The Junior League
 

I wanted to know if anyone has joined the Junior League in their area after college. The one here in Houston has sponsered admissions, and a person has to be proposed by 3 people to join. Has anyone joined a JL with similar selectivity? And do you have any tips?

I am a member of the Junior League in Boston (JLB). Our membership runs about 1,500 with aprox. 200 provisionals a year. Though, I had two sponsors, the JLB no longer requires sponsorship to join. Do you know any active or sustainers that could sponsor you for membership? Also, you need to show not only an interest in volunteerism, but also a record of volunteering in your community.

My Junior League chapter also does not require recs. We aren't very big compared to Boston or New York....our New Member (Provisional) classes usually are around 30 or so (it might be higher this year because of Showhouse) with approximately 200-ish actives. I know that a few of the women in my league are Greek alumnae, so perhaps there are some in Houston too. Maybe you can check with your Alumnae Chapter?

You may also want to ask if they do non-member events that you could participate in. The Junior League near me does that, and it gives you a chance to get to know women so they can then sponsor or recommend you for membership. Good luck - hope it works out for you!

We don't have a Junior League in our area ....you have to drive an hour to the nearest......but i think it would be a great organization to join if you have one near you.

The OKC VP of the Junior League subleases in my father's law office. I can't say I know that much about them though except that they kind of sound like a sorority for adults.

I been thinking of looking into membership with the Junior league of Washington which requires you to be 20 years of age and a DC resident and have a sponsor. However, if you don't have a sponsor, they put your application in a sponsorship pool and assign you to someone. So I guess it varies by city.

I looked on their website, and they do not have any non-member events, but that if you want to meed JL members than to volunteer and places where they place JL volunteers. So I've been working on that. I've also been volunteering with the Girl Scout council in my area for a year. I will also check with my alum chapter here and see if any of them are members, thanks for the idea!!

Weird question: Does anyone know why the age varies from chapter to chapter? I was in the NYC League's website and their minimum age is 16! I don't know about you, but most high school girls aren't really going to be interested. It is 18 in Toronto.

I'm a Provisional with the San Antonio Junior League. My sponsors were all adpis from my alumnae association. I think that the age requirements must vary from organization to organization. Here are our requirements for membership:

Must have reached the age of 23, or be less than the age of 40, before March 31st of the year she is invited to Provisional Membership.
Must live in Bexar County and surrounding counties for a minimum of one year by the time she is sponsored.
Must be sponsored by 4 members of the Junior League of San Antonio, Inc.; 3 of the 4 must be Active members. No more than 1 sponsor may be a Sustaining member. Not more than 1 sponsor may be first-year Active member.

I have really enjoyed my time in the Junior League so far. I encourage you to look in to it. Does the Houston JL website have a contact person for interested persons? Ours does and I would recommend you to see if there is anyone that you could call or e-mail. Best of luck!

Junior League
 

I have a couple of questions:
First what do the sustained members do and how do they vary from actives??
Second are provisional members only taken in the Fall?? and what are they required to do in that "provisional" time?
How long is the provisional time?
Thanks
DDDMiami

Re: Junior League
 

Sustainers are:

Women who are over 40 and have served the League as active members for x number of years (it is five for the JLT). They have all the privileges of active members except they cannot hold office or vote. However, an individual league may allow Sustainers on their Board of Directors the right to vote on questions that are before the Board as can Sustaining Directors who are on the Association Board.

Provisional Members (aka New Members): My league only takes new members in the fall, and it lasts until the spring. Right now, the ladies are working on projects about the Toronto League (history, how it works, etc), and will start their New Member projects after the holidays. I do understand that there are Leagues that take in new members in the winter.

I was a member of the Junior League of Washington for about six years. One year shy of going sustainer. In my opinion, the JLW itself was not a good experience. The volunteering I did however was. And the people were nice that were on the committees I were a part of. However, the politics of the JLW, the disorganization, the "elite inner circle" and their rules I found were way too much. I wish it was more like a "sorority for grown women" but it wasn't. It was volunteering. A few social events but it was difficult for me to take part in most of them. And, the outside cas needed for lunches, admission, food, arts/crafts etc took me by surprise. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm happy to volunteer my time and money but would like some notice. The communication (or lack of communication) I had from the league made my decision to quit a very easy one. And, DC being such a transient city, I met many people from other leagues and they hated their experience with the JLW unfortunately.

I'm still waiting for a response from the JLW after sending them three e-mails last year. Oh well.

I'm volunteering with another organization and love it so much more.

I was told that many chapters of this organization are kind of elitist-snobby. Not elitist by ability or anything like that, but elitist in a socially-exclusionary way. Hence the word snobby.

Is that a reasonable characterization?

James, in my experience with my chapter only, I would say yes and no. There were many women I called, "the 8 carat ring club" who were above everyone and spoke in weird voices, etc. However, the majority of my experience was the exact oposite. Women who were educated, many who worked on the Hill, credentials out the arse, attractive/well put together, not poor but not above at all standing behind a counter at a soup kitchen dishing out pasta salad. We all wore jeans and became friendly with women/children/people who happened to have different life experiences than us and it was great.

I think the JL in general has that reputation, as do sororities, but I never focused on the people, I focused on the committee/volunteer opportunity first and then became friends which the people on that same committee. I know I wouldn't have lasted ten secnds on those committees that appeal mostly to the "8 carat ring club."