It is an honor and a privilege for me to serve as President of the Junior League of Palo Alto•Mid Peninsula. For nearly 45 years, our League has been improving our community through innovative, issue-based projects. We are a dedicated group of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of our trained volunteers.
My relationship with the Junior League began when I was a little girl, when my mother Sandra Woolsey was an Active in the Corpus Christi, TX League. With my cousin, I helped sort clothing in huge refrigerator boxes for the Rummage Sale. Jump forward 30+ years and I joined the JLPA•MP when I was nearly 40. Mother was so thrilled when I joined the League, and has supported me in every step along the way – including being here when I was installed as President in May.
Throughout our 44 years of service to this community, the JLPA•MP has been, and continues to be, an integral and instrumental force for positive change on the Peninsula. Did you know that the Stanford Health Library, Daybreak Shelter, Environmental Volunteers, Rebuilding Together – Peninsula and the San Jose Tech Museum all began with the Junior League of Palo Alto•Mid Peninsula? The programs we support reflect our focus area of Developing the Potential of Families and change the lives of local residents through a variety of community based projects.
I am exceptionally proud of the impact our volunteers make each and every day. This year, we will give more than 30,000 volunteer hours and raise over half a million dollars to support our mission. We will continue to improve the Mid Peninsula through our community projects and grants. We will also train nearly 75 Provisional members to address the needs of the community and to become effective volunteers.
Our League is one of the 292 chapters located in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and across the United States, which make up the Association of Junior Leagues International. We share the vision of our parent organization—The Junior League: Women Around the World as Catalysts for Lasting Community Change. Today’s League members are dedicated, professional and well-educated women who manage the many demands of their valuable time. More than 80 percent of our members are employed outside the home. Even so, our members choose to spend time each year volunteering to improve their community. The training our members receive from the JLPA•MP enables them to become advocates, catalysts, communicators, coalition builders and leaders. Our volunteers also utilize their JLPA•MP training in their places of business, schools and other nonprofit work; making lasting changes that continue to ripple throughout the community.
I am tremendously grateful to all of our volunteers for their generous gifts of time, talent and treasure to the JLPA•MP. Each individual member affects lives and improves the community; and collectively we generate an enormous impact. With good reason we take great pride in our history, our mission and our accomplishments. We welcome any woman with an interest in voluntarism as a member of our organization. Join us in changing lives everyday.
I hope that you’ll take time to discover more about what our League is doing today. I hope that you will consider joining our League, sponsoring one of our activities or attending an event. Lastly, I hope that you will share our passion for this remarkable organization and its members.
