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FORT MYERS, Fla. (Sept. 29, 2015) – Four months into the Junior League of Fort Myers, Inc.’s 50th Anniversary community-wide volunteer challenge, the nonprofit is more than 70 percent toward its goal.

To date, more than 175 community members have pledged to take the Junior League’s 50 for 50 Challenge.

To celebrate its 50th Anniversary in 2016, the Junior League’s members are encouraging all of Southwest Florida to join them in continuing their ongoing volunteer efforts.

The challenge is simple. From June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016, the Junior League is asking adults to commit to volunteering 50 hours of community service and/or $50 to the local nonprofit(s) of their choice. Children, ages 6 to 16, are asked to donate 25 hours. Families are encouraged to take the challenge together if they wish. During this same time, JLFM members will also commit to completing 50 community service projects.

“Each volunteer hour is valued at $23,” said Danielle Lucht, Junior League of Fort Myers president. “Our goal is to have 225 people commit to the challenge, which once their 50 hours are completed, they will total more than $250,000 of service.”

Participants may commit to the challenge and track their hours by downloading a form on the Junior League’s website at www.jlfm.org. At the end of the year, the Junior League will hold a celebration honoring all participants with a certificate and commemorative pin next May.

Participants may show their friends and family how they’re changing the community by using the #jlfm50 hashtag on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Junior League will share participants’ examples on its social media sites.

Participants may also visit the 50 for 50 Challenge page at www.jlfm.org for links to opportunities through their community partner organizations including the United Way, Abuse Counseling & Treatment (ACT), AMIkids of Southwest Florida, the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, Inc., the Literacy Council Gulf Coast and more.

Since 1966, the Junior League of Fort Myers has contributed more than one million volunteer hours to community projects and programs.

The Junior League’s 50th Anniversary sponsors include Scanlon Auto Group, Guardian Retirement Services and Myers, Brettholtz & Company, PA.

A member of the Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc., the Junior League of Fort Myers, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1966 and made up of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. The JLFM is also a granting organization, providing mini-grants to organizations throughout Southwest Florida’s five-county area to programs that create better life outcomes for our area’s youth. JLFM memberships are open to all women aged 21 and older of all races, religions and national origin who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to voluntarism.

For more information on the 50 for 50 Challenge, call 239-277-1197 or visit www.jlfm.org.