Living Well: Small charity delivers big love

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

By Teresa Griswold

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-One of Jayanthi “JJ” Roth’s first memories is of her mother picking her up after she landed at the Jackson Hole Airport. When she was five years old, Roth came to her Wyoming family from an orphanage in Tiruchirappalli, India, having been adopted along with her older sister, Sivanna, by Kathy and Richard Jenkins. From that moment on, the Alpine Resident has had a blessed life.
“My family has given me everything I need, almost to the point of being spoiled,” she said.

But Roth does not come across as spoiled. She is now 27 and radiates an optimistic, warm and vibrant personality, especially when she shares her experiences of her native India. She has visited twice, and her second trip made a lasting impression because she “got to get into the slums.”

“If you’ve ever seen Slumdog Millionaire, you will have a small idea of what it’s like,” she said. “It’s dirty and it’s beautiful all at the same time.”

Roth spent six months working there with Youth With a Mission (YWAM).

“I fell in love with it. I helped in the slums, got to know the people and learned about the culture,” she said. “I was hoping to bless the children’s lives, but really it was they who blessed me.”

Embracing her many blessings, Roth brainstormed ideas to give back and help the children. “I didn’t have a sewing machine, and I didn’t know how to knit or crochet things like hats, but I had made fleece tie blankets,” she said.
Tie blankets are made by knotting the fringed edges of the fleece together, and there was a need for them.

“The orphans sleep on concrete floors with thin straw mats, and even when it’s hot outside, it is so nice to have a soft, fleece blanket to cuddle with and sit on,” she said.

Seventeen blankets later, Roth sent her first shipment to India, and her charity, Love Smiles, was launched. That was a year ago, and now she has sent nearly 40 blankets in three shipments to orphanages in India and Rwanda by way of traveling friends, saving the expense of commercial shipping.

“I hope that one day I will be in a position to deliver the blankets myself,” Roth said. “I want this to be huge one day, and there is no way I can do this all on my own.” She wants everyone to help – from making blankets to delivering them to orphanages to donating fleece or money. She hopes to launch a Web site and is open to ideas. JHW

To help spread Love Smiles, contact JJ Roth at: P.O. Box 3938, Alpine, WY 83128 or jayanthi.roth@gmail.com.

Courtesy photo
Left, Jayanthi “JJ”Roth, founder of Love Smiles with her husband, Josh Roth. Right, Love Smile tags used for the first shipment of blankets.

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Living Well: Small charity delivers big love | Planet JH News Article: Living Well

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