The bare minimum is managable if you have a busy schedule, but I think anyone who can't give a real committment to the Junior League is doing both herself and the organization a disservice.

If you're not sure, I would recommend going to an interest session to learn more. There are optional social events, etc., but there mandatory meetings once a month or so and mandatory service requirements.

The Junior League is a beautifully structured organization. There are membership requirements, and new members (called provisional) have their own set of requirements that you are walked through by a provisional adviser.

I was a provisional last year and dropped out. I didn't care for it at all.

As for being snobbish, that kind of made me laugh, because our league is so desperate for members, they set up recruiting tables in front of our local Shop Rite! If you're female, over age 18, can afford the $150 yearly dues, and are breathing in and out, you're in! :)

JLT's minimum age is 18 (though I don't think anyone under 22 has joined since the 50s or 60s) too, but I've seen some leagues with older minimum ages. Why is that? Maturity? I know that the JL in NYC has a minimum age of 16, though I doubt anyone that young has ever signed up.

I recently moved back to NC (Henderson County) after living in Washington DC. In June of 2005, I was accepted (by application) into the provisional member class of the Junior League of Washington DC. Because I had akready amde the decision to move, I wrote the League a very nice letter thanking them for the invitation and explaining why I couldn't accept it. When I moved back, I sent an e-mail to the Junior League of Asheville asking about provisional membership but I never got any response. In December of 2005, I called The Junior League of Asheville (located in Buncombe County) and inquired if I was eligible because I lived in Henderson County and they said yes because it was the closest league to my residence. They also said they would send me more information. They never did. About four weeks ago, I discovered that they had the provisional application on their website, so I printed it, filled it out and sent it in. I called last Friday just to make sure they had gotten it, they had and I was told that the person in charge of the applications had been out of the office due to a death in the family and that she would be in contact sometime this week. I'm unfortunitly not the most patient person, and when I applied for provisional membership in DC, I didn't hear anything for almost 4 months. But I don't know a lot of people in Asheville/Hendersonville yet even though I've been here for almost a year so I am not sure how The Junior League of Asheville operates in terms of a timeline. Any advice? Besides being patient;)

Thank you,

Did you sit back and wait when you wanted to join a sorority? No, you took the active steps. You need to continue to do that - maybe drop an email to the chapter president.

I too had a similar experience. We had just moved to the area and I met the JL women at a townwide fair. The person who took my name was one of my husbands co-workers. She never put my sheet in the binder so I was not signed up in time for that year's provisional class. It wound up working out ok because the follwing year, I got a job closer to home and had more volunteer time. This is my first active year and I have been asked to consider chairing one of our fundraising committee next year.

I have met wonderful people. I hope you have a smilar experience!

If you don't hear back via email, phone them! :)

Good luck!

Call them, and ask them point blank, because you need to make sure your schedule allows you the time:

1) when are provisionals notified of their acceptance?
2) when does the provisional calendar start?

Thinking about it, you might've been able to transfer your provisional-ship from DC to Asheville. When I was on the Board of Directors for JLMiami, I recall a woman who requested to transfer before the year began.

i think it depends on the individual league.

Do the chapters provide pictures of their members?

I've heard there are some great breeders in the Junior League.

-Rudey
--GOTTA GO PUMP SOME IRON NOW!

rudey, i believe you mean women of good breeding-not great breeding material.

No, no good breeders. Their genes and their breeding abilities will create competitive offspring.

-Rudey

So I sent in a follow up letter today saying that I knew my application had been received, more about why I was interested in joining and that I had had some trouble getting returned phone calls, etc.

We'll see what happens...

Best of luck PhiMuLady! Sounds like a great opportunity!

I LOVED my time in Junior League. To Mr. ALum's corporate relocations, I affiliated with several associations across the US. They were all wonderful experiences!

Great Update
 

I just got a call and e-mail saying that the new class will start in August. The current class will be done in May and I will be contacted in July about when the class starts. She said on the phone message that they would love to have me and that there isn't anything further I needed to do at this point.

Just wanted to let everyone know.

Thank you!

Re: Great Update
 

That's great to hear! :)

My mom and my aunts are sustaining members (I think that is the word) for the New Orleans Junior League. I thought about joining but since New Orleans is about 5 1/2 hours away it would be tough to participate. I had emailed the Memphis JL once but never heard back.

Maybe this will help: http://www.jlmemphis.org/?nd=join

Thanks, I hope they don't have a distance requirement. I live in Oxford, MS which is about 1 hour 15 minutes away from Memphis.

Most Junior Leagues will allow that. For instance, for the Washington DC JL, you could live in NOVA and still be eligible. However, NOVA I believe has its own Junior League. The JL of Asheville is in Boncombe County and I live in Henderson County about 20 miles away and I am eligible because the JLA is the close League to me. But definitly call and ask.

Congrats PhiMuLady150! Glad it's worked out.

OleMissGlitter: each League has different residency requirements, partly because they don't want to step on a neighboring League's toes. DEFINITELY call to find out.

This became an issue when I was on the Board of Directors in the Junior League of Miami. Many of our members lived within the JL of Ft. Lauderdale's area, but worked in Miami, so they wanted to join the Miami group, because it would be easier to attend meetings.

how does one start an interest group in an area for a Jr league chpt? we dont have one here though there is one 1 1/2 hr away and no one likes that drive far. Does the league only stay with only established chapters or do they form new chapters occasionally?

Holy smokes... $195 just to submit your application! :eek:

Junior Service League?
 

I've been a member of the Junior League in a couple of different cities, but I have a friend who lives in a smaller town that has a Junior Service League. (Although every time I talk to her she talks about being in "Junior League") What's the difference? Are they like colonies or interest groups for AJLI groups?

Ooh, an expansion thread? (kidding). Contact www.ajli.org and see what their criteria is for expanding. Good luck!

Denise

as i understand it, junior service leagues are typically located in smaller cities. they perform much like junior leagues;i.e., have new member classes, sustainers, actives, and contribute significantly to their communities. ladies i have know who were members of junior service leagues referred to them as "service league", not junior league. they are different organizations, both doing good work.

Yeah, I mean the Junior Service League sounds like it does a whole lot of the same things as Junior League, and I was wondering if there was actually a difference. My friend's org really does a lot for the community.

I hope this didn't sound like one of those "real vs. fake GLO" posts where certain people try to put down service GLO's. It's not what I intended at all. I promise I'm not one of those posters from another website.;)

it wasn't taken that way. :-)

the difference is that they are different organizations.

I'm glad I found this thread!!

I'm hoping to apply for the League here in Atlanta in a few months (April/May is when they are taking apps for provisionals again) and I'm very excited. I've been wanting to do this since last year.

HOTDAMN

Are you talking about the DC league application? I'm on the membership committee for the DC league. If you have questions feel free to PM me.

Glitter, there isn't a JL where you are but there is Junior Auxiliary. http://www.najanet.org/ It's similar to JL but it's concentrated in the south.

It's $125 in Atlanta.
And that is not counting the $153 Membership Fee you pay!

The Tulsa JL has a $120 annual membership fee, a $90 additional Provisional (first year) fee, and as a Provisional Member (i.e. pledge) you have to buy 4 cookbooks at $25 each and you have to work 2 3 hour shifts at a particular fundraiser. Sounds like hazing to me, but maybe Hoosier would know for sure.

Yeah!
 

I am happy to say that I received word today that I have been invited to be a part of the 2006-2007 Provisional Class of the Junior League of Asheville!:D

congratulations!! you will meet so many interesting and dynamic women-in your provisional class as will as the league itself.

Ladies,
May I ask you all about JL membership procedure? My Great-Aunt was a JL member and then sustainer in New Orleans years ago. In her day one did not apply to join but was proposed by a member and went through a selection process that was much tougher than her experience as a Pi Phi, which she told us was really challenging and selective. On top of that, she told us that members were only allowed to propose one candidate per year, no exceptions.
The process sounded very much like proposal to a club like the Boston Club, Pickwick Club, Stratford Club, Bienville Club or Louisiana Club (to use New Orleans examples).
My Cousin, a Newcomb/Tulane Pi Phi of a few years back told us that the system described by my Great-Aunt was essentially unchanged in New Orleans, and I believe Baton Rouge also, at least when she went through.
Has all of this changed rasdically? What was described to us sounds very different from the process described in this thread. Would someone please bring us (my Sister is curious as well) up to date on how it works?
Many thanks.

I think the process is different depending upon where you live. Every league can choose their provisional process so there isn't a uniform answer.

dekeguy,

Good to see you again! Times have indeed changed since your relatives were involved. It is different from what it was 6 years ago. If you go to the JLNO web site, it lays things out pretty much like these ladies have explained. http://www.jlno.org/?nd=joinjlno Now, what they do in private maybe another story.

If you go to the letter from the Provisional Committee Co-Chairwomen, they actually state that a Sponsor Group (2 members now, it used to be 4) will be found for you if you don't know anyone in JLNO! An older neighbor, she's 80, about fell off her chair when I showed it to her. She said that she tried to get into the "right" circles so that she could join but an invitation never came.

Regarding the Boston Club, I was in the library the other day and came a across a BC membership book. It was published in 1950 and had the history constitution, by-laws, and the name of every member to date. I found a similar book for the Orleans Club too.

i believe that some leagues require the prospective new member to have a sponsor(s) while some accept applications from any interested women. the best answer would come from contacting the local league office.

FSUZeta is correct. In addition to contacting the league office you might want to check out a specific league's web site. Most will explain the requirements for joining that particular chapter. In my experience, the ones that do not list this information are the ones that are more selective!