The Junior League

[blueangel]

Every Junior League group is different. The one in my area goes begging for members... literally. They sometimes park themselves in front of a food store and try to talk people into joining. If you are female, live in my county and are breathing in and out, you can become a provisional member. Then, all you have to do is complete a "class project" and you're in.

Others are very selective and require sponsorship. And still others have an age ceiling.

Another note: membership dues varies depending on where you join.

[Taualumna]

Originally Posted by blueangel

Every Junior League group is different. The one in my area goes begging for members... literally. They sometimes park themselves in front of a food store and try to talk people into joining. If you are female, live in my county and are breathing in and out, you can become a provisional member. Then, all you have to do is complete a "class project" and you're in.

Others are very selective and require sponsorship. And still others have an age ceiling.

Another note: membership dues varies depending on where you join.

Wow.....beg for members? Maybe this is something we should do up here! Most of the ladies join through friends. We seem to get huge New Member (provisional) classes on years we have a Showhouse (every four years), but non-Showhouse years are significantly smaller.

The Junior League of Toronto is going to experiment with two classes this coming year. For those whose Leagues have a fall and spring class, do you find that there are more women joining?

[FSUZeta]

when i joined, i believe that there were fall and spring classes-i do not know if more women joined then, or when there was just the one provisional class.

as to begging for members, when i transferred to the jl-ft. myers, they were hurting for members-i believe that they had around 113 total, as opposed to the league i transferred from, which had well over 300 active members.

[PhiMuLady150]

Is anyone starting their Provisional Year this fall? I just got my invitation to our Provisional Picnic. I am very excited!

[CutiePie2000]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

The Junior League of Toronto is going to experiment with two classes this coming year. For those whose Leagues have a fall and spring class, do you find that there are more women joining?

When I was in The Junior League of Calgary, we had a September and a January class (I was in the January class). It seemed to work though the January class was smaller (maybe 7 of us).

In Canada (alas, Vancouver and Montreal have folded), Junior Leagues don't require sponsors. This might make Junior Leaguers from Houston "bristle" that we let in "riff-raff" or whatever, but with all the volunteering requirements that we have, anyone who is not sincere soon fades away. The membership fees often put people off, because they don't want to have to "pay to volunteer".

I personally think that the Junior League should overhaul its name; most people think that it's to do with baseball, children or sports (or some variation of those 3 things).

dekeguy:
I think in general, the southern Junior Leagues are considered a prestigious thing to be involved in, and therefore, it is more selective and difficult to "get in". Other places, not so much.

[PhiMuLady150]

I found out last night (at the JLA's Provisional Picnic) that the Junior League of Asheville used to do two classes per year but the feedback they got from the provisional members is that everything felt very rushed and they felt like they needed more time to learn about the organization. I'm excited to start my provisional year with the JLA! The picnic last night felt like Bid Day

[blueangel]

Originally Posted by PhiMuLady150

I found out last night (at the JLA's Provisional Picnic) that the Junior League of Asheville used to do two classes per year but the feedback they got from the provisional members is that everything felt very rushed and they felt like they needed more time to learn about the organization. I'm excited to start my provisional year with the JLA! The picnic last night felt like Bid Day

Congrat's! How big is your provisional class?

[PhiMuLady150]

Originally Posted by blueangel

Congrat's! How big is your provisional class?

JLA's active membership size is around 200 and this year's provisional class is 40. They had 17 last year so they are very happy to be increasing the class size. We are broken up into Provisional Mentor Groups (6-7 Provisionals with one Provisional Mentor(current active member) ) so we can get to know a core group of women within our class. However, the whole class meets at one meeting each month. We also have to attend the GMM (General Membership Meetings) each month and a variety of other assignments. I am very excited!

[Taualumna]

Originally Posted by CutiePie2000

When I was in The Junior League of Calgary, we had a September and a January class (I was in the January class). It seemed to work though the January class was smaller (maybe 7 of us).

In Canada (alas, Vancouver and Montreal have folded), Junior Leagues don't require sponsors. This might make Junior Leaguers from Houston "bristle" that we let in "riff-raff" or whatever, but with all the volunteering requirements that we have, anyone who is not sincere soon fades away. The membership fees often put people off, because they don't want to have to "pay to volunteer".

I personally think that the Junior League should overhaul its name; most people think that it's to do with baseball, children or sports (or some variation of those 3 things).

dekeguy:
I think in general, the southern Junior Leagues are considered a prestigious thing to be involved in, and therefore, it is more selective and difficult to "get in". Other places, not so much.

But it's also not like any woman joins. Most ladies join because they know someone who is in the League already. I only know of one or two who joined by finding the JLT on the web.

I think Montreal and Vancouver folded for cultural reasons. Montreal because it's seen as an "Anglo" thing and Vancouver because well....it's Vancouver (many of the "target group" of women....i.e. ladies who "have the time" to volunteer have homes abroad and frequently travel. The more local crowd are too busy with more "modern" type of volunteering.)

[FSUZeta]

that is such a shame, since the league's projects directly impact(and improve) the local community.

[tld221]

you know, i thought JL was this volunteer activity where you serve as an elementary school teacher for a day and interact with children in low-income communities (i definitely remember doing this in HS my junior year. someone help me out if this sounds familiar)

anyway, this sounds interesting, i may consider it (though im on the young side). i will say that had i not become greek, i'd be way less inclined to join.

is JL similar to The Links?

[Taualumna]

Originally Posted by tld221

you know, i thought JL was this volunteer activity where you serve as an elementary school teacher for a day and interact with children in low-income communities (i definitely remember doing this in HS my junior year. someone help me out if this sounds familiar)

anyway, this sounds interesting, i may consider it (though im on the young side). i will say that had i not become greek, i'd be way less inclined to join.

is JL similar to The Links?

It is similar, except Junior League does not have any specific race-based interests.

For more Junior League info check out the international site: www.ajli.org

[blueangel]

Originally Posted by tld221

you know, i thought JL was this volunteer activity where you serve as an elementary school teacher for a day and interact with children in low-income communities (i definitely remember doing this in HS my junior year. someone help me out if this sounds familiar)

anyway, this sounds interesting, i may consider it (though im on the young side). i will say that had i not become greek, i'd be way less inclined to join.

is JL similar to The Links?

The projects are all different, depending on which community you live in, and their needs. Our Jr. League does projects like "Baby Basics" -- where necessities such as diapers, baby food, etc are collected and given to needy families.

Another on-going program is a girls teen-age half-way home. The women who worked on that one painted and redecorated the house. They are also giving the girls guidance in filling out college applications, raising money for prom dresses for them, teaching them how to use makeup... things that we took for granted, but these girls never learned.

There are many more, but this just gives you some examples of the diverse things the Jr. League does.

[aopirose]

tld221, Junior Achievment also does similar to what you are thinking. http://www.ja.org/