perfect way to kick off the holiday season.  This year the tour, which will feature eight beautiful homes decorated for the holidays, takes place from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 4.
Sarah Dawson, a Junior Service Club (JSC) Holiday House Tour committee chair, noted that having eight homes on the tour is the most homes they’ve had on the tour in recent years.  “We’re very pleased with the variety in architectural style and décor that can be seen among the houses,” Dawson said.
The homes in the tour are all located within Edwardsville and Glen Carbon, and the tour is self-guided so participants can start at the house of their choosing.  
Tickets are $25 when purchased in advance or $30 when purchased the day of the event.  Remaining tickets will be available the day of the event at each homes on the tour.  
Tickets can currently be purchased during regular business hours at Miss Bailey’s Poppy Patch, YMCA (both locations), Metro Eye Care, Gingham Buffalo, Where They Roam, Holiday Cleaners, What To Wear and Stix & Stones.
The JSC will also be collecting canned goods and diapers at each home on the tour which will then be donated to the Glen Ed Pantry.  
“The Glen Ed Pantry is such a valuable resource for se in need in our community. We wanted to help the Pantry get ready for the holidays since this is typically when they need it the most,” Dawson said.
Children under 12 years of age will not be permitted on the tour. It is recommended to wear shoes that are easy to slip on and off since they must be removed when entering each home. 
This year’s Holiday House Tour sponsors include Ala Carte Home Design, Bin 51 Wine & Spirits, Butler Marcus Realty Group, Fischer Lumber Company, Viviano Heating & Air Conditioning, Mortgage Makers, R.P. Lumber, CS Gems, Joni Yost Interiors, Saving Grace Beauty, and Stix & Stones Interiors. “We’re grateful to all of our sponsors and the businesses selling our tickets,” Sara Musch, also a committee chair, said.  “We are fortunate to have such a supportive community.”
The JSC, comprised of about 85 local women, is an extremely active organization that is dedicated to making a difference in the community, and all funds raised from the Holiday House Tour go directly back into the community through the JSC’s multitude of programs and projects.  
Kerry Stricker, JSC’s Community Relations Chairperson, explained that one of the JSC’s larger projects this year had been a $25,000 donation to the Watershed Nature Center for a new educational garden and just last week the organization donated $15,000 to Got Your Six, an organization committed to providing specialized service dogs to Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and/or sexual trauma.  Got Your Six’s mission is to help these men and women regain their lives through the healing power of dogs.  
“We were at Petco this weekend - over Veterans Day,” Stricker said.  “The Junior Juniors group took donations from the public outside of Petco, and then they used that money to go inside the store and buy dog food for the service dogs. And then we purchased a service dog that will be trained and gifted to a local veteran.”  
There were about 35 local groups or organizations in total that the JSC granted funding requests to this year.  “Everything from the Children’s Museum to a company called Curtains Up Theater that is doing a Christmas show at the Wildey, to Got Your Six, the Glen Ed Food Pantry, and District 7 nurses,” Stricker noted.  
Other large projects the JSC has funded in the community in recent years include the Boundless Playground at Township Park and the dry playground at the new Splash Pad in Edwardsville. 
“All the money that we raise we spend here locally.  It’s a great organization,” Stricker said. 
Visit www.edglenjuniorservice.org for additional information about the Holiday House Tour or to learn more about JSC and their upcoming events.  The Junior Service Club is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EdGlenJuniorService.

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