Dallas Junior Forum Announces Name Change at Annual Fundraising Luncheon and Auction
(Featured photo: Chantell Smithey, DSF; Michelle Mew, DSF Event Chair.)*
Dallas Junior Forum held their annual fundraising luncheon and auction at Northwood Club and revealed that the nonprofit’s name will now be known as Dallas Service Forum. President Julie Crowley made the announcement to the members and loyal supporters and donors who gathered to celebrate the organization’s “40+ Years of Service Imagine the Possibilities!”
“After much member discussion, the organization voted to become independent from the Junior Forum Inc. umbrella in order to allow all resources to remain in, and to benefit, the greater Dallas community,” said Crowley. “The replacement of the word Junior with Service best reflects who we are. Only the name has changed. Our mission, work and commitment remain the same.”
The name change is accompanied by a redesigned logo which was also introduced to attendees at the event. It includes the Dallas skyline enclosed in a heart, representing both the past and the future, along with the organization’s continuing motto and tagline “Service from the Heart.”
Caroline Wold, Network of Community Services; Marla Nunally, DSF President Elect* 
Penny Sanders, DSF; Bonnie Cameron, DSF Vice President of Development*
DSF is supported by the memberships and donors. The annual luncheon and auction is its largest yearly fundraiser, allowing it to provide grants, in addition to volunteers, to the agencies it serves. These include Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, Hope’s Door New Beginning Center, Juliette Fowler Communities, The Ebby House, Network of Community Ministries, The Family Place, and Ronald McDonald House of Dallas.
The event was chaired by Michelle Mew and featured a panel of leaders from non-profit agencies served by DSF. The panel was moderated by former DJF President and Board Member Julie Sheridan. Panel members shared with attendees the tremendous ongoing challenges they faced during the COVID pandemic, combined with the devastating results of the Dallas winter storm, and the many ways Dallas Service Forum helped them meet those challenges, both with service and funds.
Last year, the annual fund raiser was forced to go virtual. This year, members and supporters were thrilled to gather to celebrate 40 plus years of service. And celebrate they did. Guests bid by smartphone on a curated selection of auction and raffle items assembled by Vice President of Development Bonnie Cameron and her team. Items included shopping sprees, restaurant gift cards, dream vacation resort travel to the Italian wine country, Mexico, Caribbean resorts, and a trip to the US Open Golf.
“It truly was a day of celebration,” said Cameron. “We are thrilled with the tremendous success of the event which will allow us to continue to provide grants to the agencies we serve.”
DSF President Julie Crowley expressed gratitude to members, loyal supporters and event sponsors who made the fundraiser successful. “We imagined the possibility of an in-person event that was well supported and beautifully presented. With this success, we are ready to move forward,” she said.
About Dallas Service Forum (formerly Dallas Junior Forum)
DSF is a 100 percent nonprofit volunteer organization. The Dallas chapter was formed in 1977 to create greater interest in civic, education, and philanthropic endeavors in the greater Dallas community through volunteer work focused on children, families, and the elderly. Since it began over 40 years ago, the organization has donated hundreds of thousands of volunteer service hours to the charitable agencies it supports and has donated more than $1million in direct grants and non-grants to worthy nonprofit organizations throughout the greater Dallas area.
*Photos by John Starkey
(This Philanthropy Lifestyles Scene courtesy Dallas Service Forum.)
