It is hard to believe that the year has come to an end. In retrospect, the last 12 months have flown by. Sitting down to write this, I reflected on how much we accomplished in twelve short months. I shouldn’t expect anything less of women who have a passion for this League, voluntarism and the community. The 2013-2014 League Year celebrated a legacy and continued to add building blocks to the foundation that was created 65 years ago.
This year, our League and our members worked hard, made big changes and provided unprecedented service to Midland. We lived out our Mission with excellence by developing the potential of women, improving the community and promoting voluntarism.
This year we developed the potential of women, as we successfully trained and welcomed 62 Provisionals into our Active membership. This group of women will continue to enrich our Legacy. Forty-two members of the Leadership Team developed their potential, some stepping out of their comfort zones to lead this League in our In-League and community Placements. Early this year, an ad-hoc committee was formed to change our focus area. By January our League adopted a new Community Based Issue Statement: Keeping Kids in School – Every Age, Every Stage. Project Research and Development evaluated our current projects and created two new original projects to begin next year: Reading Olympics and Volunteers in Midland. Our Grantsman secured over $35,000 in grants this year to help fund various community projects and we were recognized by the Non Profit Management Center with two Beacon Awards for our Suits with Skills program and Scholarship Clearinghouse Recipient . In March, we held our first Placement Fair educating our members about future placement opportunities. After many years, this year brought back an Advisory Planning Committee who tackled a list of challenges for the year. Most notably, upon recommendation of the Advisory Planning committee and with approval of the Board, we split the Membership Placement committee in to Nominating and Placement committees that will go into effect beginning in June. As our League continues to grow we have accepted the challenge to accommodate our members’ needs.
We improved the community through effective action and leadership of our trained volunteers. Junior League volunteers mentored and impacted the lives of women of all ages as we increased the self-esteem and physical fitness of 76 junior high students. We helped promote healing in 55 children who had experienced death, divorce or loss in our Journey Summer Camp and HopeWorks programs through Rays of Hope. We helped reconnect children with their non-custodial parents through Centers for Children and Families’ Kids First Program. Our Suits with Skills mentors impacted the lives of women who have experienced domestic abuse by giving them the tools needed to secure employment. Scholarship Clearinghouse continued their quest in assisting college bound students in their hunt for financial aid.
In March, the Junior League of Midland blew out the candles on our celebration promoting voluntarism. Our League members stepped up as we hosted a week long Shotguns and Stilettos celebration! Members volunteered their time as the community contributed generously and the fundraiser was a huge success! The funds raised from our sole fundraiser go directly into our budget to fund our impactful community projects.
Thank you for the opportunity to continue this legacy. Serving as President of this League has been an honor and the opportunity of a lifetime. I am also thankful for the opportunities and friendships I have made and for the support of our League members, both Active and Sustainer. I look forward to seeing the League and this legacy continue to thrive under Michelle’s leadership as she begins this next year. I will forever be grateful for the training and experience that the League has given me. Thank you, Junior League of Midland, for everything you do and everything you will continue to do as we celebrate another 65 years of service to Midland.
No comments:
Post a Comment