Junior League- anyone belong?

[Anonymous]

Is there a group (or maybe JL) who is not into self importance? I would appreciate some educated, accomplished, happy, down to earth people to hang out with.

[Anonymous]

I am a member of the JLW. There is so much misinformation here!

JLW *does* take anyone who applies if space allows, but it is by and large a pretty self-selecting group. You have to go to an information session (2 different ones are recommended), fill out an application, and I believe they are about to implement a modest application fee. Most women do not go through those hoops if they are not interested. After that, they have a lottery so not everyone who applies gets a spot- some are waitlisted. However, it is truly random in terms of who gets waitlisted and who gets accepted.

I think that most of the active members in the JLW are in their mid-to-late 20s/early 30s. Most ladies only stay active for 7-10 years before going sustainer. I would guess that the average age of a new member is around 25. I hardly know anyone who is a SAHM. I do know some other moms but they generally work out of the home for the most part.

In all honesty I liked the JLW better before I had kids when I could go to all the happy hours. If I had to start over I would probably join JLNV because I think it is a bit of an older crowd, but now that I have friends etc in JLW I am not going to switch. But I would highly encourage anyone interested to explore it more in depth and/or go to an information session - it is a great way to get involved in the community and expand your social network. Like most organizations, it's all about what you put into it. The more events you attend, the more people you will meet, etc.

Also, you get to pick your committees and they are VERY up front about time commitments and duties. You know what you are signing up for before you sign up. If you want to sell cookbooks, you can do that (actually, I don't think we even have cookbooks, but you could do something similar), and if you want to do something with a very limited time commitment, you can do that, etc. Some committees meet once a week and others meet once a month. 12:52/13:01 has no idea what she is talking about. No one is going to demand that you are selling cookbooks instead of staying home with your kids, lol. This is my fifth year as a member and I have never once had an experience like that.

[Anonymous]

i was a JLW member, then JLNV. it just wasn't for me. i did meet some nice, down to earth women, but i met a lot of "sorority girls" who are members of "the league" for social reasons and/or because their mothers were members. a lot of members seemed to flake out of their committee responsiblities, while more responsible members had to come in and clean up the mess. and this wasn't just one instance, flaking out was a very common problem in the JLNV. JLW seemed much more strict.

i think the junior league is a great organization, but it wasn't for me. check it out and see what you think. and yes, most are working women/working moms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i a lot of members seemed to flake out of their committee responsiblities, while more responsible members had to come in and clean up the mess. and this wasn't just one instance, flaking out was a very common problem in the JLNV. JLW seemed much more strict.

yes, this is a HUGE issue, and I don't know why it hasn't been better addressed. I was a committee chair last year and only half my committee even bothered to show up ever. I never even heard from the other half, and believe me, I made multiple attempts to contact. There doesn't seem to be any way to punish people for non-participation, so the responsible people wind up doing a good deal of the work. We were being asked at one point to report people who never did a damn thing, but I don't know what happened with that effort. We can't really afford to lose members, to be honest.

We have people trying to get to the bottom of this issue, but in the meantime, the responsible folks wind up doing a large amount of work.

[Anonymous]

I also have to give some love to the JL cookbooks. The "charleston reciepts" is top notch. Honestly, its a classic any cook should own. Im not JL but grew up in the south and every woman had this, great for party foods!

[Anonymous]

I was a member of JLW for several years before other commitments let me to quit. I had a good experience and recommend it. You can make the experience what you want. There are a wide range of committees to choose from. You can work with children who are living with HIV/AIDS, work with Jubilee Jobs (a DC organization that helps individuals get entry level jobs), work with adults with mental disabilities, etc. If that kind of thing isn't for you, they have the more social activities like organizing the happy hours or the annual holiday shopping event. In the middle of the road are things like working with the Shakespeare Theater.

Yes, there are a lot of requirements in your first year. If you're organized it isn't too bad.

For me, the best thing about being in the JLW was that it 'forced' me to do the volunteer work that I wanted to do but didn't always get around to scheduling. Having certain requirements and obligations helped me accomplish my intent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a member of the JLW. There is so much misinformation here!

JLW *does* take anyone who applies if space allows, but it is by and large a pretty self-selecting group. You have to go to an information session (2 different ones are recommended), fill out an application, and I believe they are about to implement a modest application fee. Most women do not go through those hoops if they are not interested. After that, they have a lottery so not everyone who applies gets a spot- some are waitlisted. However, it is truly random in terms of who gets waitlisted and who gets accepted.

I think that most of the active members in the JLW are in their mid-to-late 20s/early 30s. Most ladies only stay active for 7-10 years before going sustainer. I would guess that the average age of a new member is around 25. I hardly know anyone who is a SAHM. I do know some other moms but they generally work out of the home for the most part.
In all honesty I liked the JLW better before I had kids when I could go to all the happy hours. If I had to start over I would probably join JLNV because I think it is a bit of an older crowd, but now that I have friends etc in JLW I am not going to switch. But I would highly encourage anyone interested to explore it more in depth and/or go to an information session - it is a great way to get involved in the community and expand your social network. Like most organizations, it's all about what you put into it. The more events you attend, the more people you will meet, etc.

Also, you get to pick your committees and they are VERY up front about time commitments and duties. You know what you are signing up for before you sign up. If you want to sell cookbooks, you can do that (actually, I don't think we even have cookbooks, but you could do something similar), and if you want to do something with a very limited time commitment, you can do that, etc. Some committees meet once a week and others meet once a month. 12:52/13:01 has no idea what she is talking about. No one is going to demand that you are selling cookbooks instead of staying home with your kids, lol. This is my fifth year as a member and I have never once had an experience like that.

This is similar to my experience is a lot of ways. I joined before I had kids and it was certainly easier to fit in the requirements then (especially new member requirements). But I do like that there are so many different committees, it allows you to fit it into your life more easily. (For example, there is a volunteer placement that is literally a few blocks from my house if I wanted to be on that committee.)

[Anonymous]

If you want to volunteer, why not just find a place that suits your talents, and sign up directly? Why get into JL? (I'm genuinely asking)

http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/index.jsp?r=msa&l=56972

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I think it is a very outdated institution.

My mother, who is in her late 70s, was a member back when it was very snooty and hard to get in (Atlanta) and all of the members were stay at home moms. She held an elected position for years and I remember being dragged to millions of huge old houses - and meeting nothing but rich, private school, private club, kids. She really wanted me to join when I was an adult and I tried it for a few months and really hated it. Its just not my thing. I am not a sorority type either though and my mom is still a die-hard Kappa.

My mom was also a New York native, Ivy-league educated, international traveler, turned wife and stay at home mom with two little ones who was transplanted in Atlanta when it was still a complete backwater in the early 1970s (Dad's job). She says it was the only thing that helped her survive those years. It was one of the only places she could find other college-educated stay at home moms. It was a foreign world that I just don't think exists anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want to volunteer, why not just find a place that suits your talents, and sign up directly? Why get into JL? (I'm genuinely asking)

http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/index.jsp?r=msa&l=56972

As I mentioned previously, one of the advantages to me was that it sort of forced me to actually do the volunteer work. For years I wanted to volunteer but never got around to it. Also, it was nice to have the structure of an organization to volunteer through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want to volunteer, why not just find a place that suits your talents, and sign up directly? Why get into JL? (I'm genuinely asking)

http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/index.jsp?r=msa&l=56972

Variety? The social aspect?

[Anonymous]

I joined JL of Northern Virginia but didn't make it part my probationary period. There is a LOT of volunteer work required and I just didn't have time to fit it all in. This was before kids, can't even imagine how I would do it all now. Seemed like a wonderful, dedicated group of women though. Not stereotypical at all (based on stereotypes thrown about in this thread).

[Anonymous]

^ if one wasn't a Junior Leaguer, is there a similar group an older women (age 50) could join? DC or Va

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ if one wasn't a Junior Leaguer, is there a similar group an older women (age 50) could join? DC or Va

The JLW had several women (10maybe) who were over 50 in this years new member class. Unlike other leagues that have a cut off of 35, the JLW is open to any women in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I joined JL of Northern Virginia but didn't make it part my probationary period. There is a LOT of volunteer work required and I just didn't have time to fit it all in. This was before kids, can't even imagine how I would do it all now. Seemed like a wonderful, dedicated group of women though. Not stereotypical at all (based on stereotypes thrown about in this thread).

huh? Provisionals are not required to do very much in the way of volunteer hours. The only extra thing I think is 3 hours for the provisional project? And generally, you can do emails or write thank you cards or something at home and they give you credit.

You MIGHT be thinking of the training sessions that used to take up entire Saturdays. They have shortened that process quite a bit, as no one liked that nonsense. It is now a 3 month process (your provisional period) I think and a couple weeknight sessions is all that is required.