What We’re Thinking (the JL blog)
What does it take to get The Junior League mentioned on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times and on Stephen Colbert’s show on Comedy Central—all in the same week? A political kerfuffle.
In case you missed it, according to a number of media outlets, Dan Friedman of The New York Daily News asked a source on Capitol Hill whether Chuck Hagel, who’s been nominated to be Secretary of Defense, had received speaking fees from controversial groups. Friedman made up the names “Friends of Hamas” and “Junior League of Hezbollah” …
That’s a question we ask ourselves a lot at AJLI. And the answer is (drum roll, please!) a great deal, even if difficult to measure in traditional professional terms.
Voluntarism has many meanings for different women. For some, it’s joining with friends and neighbors in projects that create lasting community impact. For others, it’s giving in to an urge to give back to the community. For others, it’s a way of life they learned from their mothers and grandmothers.
By the way, women continue to outperform men in their commitment to voluntarism. …
The 2010 census had some interesting things to say on the subject.
First, more people were 65 years and over in 2010 – 40.3 million, with 13.1 million aged 75-84 – than in any previous census. Second, the 65 years and over cohort increased at a faster rate (15.1 percent) than the total U.S population (9.7 percent). And, third, increasing numbers of the 65+ cohort are male.
Everyone knows that maintaining an independent lifestyle – in their own home – is a hope and goal of many seniors.
But many seniors are also …
It’s no surprise that Thanksgiving is next week. What you may not know is that this week – November 10-18 – is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
Sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness, this week is dedicated to addressing the systemic problems that create both homelessness and hunger, particularly among children.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2010 annual report to Congress, each night there are approximately 770,000 people in the United States who are homeless, …
You may not have noticed it, but October 11th was the first United Nations International Day of the Girl.
As the sponsors say, “The Day of the Girl is about highlighting, celebrating, discussing, and advancing girls lives and opportunities across the globe.”
Great idea. And The Junior League has been all over it for a long time.
Just take a quick look at these League programs focused empowering young women.
The Junior League of the Palm Beaches’ Girls Empowerment Mentoring Sessions (GEMS) brings needed supplies and educational events to young women while they are …
How important is play?
Well, according to the American Heart Association, lack of physical activity is a major risk factor for developing coronary artery disease even for children and adolescents. (The AHA recommends kids participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.) And recent research by the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana indicated a link between physical fitness and the actual shape and function of children’s brains.
With that in mind, consider a major community initiative taken on by a number of Junior Leagues over the …
For families with young children, shopping for school supplies is a bittersweet ritual that states clearly that summer vacation is almost over.
For too many families with young children, however, it’s often an exercise in balancing expenses that, even for relatively small purchases, has the potential to put a hole in the budget. While the National Retail Federation recently reported that a family of K-12 students will spend $688 on back to school supplies this year, the National Center for Children in Poverty states that nearly 15 million children in the …
Good question.
At The Junior League, the best measurement is our ability to create lasting community impact.
That is what we strive to do with every program or initiative we start.
So it’s always interesting to take a look at a truly long-running program to see what makes it work so well. Consider Con mi MADRE: Mothers and Daughters Raising Expectations. Started in 1992 by the Junior League of Austin as the Hispanic Mother-Daughter Program, Con Mi MADRE is now an independent nonprofit organization with a powerhouse board, a dedicated staff and a …
At the Junior League of the Quad Cities, it’s a key element of an ambitious program to nurture self-esteem among girls and young women.
It’s also part of a larger understanding of self-esteem issues among women and girls. According to the Dove® Campaign for Real Beauty, only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful and, in a global study of over 1,200 10-to-17-year-olds, 72% of girls said they felt “tremendous” pressure to be beautiful. Perceptions of beauty aside, girls’ self-esteem issues have also been tied to in negative activities …
