Stacey Margaret Jones joins Party with a Heart with dedication to the organization’s fun-filled mission that supports a different organization each year.
By Jillian McGehee | Photography by Sara Reeves | Hair by Chaz Gogel with Face Your Day Salon | Makeup by Aaron Perkins with Face Your Day Salon
As Party With A Heart continues to improve the landscape of our community through exceptional civic leadership and remarkable events, it attracts creative spirits ready to join the fun and advance its mission fulfillment work.
Stacey Margaret Jones was introduced to Party with a Heart at its Mamma-Mia Sing-Along last fall – she volunteered at the disco event and felt compelled to remain involved. “I was immediately impressed with how well the founders ran the board and the events, so I was enthusiastic about playing a bigger role.”
Established by Lisa Brumley, Tifany Hamlin and Yvette Parker, the organization works to increase awareness, education and support for a variety of community-based issues. Throughout the year, they bring women together at fun and unique events that benefit a designated organization.
This year’s beneficiary is Literacy Action of Central Arkansas. Proceeds from the second annual Girls Night Out Dance Party support the organization’s critical mission that empowers adults through literacy – teaching reading skills to adults and English language skills to non-native Arkansans.
Stacey and her husband moved to Central Arkansas in 2003 when he accepted a position as chairman of the English Department at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
Stacey, a writer and wife of a retired English professor, recognizes the power of words to transform an individual’s perspective and enthusiastically supports Literacy Action. A lover of books with an extensive personal library, she was excited to discover her favorite, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, on-site at her photo shoot.
In addition, her mother is a retired librarian and teacher. “Reading has always been a vital function of life for our family, as well as a source of deep enjoyment and enrichment. I’m so happy we’re partnering with an organization that is dedicated to helping adults with this meaningful skill. I’m looking forward to being more involved with their efforts.”
Tifany says she’s grateful for Stacey’s involvement. “Her passion to support women in all walks of life is contagious. I knew immediately that she would be an excellent addition to our board. Her commitment to building a strong organization of women is exactly what we need at Party with a Heart.”
The fun and ease in which Party with a Heart advocates to enhance the profiles of different organizations is what attracted Stacey to the organization, she says. “Jenna Martin and I joined the board this year as the organization started to grow. Party with a Heart allows us to use our abilities to promote and create events, and also to get to know our partners for a year – which is so gratifying. Most of all, I love the organization’s focus on empowering women through its events and in the work its nonprofit partners do.”
GNO Dance Party is like no other event in the area, Stacey notes. “I love the feeling of women getting together, putting their energy into something that needs their attention and doing it with joy and verve. I’m so fortunate to be part of the group that makes it happen for such a deserving cause.”
Why Literacy?
• 93+ million Americans read at or below a basic level
• 145,000 in Central Arkansas alone struggle with basic literacy skills
• Literacy can mean the difference between a life well lived and a life of hardship. Teaching an adult to read has a profound and lasting impact on their ability to function successfully.
