BATESVILLE — More than 200 people filtered through the back doors of the Batesville Country Club on Saturday night to get at a boat filled with boiled crawfish, corn on the cob and sausage.
The Junior Auxiliary of Independence County held its seventh Rajun Cajun crawfish boil for charity. This Mardi Gras-themed party is held each spring and offers authentic Cajun food and entertainment. Although the event wasn’t held last year, Dean Castleberry and Tricia Snell decided to co-chair the event and bring it back this year.
The group of volunteer women have a major fundraiser each year for programs to help the children of Independence County.
“One year, we made around $12,000,” Castleberry said. “All the money stays local.”
As of press time, the total amount raised Saturday night wasn’t available.
The nonprofit group uses funds to support services such as free dental screenings, reading programs and providing shoes and socks for children who may have never worn a brand-new pair of shoes.
“Our new program this year is that we are adopting a family,” Castleberry said. “We have a single mom with two kids.”
Castleberry said one of the children is high-school age, and the organization will help with prom and graduation expenses, and the other child is elementary-school age.
“We will provide clothes and shoes and take them to the movies, just whatever they need,” she added.
Best Foot Forward is a program that provides socks and shoes for the county’s children. The new shoes are purchased and distributed through the schools.
Another major project is the Children’s Health and Safety Fair. In the spring, the Junior Auxiliary hosts the fair as a day of family fun as the members promote health and safety for children.
DNA kits and a Morgan Nick Photo ID booth are available, and bicycle helmets and life jackets are given away.
The organization also sponsors the following projects:
• Reading Makes You Grow is a program in which Junior Auxiliary members meet at the Independence County Regional Library twice a month to offer reading activities to children. The volunteers also donate two books each month to the library.
• Free dental screenings are offered once a year, with the help of Dr. Melanie Looney, for children ages 2 to 21.
• The Crown Club, a high school counterpart to Junior Auxiliary, promotes giving back to the community. The Crown Club meets once a month and offers a scholarship to a senior in the club.
Saturday evening’s events included silent and live auctions, as well as a raffle for four Razorback game tickets.
The night concluded with the local band Doghouse performing.
Almost every county has a Junior Auxiliary that works for the children of the county’s communities.
To learn more about Junior Auxiliary and to find a local chapter, visit the national website at najanet.org. Find out more about the projects in Independence County by visiting www.independencecountyja.com.