DATE: Thursday, October 16, 1997            TAG: 9710160543

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Guy Friddell 

                                            LENGTH:   52 lines

THESE ``FAIRY GODMOTHERS'' DRESS WOMEN SO THEY CAN FIND JOBS

In the five cities on the south side of Hampton Roads, the Junior League is a band of 500 women doing good deeds quietly, fairy godmothers popping up and waving a wand to rescue someone in need.

And just as a godmother rescued Cinderella and dressed her for the ball, the Junior League steps in to help women who, having gone through the early stages of finding work, lack the proper outfits in which to apply at an interview.

In Norfolk's historic Taylor-Whittle House, headquarters for the Junior League of Norfolk/Virginia Beach, the second floor is set aside for a career clothes closet.

Receptive to gifts of women's clothing, the league is always looking for the scarcer sizes of 18 and larger.

A league member, Cindy Black, won a Governor's Award for coming up with the idea of the clothes closet.

Another program for emergencies is the Community Response Fund which contributes to nonprofit organizations with activities devoted to helping young people. Nov. 30 is the deadline for requests this year.

Every three years, the league makes a major effort to select and support a project aimed at creating positive changes in the lives of children in the region.

``The idea is that in improving their lives we are making our world a better place,'' said Bobbie Gribble, chairwoman of an auction to raise funds for the three-year undertaking. The goal this year is $36,000, she said, ``and we hope to exceed it.''

The auction will occur Saturday from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the first floor ballroom of the Marriott Hotel on Main Street in downtown Norfolk. Admission is $24. Most of the gifts have been donated by local businesses. Tickets can be purchased at the door. For further information, the league's telephone number is 623-7270.

Among hundreds of gifts are a marble coffee table designed especially for the auction, jewelry, pedal cars for children, color television sets, tickets for restaurants, the opera, the Wells theater, movies, and the Redskins football games including a night's stay in Washington, D.C., and parking passes. Three days in the Bahamas are also an offering.

The new three-year project will focus on the Haven Family Center in Norfolk providing facilities for children, including a literacy computer laboratory and creating a playground.

``Over the next three years we will donate $45,000 and thousands of volunteer hours,'' said Gribble.

In the previous project, the league donated funds for an amphitheater designed for classes and traveling exhibitions for children at the Virginia Zoo.

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