Cedar Creek Lake Civic League raises money for libraries, other charitable causes

by David Webb

David Webb is a veteran journalist who has written for the mainstream and alternative media for three decades. He is now a freelancer who lives in the Cedar Creek Lake area. He is a regular contributor to cedarcreeklake.com. E-mail story ideas to davidwaynewebb@yahoo.com.

Joyce Pearcy is president of the Cedar Creek Lake Civic League. The 11-year-old group raises money through its fundraisers for Tri-County Library, The Library of Cedar Creek Lake, Special Olympics, Headstart Program, East Texas Medical Center Nursery, Meals on Wheels and Women in Crisis. The group's 40 members currently raise about $5,000 annually for distribution among the beneficiaries. The group meets monthly, except for the summer months when it is on hiatus. It meets at the library in Mabank January through May and at the library in Seven Points September through December.

CCL.com: How do you raise money for your beneficiaries?

Pearcy: We do most of it through our Joker tournaments, which is a card board game. A lot of people play Joker down here so we decided to hold tournaments. Other organizations have Bridge tournaments. We decided to play Joker because it is something different.

CCL.com: How do choose your beneficiaries?

Pearcy: We have programs where we invite representatives of organizations to come and talk to us about what they do. After listening to them we decide whether we want to give to them or not. There is always a great need in the community.

CCL.com: How do you attract new members to your group?

Pearcy: It is done mostly by invitation. We invite new people to come and visit with us. But if anyone is interested in joining, they can call us. We have a limit on the number of members we have -- probably about 50 -- because we want to keep it small.

CCL.com: What activities does the organization sponsor in addition to the Joker tournaments?

Pearcy: We volunteer our labor at events like Special Olympics and Mabank Halloween Party where we pass out candy to the children. It takes a lot of work to put those events on so we do a lot of volunteer work.

CCL.com: What sort of social programs does the organization sponsor for its members?

Pearcy: We have a Christmas dinner and an end-of-year party. We also get together for lunches and social outings such as a trip to the Dallas Arboretum. We just decide what we want to do.

For information call 903-451-3229.

Pictured below is Joyce Pearcy

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