Relief Society in Action highlights the volunteer service of Latter-day Saint women in their communities around the world. The Relief Society is the women’s organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints age 18 and older. It has more than 7.1 million members and is the largest women’s organization in the world. Today we feature news from Australia, Canada, the Pacific and the United States.
French Polynesia’s First Lady and Latter-day Saint Women Mark International Women’s Day with Service to Families
French Polynesia’s first lady, Angeline Lehartel, joined women of the Punaauia Tahiti Stake Relief Society to celebrate International Women’s Day and the Relief Society’s 179th anniversary with a community project.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
The service project included sewing blankets and wraps for babies who die before they are born.
“As women filled with the spirit of the gospel, our influence, strength and power must be used to help humanity around us,” the first lady said. “And this is what you do with faith and commitment in your service initiatives. I am so happy that you thought of associating me with this project.”
The delivery of baby blankets and wraps took place on March 8, 2021, to mark the celebration of International Women’s Day.
Read more about the initiative on the Pacific Newsroom.
Young Papua New Guinean Woman Saves School Library
“This project is to prepare the children from Hula village to seek and value education,” said Relief Society sister Christina Augerea.
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Christina Augerea cleans and organizes books with the help of a young adult group in the Allen Jones Memorial School library, Papua New Guinea, in 2020.2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Augerea, who is from the Papua New Guinean village of Hula, helped rebuild a community library that had become run down. After seeing the damage that had been done to her childhood school, Augerea decided to do something about it.
With support from the Church and the local Rotary Club, a new, termite-proof library was built.
“The goal of the project for me was inspired by President McCarthy [a Port Moresby Latter-day Saint leader] — which is to serve, sustain and be self-reliant,” Augerea said. “Giving people the services that they need and providing means and ways for them to sustain the services that we give them teaches them to be self-reliant.”
Visit the Pacific Newsroom to read more about the project.
British Columbians Celebrate International Women’s Day
Members of the Relief Society and the World Sikh Organization of Canada joined together to celebrate International Women’s Day in Canada on March 8, 2021.
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Francheska Hensen (13) wrote and composed a song to honour women on International Women’s Day, 2021.© 2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Almost 100 people attended the virtual event.
“[The event’s] theme of ‘Fear Is a Reaction, Courage Is a Decision,’ speaks to me of the resilience from obstacles put in our path and the strength to finish the race,” said Susan Terry, organizer of the event and communication director for the Church’s congregations in Surrey, British Columbia. “It has been such a difficult year that the opportunity to hear from such courageous women helps lift and inspire us all. It’s such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate!”
The event included a video of Francheska Henson, a Latter-day Saint youth from Burnaby, British Columbia, performing her original song, “Choose Brave.”
Visit the Canada Newsroom to read more.
Donations Made to Care Facility in Tahiti
The Relief Society in the Maraa Parish of Paea’s Pieu organized a new initiative called “Come Help” to help residents at the Te Tiare Center care facility feel less lonely.
Members of the Relief Society donated clothes and hygiene products for residents in need. The assembled packages were distributed to the center on March 1, 2021.
“It’s great,” one sister said. “We have the opportunity to make ourselves useful and help our neighbors in need. The donations will help the residents, and especially those from the islands who don’t have family in Tahiti.”
Read more about the donations here.
Sisters Participate in Day of Service
Relief Society sisters in Chattanooga, Tennessee, participated in a day of service on March 13, 2021. Several women took the time to help in the community.
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A Relief Society sister organizes food donated at the Community Kitchen in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on March 13, 2021.One group of sisters helped organize donated food and clothes at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen. The items will later be donated to people in need.
Click here to read more about their experience at the Community Kitchen.
Other Relief Society members spent their day at the Salvation Army of Chattanooga. The sisters helped clean the outdoor space and organize donated clothing. The women also took pictures of headstones in cemeteries throughout the community to help with online family history work.
Visit their local Facebook group to read more about their day at the Salvation Army of Chattanooga.
Adelaide Youth Prepare Personal Health Kits for Young Women in Africa
Young women in Adelaide, Australia, collected and organized 110 personal health kits to be sent to young girls in Africa through the charity organization Days for Girls.
The donated kits included underwear, washcloths and bars of soap.
Young women who attended the service event said the project was rewarding and they felt a greater appreciation for their personal health blessings.
Click here to read how the health kits will benefit women in Africa.