LITM Episode 95, Brooke Fonder - Junior League of Columbia President

2024-07-24

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Videocast: https://youtu.be/QoY2BMxpAnA Our local chapter, organized in 1924, stemmed from the Junior League of New York City, which was founded in 1901 by Mary Harriman who felt a responsibility to improve the social conditions of the New York City tenements. After a visit to NYC, Katharine Heath (later Katharine Heath Manning Perry) saw what Harriman’s organization was doing and wanted to bring this concept home to Columbia. She gathered ten of her friends and together they formed the Junior Leag...

Videocast: https://youtu.be/QoY2BMxpAnA

Our local chapter, organized in 1924, stemmed from the Junior League of New York City, which was founded in 1901 by Mary Harriman who felt a responsibility to improve the social conditions of the New York City tenements. After a visit to NYC, Katharine Heath (later Katharine Heath Manning Perry) saw what Harriman’s organization was doing and wanted to bring this concept home to Columbia. She gathered ten of her friends and together they formed the Junior League of Columbia. Katharine was a visionary who sought to create positive change, and this change has now been occurring for more than 100 years.

Today, our league is over 1,400 members strong, and our volunteers continue to address unmet issues and needs in the community by providing aid with their dollars, hands and time. As the needs of our community have shifted over the years, the league has used its resources and knowledge to find new areas of need and has worked to meet them. True to this vein, the league recently underwent an extensive collective impact study to identify these needs and after a great deal of research and thoughtful conversation, we have announced a shift in focus area.

Starting this year, the JLC will concentrate on promoting healthy relationships for women and children. This new focus area reflects our commitment to empowering women and children to lead fulfilling lives. To support this work, we have announced seven new community partners who we will work alongside, to create lasting change. I encourage you to read more about these organizations, the powerful work they are doing, and the selection process in which they participated.

Thank you for your interest in and support of the Junior League of Columbia. In the words of Mary Harriman, “We have the responsibility to act, and we have the opportunity to conscientiously act to affect the environment about us.”

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