| Last updated on November 8, 2007 |
The Junior League of Brooklyn (JLB) is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.
Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.
Description:
The Junior League of Brooklyn reaches out to women of all races, religions and national origins who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to voluntarism.
Hands-on Volunteer Service:
We will provide the community with knowledgeable volunteers.
Leadership:
Our members will be trained leaders in the community.
Training:
We will develop leadership, communication, fundraising, and management skills through hands-on experience.
Diversity:
Our organization will reflect our community's many cultural and ethnic groups.
Community Awareness:
We must identify and create projects that match community needs with our members' skills and interest through community collaborations.
Teamwork:
Our organization shall create an atmosphere of ownership, trust, respect and friendship for our members. We believe in working as a team within our organization.
History:
In 1910, Brooklyn was a city of contrasts, much as it is today. It was home to European immigrants and those newly arrived from rural America. They faced all the health and social problems associated with overcrowded tenement neighborhoods. Brooklyn was also the home to the socially sophisticated, wealthy, cultured people who lived in Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Clinton Hill, and many other "Gold Coast" neighborhoods. These were the movers and shakers of the society and from this pool came the founding members of the Junior League. Modeling the New York and Boston Leagues, Brooklyn's debutantes and young married women formed the Junior League of Brooklyn (JLB) for "the promotion of neighborhood work," in April 1910. Their slogan was "Everybody Doing Something for Somebody."
New initiatives were launched in the 1990s, including our Award winning mentoring program with Graham Windham, our involvement and funding of the Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center, Christmas in April and our website. Continuing commitments included our efforts at the Women's Survival Space and the Long Island College Hospital.
The Junior League of Brooklyn received a Community Service Award from the Brooklyn Council of Churches and Third Place Public Relations Award from Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) for membership newsletters. We also participated in the AJLI Immunization Awareness Campaign by producing 16,000 brochures in English and Spanish publicizing locations which administer free inoculations.
Under the leadership of the Training Committee, we produced a large number of quilts to be distributed by the ABC Quilt Project to children who have AIDS. Our volunteers began their commitment as Teen AIDS Awareness educators at a Red Cross placement. The Junior League of Brooklyn Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) placement was featured in the AJLI "Points of Impact" video, one of only three League projects highlighted in the international Association. Our newsletter won second place in the Annual AJLI Public Relations competition.
Margaret Sanger 1991 brought the addition to a new placement with Graham-Windham, working with the residents of their Malcolm X Group Home in Brooklyn. The Survivor's First Video was filmed and scripted. The Junior League of Brooklyn also hosted its first Politician's Forum to acquaint our elected officials with our community work and our advocacy efforts.
The Junior League of Brooklyn moved ahead in 1992 to address the homeless problem by adding a new placement, the HOPE Program. The Junior League of Brooklyn had thirteen members join the mentor segment of the placement.
Community Lectures in the 1990s included educational workshops for teenagers such as AIDS education and the prevention of violence among teens and a lecture cosponsored by the Brooklyn Historical Society. Ellen Chesler, author of a biography on Margaret Sanger, l ectured on Sanger's life as a feminist, birth control advocate and political activist.
The Junior League of Brooklyn voted to work on a major project in 1994-1995 in collaboration with the Crown Heights Youth Collective, an organization founded in 1978 to serve young people in Crown Heights through educational, cultural, and recreational programs. League members cleaned, sorted, catalogued, and provided new books for the library at the Collective in addition to setting up a reading corner for young children.
Teens at the Collective benefited from several training sessions lead by Junior League of Brooklyn members in such areas as SAT preparation, resume writing, and developing interview skills. They also were provided access to materials to research college and job information in the Collective library. The Junior League of Brooklyn organized and ran a College Fair for the teens and the Fall Provisional Class researched and assembled a comprehensive Job Directory for them. The Spring Provisional Class organized a terrific Job Resource Fair, which drew a large audience of youth from the Crown Heights area.
Richard Green, of the
Crown Heights Youth Collective,
& Gail Donovan, JLB Pres.,
1994-1995.
Our work with the Crown Heights Youth Collective provided a focus for other League event. We hosted a book fair to benefit the Collective library at the Brooklyn Historical Society, which at the time had an exhibit on the Crown Heights neighborhood. In the spring, we joined the Links, Inc. to sponsor a community lecture: "Crown Heights: A Better Understanding," which featured a panel of six women representing the Hasidic, West Indian, African American, and white communities of the Crown Heights area and used excepts from Anna Deavere Smith's play "Fires in the Mirror" to start discussions. For the third year, we also cosponsored the Brooklyn Association of Teen Educators (BATES) Conference with PUNY.
Debra Smallwood, JLB Pres., 1992-1993 The League celebrated its 85th anniversary by holding a gala Anniversary Ball at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in March, for which we honored our 58 past presidents. The event drew 260 guests, 19 past presidents, and raised nearly $40,000. Awards and honors bestowed upon League members included: Debra Smallwood, Junior League of Brooklyn President 1992-1993, being named a "Woman of Influence" by the Brooklyn YWCA; Ann Ellis, Junior League of Brooklyn President 1977-1978, honored by the Park Slope Neighborhood Family Center, which she helped establish; Karen Schlesinger, Junior League of Brooklyn President 1978-1980, honored by the Brooklyn Historical Society ; and, Libby Ryan honored by Project Reach Youth. Ann Ellis and Bonnie Nuzum were selected as Volunteers of Distinction to be listed in the Junior League Centennial Cookbook, an Association-wide cookbook.
The well attended community lecture, cosponsored by the Links, Inc., Brooklyn chapter, brought six women who went to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing together for a panel discussion on advocacy issues. Thanks to panelists Holly Sloan and Mary O'Rafferty from AJLI, Margo Belisle and Elaine Chan from Church Women United, Links member Iris Dubose, and Dr. Ruth Coan.
The Junior League of Brooklyn has worked with the not-for-profit Rebuilding America in Brooklyn/ Christmas in April organization since 1995 by sponsoring house for renovation and beautification and donating hundreds hours of volunteer time.
In October, 1997, the Junior League of Brooklyn participated in a March in Washington, DC for the Silent Witness Initiative. The goal of the Silent Witness Initiative is to promote successful community-based domestic violence reduction efforts in order to reach zero domestic murders by 2010.
The Junior League of Brooklyn has worked with the Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center. The Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center has created a multidisciplinary team to investigate and report cases of sexual and physical child abuse. The Junior League of Brooklyn designed and painted a mural for the center's playroom; provided playroom volunteers; created and implemented a courtroom orientation program for the young clients; held special events to build community awareness and support for the Center and its mission; and, provided $20,000 to help furnish interview rooms and equip them with video and closed circuit technology.
Contact people:
 |
Ardythe Williams, Vice President, (718) 624-3288, (email)
Ardythe Williams, Membership Chair, (718) 624-3288, (email) |
Office fax number: (718) 624-3288
Address:
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55 Pierrepoint Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(See a map) |
Web Site: http://www.brooklynjuniorleague.org/
Directions:
|
None of our volunteer opportunities happen at our office location.
Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: 2/3 Clark Street,
Walk distance (in minutes): 5
Nearest Bus Stop: B52/25/26/38 Borough Hall, 5 minute walk |
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