The Junior League of Cleveland, Inc. is a group of women volunteers dedicated to community change. The group is composed of diverse, creative, compassionate, and action oriented women who are committed to promoting the League's mission of promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action of trained volunteers. Our members have varying backgrounds and interests and share a commitment to volunteering.
The JLC's main projects include: Cleveland Children’s Museum, Immediate Impact: "The Stork’s Nest" at Huron Hospital & Saturday Tutoring at the Church of the Covenant, and The JLC Scholarship Fund.
The JLC reaches out to women of all races, religions and national origins who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to volunteerism. The JLC is represented by over 350 women locally and over 190,000 women in 300 Junior League chapters worldwide.
The Women of The JLC encompass many occupations. Some of which are:
- Doctors
- Accountants
- Lawyers
- Artists
- Non-Profit Managers
- Homemakers
- Bankers
- Teachers
- Engineers
- Fundraisers
- Journalists
- Business Analysts
- CEOs
Why do women join the Junior League?
The top reasons that motivate women to join the Junior League are:
The personal fulfillment that they gain from volunteering
The desire to contribute to positive change in their community
The opportunity to pursue interests outside the home and job
The chance to develop friendship with other women.
In addition, two-thirds of members report that the skills they have developed in the Junior League have been useful to them outside the League.
What do we do?
Since its inception over 85 years ago, the Junior League of Cleveland (JLC) has provided countless volunteer hours and more than $2.3 million to the community. The JLC has been involved with issues pertaining to children, education and women, providing volunteer energy, financial assistance, training and generating public support. Often in collaboration with other community groups and/or the public sector, the JLC designs and implements projects and programs to address community needs. As such, the major components of our activities are:
Women's Development -- As a growing effort, The JLC is focusing much of its volunteer efforts on women's development. The women of our community contribute a great deal to the success of our neighborhoods and cities. By harnessing the synergy amongst all women and showing them just how important they really are to the health of our community, The JLC hopes to proliferate a sense of belonging and leadership in women everywhere we offer support.
Community Service -- Contributions in terms of trained volunteers and financial support, training of league members and community leaders, and fundraising to support our community centered work
Advocacy -- Influencing public information and policy, issuing small, one-time Community Grants, having fun while serving the community
Overall, members spend an average of 2 hours per week engaged in volunteer activities related to the Junior League. In addition, the Junior League continues to be creative in offering different types of volunteer experiences for members in different life stages-- both short lived volunteer activities that fit in best with busy lifestyles as well as long-term, sustained community involvement (which the Junior League historically has provided) that develops real community leadership.
The Strength of the Junior League of Cleveland
The strength of the JLC is its ability to impact the community through advocacy, collaboration, and leadership. The greatest resource of the JLC is its volunteers. Each of its members donates valuable expertise and time to Junior League assisted projects in the areas of children, education, and women. Each volunteer in turn receives challenging learning experiences and enjoyable new relationships.
The JLC offers volunteers member-to-member mentoring and premier training and education in a wide variety of skill areas including advocacy, diversity awareness, fund development, and leadership development. Training is also received from the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI). The Junior League of Cleveland is one of the oldest and largest Leagues in the AJLI.
Educational Offerings
A main focus of the Junior League is volunteer education and training. We offer a range of classes to address both professional and personal development. Leadership classes are offered to JLC members and the community at large in areas such as:
- Program planning, development, and evaluation
- Forming strategic alliances and partnerships
- Advocacy
- Fund Raising
- Organizational governance & board development
- Public Speaking
Special classes are also offered in interest areas such as:
- Multiculturalism
- Raising girls with high self esteem
- Hot health topics for women
- Caring for aging parents
Training
The JLC also provides significant on-the-job training opportunities for its members. Members interested in leadership opportunities can become active in positions as committee chairs, council VPs, and officers on the Board of Directors. A wide range of opportunities also exist in our many committees:
- Finance
- Community: Project development, project management, direct service
- Membership: Meeting planning, mentoring
- Fundraising: Event planning, corporate sponsorship, planned giving, drives
- Communications: P/R, publications, website, advertising
- Administration
- Multicultural Strategies: event planning
- Nominating
- Advocacy
- Education: plan and implement training courses
Curious about our past community projects? Go HERE for a full list.
