THE JUNIOR LEAGUE STORY
Association of the Junior Leagues of America, Inc.
Editor’s Note: This document was prepared by the Association of the Junior Leagues of America and published in 1968.
INTRODUCTION
Membership in the Junior League is a commitment to a number of principles and goals, the primary one being the education and training of the individual for effective; active, and responsive participation in a rapidly changing society. More than 100,000 women in the United States, Canada and Mexico have accepted this commitment with the belief that individual development is without meaning unless it results in some tangible contribution to the world in which we live. The Junior League program, therefore, is designed to stimulate awareness regarding the diversity of problems which exist, and to educate and train members in techniques for meeting these demands. A fundamental vehicle for this training is the volunteer service performed · by the Junior League members in more than 200 cities. Who is the Junior League member? She is a young woman who has demonstrated an interest, capacity and talent for serving her community. During her Active years (under 40) she receives diversified education and training in, and through, community service. With this expertise she, then, as a Sustainer (over 40), assumes relevant community responsibility outside the Junior League framework. Thus, it is that the League’s educational and training process sets the pace for each new generation.
BACKGROUND
Responsiveness to community needs has guided Junior Leagues from the very beginning. In 1901, Mary Harriman (Mrs. Charles Rumsey), the daughter of rail financier E. H. Harriman, became concerned about the plight of those dwelling in the slums of New York City’s Lower East Side. Assisted by Nathalie Henderson (Mrs. Joseph P. Swan), she persuaded 80 of her friends, who were “coming out” to join her in forming the nucleus of what was eventually to become the first Junior League. These privileged young women, in their late teens, established the “Junior League for the Promotion of Settlement Movements.” They volunteered to teach young children; gave an annual “entertainment” to finance their work; and, distributed bouquets of flowers to city-bound families during the summer. Today, these endeavors seem touchingly naive. However, the formative years presented many challenging problems. Often a young woman would volunteer to work with the poor in the face of parental disapproval. Most soon realized that their education and sheltered lives had inadequately prepared them to carry out even the simplest volunteer tasks. From the recognition that good intentions alone were not enough evolved the Junior League principle of training for service. When these young New Yorkers moved elsewhere they carried this idea with them. The first Junior League established outside New York City was formed in Boston, in 1907. Leagues were started in Brooklyn and Portland, in 1910. Residents of Baltimore, Philadelphia and Chicago organized Leagues in their cities, in 1912. That same year the seven independent groups agreed to adopt the name “Junior League” for their official title. 1912, also, marks the year of the first Annual Conference. At this meeting, held in New York City, groups in Cleveland, San Francisco and Montreal were given official recognition. The first small, informal conference set a pattern for “inter-city” meetings, held nearly every year for the next decade. Apart from these meetings, the Leagues were loosely joined together by informal and infrequent exchanges of information and by the Junior League Bulletin. This predecessor of the Junior League Magazine was originally the news sheet of the Junior League of New York City. In 1917, it became the official Bulletin for 23 Leagues. The Association of the Junior Leagues of America was incorporated in New York City, in 1921. A board of directors was appointed, and Mrs. Willard Stright (Dorothy Payne Whitney, later Mrs. Leonard K. Elmhurst) was elected president. In the early years of the Association, groups were accepted for membership, in the words of one member, “if we liked their handwriting.” In 1923, however, an Admissions Committee was formed to set standards for applying groups. In that same year closer lines of communication among the League was achieved by the Association sub-dividing itself into regions. Junior League community service over the years has reflected many changes in the social structure and needs of our society. The. Leagues’ earliest projects were in settlement houses, where they were able to counteract the experiences of immigrant children’s exposure to an often indifferent America. In 1906, the Junior League of the City of New York, paid the salaries of visiting nurses on New York’s Lower East Side and formed committees to investigate the living conditions within the area. When these young League volunteers went into settlement houses to conduct play groups, they quickly learned that there was more to conducting even the simplest group activity than met the eye. Thus, they began to recognize the need for training. By 1916, volunteers, in an effort to minimize multi-cultural conflicts, were endeavoring to involve the children’s parents, as well. In the role of “school visitors” volunteers also were able to work with the families of immigrant children. World War I involved League members in wartime volunteer service – making bandages, knitting garments, and selling Liberty Bonds. Junior League members — 126 of them — served with the YWCA in France. League volunteers also “carried on” during the influenza epidemic that broke out following the end of the War. Hot lunches provided a class of children, by one League, resulted in that group having a lower rate of influenza cases than any other group of children in the school district.The 1920’s witnessed lavish League-sponsored Children’s Theater productions. During this period there developed, too, a surge of interest in creative writing and other forms of self-expression. The Jazz Age had its more serious side, too, as is indicated by the kinds of volunteer services undertaken. During that time, Junior Leagues provided schoolbooks for children who could not afford to buy them; acted as volunteers in municipal hospitals; developed coordinated community service programs for children; and, worked to interest young girls in nursing and social service careers. Social upheaval in the 1930’s created a need for services on an unprece dented scale. Leagues redoubled their efforts. During the Depression, the Junior Leagues came face to face with the growing need for cooperation between the public and private sectors in the area of social welfare work, as was pointed out by AJLA President, Mrs. Peter L. Harvie (Ruth Hyde) in an interview which appeared in the New York Times, in 1937. During the. economic crisis which gripped our country, League founder, Mary Harriman Rumsey, was in Washington heading the Consumer’s Advisory Board under the National Recovery Act. While one Junior League was developing a program to find employment for the handicapped adult, another League was creating one. of the earliest-perhaps, even the first, Visiting Homemaker’s Service. Junior League Thrift Shops, predictably, became important sources of supply for the destitute. When World War II erupted, the volunteer expertise Junior Leagues had been developing was enlisted in an all-out war effort. AJLA prepared the first national plan for Central Volunteer Bureaus across the United States, and provided consultative services for administrating them. League conferences were discontinued, and League members were encouraged to join the women’s branches of the armed services, or to take jobs in war industries, if they could. Others, who carried on the volunteer effort, manned USO Centers for servicemen and women, and set up nurseries for war workers’ children. Volunteers helped in locating housing for war plant employees and in relocating evacuees from war-torn countries. By the end of World War II the Junior Leagues, again, had proven their effectiveness in a time of national crisis. In the late 1960’s the North American Continent once again became the arena for finding ways to deal with the growing complexity of social needs. Dissatisfactions, long ignored, became urgent demands. Traditional approaches to social problems were questioned. Preserving human dignity in crowded cities; conserving the resources of the countryside; developing the promise of childhood; and, fulfilling the needs of the aged — all were complex and diversified problems which required innovative answers and solutions. Junior Leagues which have been developing skills and techniques since the turn of the century are among those groups presently seeking solutions to these problems.
AJLA — STANDARDS AND INDIVIDUALITY
Each, Junior League is autonomous and responsive to the needs of its own community. Each League constructs its own program of training and service in accordance with these needs. The Association of the Junior Leagues of America, Inc., unites the member Leagues and promotes their individual purpose by setting uniform standards along the lines described by the Leagues, and by offering assistance, services and resources to help the Leagues maintain these standards. The Association, familiarly known as AJLA, is an advisory and consultative body. At its core is a Board of Directors composed of five officers and the Regional Directors, who are elected by the Junior Leagues on a geographical basis. The AJLA Board meets four times a year — in the fall and in mid winter at AJLA headquarters in New York City, and at the Conference site, both before and after Conference. The professional staff, headed by an executive director, provides consulting services to the Leagues in the areas of: the arts; education; health and welfare; recreation; League administration; League finance, League public relations, including radio, television and films; and, children’s theatre. The spectrum of Association services is broad. They are assessed on a continuing basis so that they will keep pace with the Leagues’ contemporary needs and interests. Each year a plan of Association services is determined according to information received from the Leagues, the Regional Directors, the Staff, and by means of the Annual Questionnaire. Available services include: seminars, technical institutes, problem-solving institutes, conferences-in-miniature, consultations, League visits, and correspondence with the Leagues. In addition, the Association arranges for annual Presidents’ Councils and for Fall Meetings, which are geared to potential young leaders. The Association publishes: the Junior League Magazine, a bi-monthly publication which every member receives; the AJLA Bulletin, a bi-monthly newsletter which informs League Presidents and committee chairmen about new developments in fields of interest to the Leagues. The AJLA Staff also prepares and distributes a wide variety of resource materials from: “how to” train provisionals to “how to” handle the finances of a non-profit organization. The Association also compiles an annual statistical report based on a survey of League service programs, membership growth, and other basic data essential to creative planning. The most individualized service a League can receive is a visit from a Regional Director, an Officer, or a Consultant. Such visits are designed to meet the particular needs of the League and usually include meetings with League officers, board, appropriate committees, and, often the entire membership, as well. Such visits can provide great insight into the League’s program plans and concerns, thus, enhancing communications and the rendering of services tailored to fit their specific requirements. Each Junior League sends delegates to the Association’s Annual Conference, held in May. At this meeting AJLA Officers and Regional Directors are elected; Association business transacted; and issues discussed. Conference is designed to stimulate, inspire, and further educate League leadership. This setting includes a variety of meetings which provide Junior League delegates with opportunities to share ideas. with one another and with the AJLA Board and Staff, as well as to learn from distinguished authorities in fields of League interest, who are invited to participate. One of the Association’s functions is to set standards for groups wishing to become Junior Leagues. The name “Junior League” is registered in the United States and Canada, and may he used only by members of the Association. Applying groups must be: similar in purpose to a Junior League, at least seven years old, on a sound financial basis, and independent of any other organizations. Their membership should include at least 100 Active members, the majority of whom are under 35 years of age. The community must be either a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (as defined by the U.S. Government), or a city within such an area with a population of at least 50,000. The community also must possess sufficient facilities in civic, cultural and educational areas, and, in the health and welfare fields, to afford adequate scope and quality placement for Junior League training and service. An organization which meets these basic requirements goes through an applying process, lasting from two to four years. During this period of time the group is guided by AJLA Board and Staff in meeting Junior League standards. The Association is structured to remain responsive to changing needs while, at the same time, retaining an orderly balance in the decision-making process. It is a design based on experience, service and education acquired since the turn of the century.
JUNIOR LEAGUE PROGRAM
Since 1901, volunteer service has become increasingly more sophisticated and specialized. The Junior League member of today is well educated, highly motivated, and genuinely concerned about problems confronting her community and the world. She is involved in family responsibilities and, perhaps, has a full-time job. The time she devotes to volunteer service must be a source of personal stimulation, which gives her an opportunity to contribute to her community. So it is that Junior League programs must keep pace with the times and provide sufficient flexibility wherein each member will attain maximum benefits; and, wherein community needs can he isolated for the purpose of effective involvement of trained and experienced volunteers. Education and training are essential parts of the Junior League member’s training from the very beginning. Before she becomes an Active, with the privileges of voting and holding office, every League member first serves a period as a Provisional. During this time she must complete an intensive training course which is designed to acquaint her with her community’s resources and problems; with her own League’s program; and, with the services provided by the Association of the Junior Leagues of America, Inc. to the Leagues. The training process continues throughout her years as an Active — through membership meetings; committee and board service; volunteer service in the community and in League projects; and, through formal training sessions arranged by the League’s Education Committee, by other community organizations, and/or by the Association. It is through volunteer. service that a League member puts her training to the test. Each member is interviewed annually by her League’s Placelllent Committee. Service opportunities in League-sponsored projects, community service programs, and League administrative positions are outlined and members are free to choose, with some direction, those opportunities best suited to their interests and talents. League members are expected to serve in a variety of capacities, and-their ongoing training is reflected in their willingness and ability to assume increasing responsibility. Volunteer service in the League and the community, therefore, is evaluated, not in terms of hours, hut, rather, by the degree of challenge, responsibility and growth it provides. Junior League projects are another vehicle for the implementation of training. A Junior League project is a planned undertaking which either initiates or extends a community service. As a service, the project should meet the standards of excellence in its field. The League commits itself to volunteer placement a:s well as administrative and, usually, some financial responsibility. The project should be based on careful research and planning and, also, should reflect membership· interest. The service, itself, is often developed in cooperation with other organizations. For example; a Junior League may provide the volunteer service, administration and financial support to start a youth employment service; a children’s museum, or a preschool program for deprived children. Ideally, all major projects are undertaken in cooperation with other organizations or agencies. Sometimes, however, when the need is great and local resources are questionable, a League will initiate a project alone. However, good Junior League planning does provide for some other public or private group to take over a League-initiated project after it has demonstrated it’s usefulness. The length of time involved varies with the nature of the project. Establishing a center for senior citizens may take a decade. Establishing a summer job center for teenagers may take only a summer or two. However, the principle of termination-planning ensures that Junior Leagues will remain in the vanguard in community service. Junior Leagues choose their projects after extensive research into community needs. Many Leagues have standing committees which carry on continuing exploration of local problems, trends and priorities. The definitive selection is entrusted to the Project Finding Committee, established, generally, on a special basis. With the complexity of today’s community many Leagues are finding the Community Research Committee a vital adjunct to their operation.
FIELDS OF ENDEAVOR
The areas in which Junior Leagues serve their communities are: health and welfare; recreation; the arts; education; public relations, including radio, television and films; and children’s theatre. In any given year each Junior League is substantially augmenting the resources of its community through projects in at least one of several fields.
Health and Welfare
Fragmented community health and welfare services are a major problem in many cities today. The result is that some services are duplicated, while others are neglected. Opening up communication among service agencies and the public is a related- and often crucial- need. For these reasons, studies and community-wide conferences, forums and institutes devoted to social services, became a significant element in Junior League health and welfare programs in the 1960’s. For example, a Junior League in a mid-Western city spent two years planning a conference on local problems, in which 77 local agencies participated. The League brought experts from all over the United States to discuss such concerns as juvenile delinquency and juvenile rights, as recognized by the courts; the multi-problem family; and the role of volunteer services in health and welfare programs. Three Junior Leagues helped in the nationwide study of health services in 21 different cities across the country. The Leagues were responsible in their own communities for establishing a list of local priorities in health services which a number of agencies, presently, are using as a planning guide. Through programs such as these Junior Leagues are helping pave the way for more effective use of community resources. Traditionally, the field of mental health has offered little opportunity for volunteers. Although there are far from enough professionals in the field to meet widespread needs, patients’ rights to privacy and the need for intensive training have tended to limit volunteerism. However, a growing number of Junior League volunteers, in recent years, have been breaking down these barriers. Working under close professional guidance and super vision, volunteers have been able to provide that one-to-one relationship, which is so necessary, and at the same time free professionals of some administrative chores. In various cities professional mental health personnel have trained Junior League volunteers to carry out preliminary interviews with patients and their families; to serve as case aides in adult or child guidance clinics; and, to work with disturbed children and adults. In health and welfare projects–as in all other Junior League services–volunteers are expected to receive professional training and supervision. They never take the professional’s place, but, rather, provide vital sup plementary services. Often the very fact that a worker is a volunteer, giving her time because she cares, encourages clients to accept her even more readily than they would a professional. The 1960’s saw a number of significant new developments in Leag{te services in the areas of health and welfare, such as: participation in government-sponsored and government-financed programs, and a heightened involvement in meeting the needs of inner-city families. The number . of projects in the fields of health and welfare continues to multiply; as their design continues to change with the times. The various services League volunteers have performed in recent years includes: acting as case aides for local agencies; helping to train welfare clients in marketable· skills; conducting referral services for the elderly; and developing enrichment programs in day care centers.
The Arts
Junior Leagues have been responsible for establishing a number of art and science centers across the continent. The role of the League has been to make possible the introduction of a program, under professional direction, and to supply volunteers who provide direct services and often contribute in an administrative capacity, as well. The Leagues are becoming increasingly active in the environmental arts, in relation to urban aesthetics and, particularly, to historic preservation. They have launched heritage societies and helped to initiate their programs; assisted in conducting inventories in historic districts; produced publications on local sites of historical interest; worked on actual restoration programs ; and, conducted tours of historic areas. A Canadian Junior League founded the first community arts council in this hemisphere. Since then, Junior Leagues have been instrumental in starting about 35 such councils. They have proved so effective on the local level that a number of states have created state-wide· arts councils. In several instances, Junior League members have been appointed to serve on these arts councils. League volunteer docents have made it possible for anyuiarly, school children- to learn more about the works of art in their dty’s museums. Because many museums cannot afford professional staffs large enough to meet all the needs of the community, volunteer ·guides have forged an important link between museums and the public. The first volunteer docent program in the United States was started by a Junior League in a major mid-Western gallery. Today, many Leagues have docent programs. Volunteers are trained by museum staff members in such depth that they, in turn, can provide informative, thought-provoking answers to the questions asked by the children and adults who tour museums Junior Leagues also have been responsible for establishing a number of arts centers across the country. It is a Junior League “principle” that bricks and mortar do not make a museum, nor does he building of a museum, in itself, meet League standards of training and service. A bona fide Junior League museum program calls for members to act as volunteers, both, in direct service to the public and in administrative roles
Education
Long before the current emphasis on the need for enrichment programs, such as Head Start, Junior Leagues were helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds get the most out of their schooling. In addition, they encouraged older children to stay in school. One mid-Western League, in cooperation with its city’s hoard of education, carried out a multi-faceted enrichment program in city classrooms over a period of three years. The League brought people representing various professions into the class rooms to tell the children about the business world. League volunteers took the children to places of interest in the city and surrounding environs — places which the children might never have seen otherwise. Together, volunteers and professionals worked as a team to expand the children’s horizons. A published evaluation of the program substantiates the enthusiastic acceptance it received among educators and children, alike. In a number of cities, Junior League volunteers have been trained to act as classroom aides. Their tasks may include: taking attendance operating audio-visual equipment, grading papers, or giving individual help to children who need it. Many Leagues have undertaken after-school tutoring programs in schools, settlement houses, churches, and other community centers. Junior Leagues are striving to make their communities aware of educational needs. One Junior League, located in a Northwestern metropolis, recognizing the limitations inferior public school conditions had on its community, enlisted the support of community leaders in exploring the problems besetting the local schools. In making the public aware of these problems, the community was able, for the first time in years, to draw a large number of concerned citizens to a public hearing on the school budget. Result: the city began to take long-overdue steps to improve the quality of education offered to the children living in that city. Of prominent concern to Junior Leagues is the continuing education of women. One League, in cooperation with a university, sponsored an education program designed to help women develop their potential and prepare for the day when there would be fewer demands made of them as parents. A Canadian League interested a university in establishing a volunteer program in its School of Social Work. The complexities of modern society require more sophisticated education programs for everyone–from preschooler through adulthood. Junior League education programs are constantly evolving, developing and changing in order to most effectively meet these challenges.
Radio, Television and Films
A number of Junior Leagues are using the sophisticated communications power of modern electronics media to send messages. Through television, Junior Leagues have dramatized some major social problems. A Southern League produced a TV documentary on drug addiction which has been shown in the state’s schools, and used for training by the State Bureau of Investigation. Other League films have televised the needs of the mentally retarded and emotionally disturbed child. One League produced an award-winning television program based on a children’s classic. The Trumpeter of Krakow dramatization has been purchased by the National Education Television network and is being distributed to over 100 educational television stations each year. League-sponsored radio and TV spot announcements have provided a public service in the areas of: home safety, juvenile delinquency, local art resources, and other subjects. League produced TV quiz shows have featured both teenagers and senior citizens. League-produced historical films have been widely used by school systems. League docent films prepare children for visits to museums and galleries. Other films produced by Leagues have dramatized acute public needs. One, entitled A Theft of Tomorrow, demonstrated the need for special facilities to aid juvenile delinquents in a Southwestern state which had few juvenile courts. Legislative studies were undertaken; public interest was aroused; now, new facilities are being developed. Another film, Fate of a River, vividly portrayed the need to curb water pollution in an extensive river basin area. Television, films and radio offer an unparalleled opportunity to educate, motivate and entertain millions of listeners and viewers. It’s a demanding field, by means of which Junior Leagues are developing increasing opportunities for volunteer training and service to the community.
Children’s Theatre
For many years, Junior League Children’s Theatre programs were devoted to bringing League-produced theatre to the children. Junior League members did yeoman’s service in building and transporting stage sets and playing the role of the Prince, Sleeping Beauty, and other well-loved characters in children’s dramas. Today, however, it is easier to bring the children to the theatre where they have the opportunity of seeing top quality performances by professional companies.
Money-raising
To raise the money to support their projects, Junior Leagues conduct a variety of activities. Perhaps the most familiar, and certainly one of the most important, are Junior League Thrift Shops, which are located in many League cities. Because they enable people with limited incomes to buy good quality used clothing, and other household goods at low prices, Thrift Shops are considered a form of service as well as a form of money raising. Junior Leagues also sponsor concerts, lectures, sports events, follies, rummage sales, fairs, and other fund-raising activities. Money raised in the community is placed in a community trust fund and is reserved for service programs. Expenses for training members to work in specific areas are considered service expenses. All Junior League administrative expenses that are purely organizational come out of membership ·dues.
FOOTNOTE
Dating from the emergence of the settlement house movement, at the turn of the century, the Junior League “story” has evolved as a vital part of the 20th century. The past is but the prologue. Whatever tomorrow’s challenges may be, hopefully, Junior Leagues will continue to develop programs and prepare their members to help meet life’s demands
Source: Association of Junior Leagues of America Records. University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Social Welfare History Archives. Minneapolis, MN: https://www.lib.umn.edu/swha
How to Cite this Article (APA Format): Association of the Junior Leagues of America. (1968). The Junior League story. Retrieved [date accessed] from /?p=8786.
2 Replies to “The Junior League Story”
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A reporter for our paper, the Temple Daily Telegram, was interested in how the name “Junior League” was chosen. What are they Junior to?
I believe the term refers to the age of the women who founded the organization, but I can’t verify that. You might want to contact the Association directly https://www.ajli.org/?nd=p-who-legacy