“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time;  they just have the heart.”

~Elizabeth Andrew

At the end of each year with the Junior League of Los Angeles (JLLA) I’m always impressed by the achievements of our volunteers. Our members contribute more than 60,000 hours of their “free time” annually to build a better Los Angeles through a unique combination of direct service, training, advocacy and leadership development. How can you not be inspired by the heart and passion of these women?! I know I am. And 2017-2018 is no exception: It’s been another incredible League year.

This edition of Inspire will highlight our accomplishments and community impact, but I want to take a moment to share a few of those successes here.

We began the year welcoming a record-breaking new member class, a testament to the strength and relevance of our organizations’ 92-year-old mission. After our year-long new member training program, there are now an additional 177 trained women volunteers in the Los Angeles community.

And our training did not stop with our new members. Twenty-six active members graduated from our award-winning institutes and certificate programs, honing their skills in advocacy, leadership development and community issues.  Additionally, the Junior League of Los Angeles hosted the newly rebranded Civic Leadership Forum to provide its members and the community with a day-long training designed to empower attendees to become strong community advocates.

We empowered our members to improve access to resources for Los Angeles area transition-age foster youth and underserved students seeking higher education through our community projects and partners including, Alliance for Children’s Rights, Children’s Bureau, the Mar Vista Family Center, The People Concern, United Friends of the Children and Uplift Family Services. Furthermore, we are excited to announce that we will be launching two new projects next year: School on Wheels and Happy Trails.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the generous support of our members and donors. I’m proud to report that we exceeded our fundraising goals in large part due to two newly incubated fundraisers, Touch-A-Truck and Little Black Dress. In addition to these initiatives, our participation in the LA Big 5K was record breaking. Collectively, these community-based fundraisers raised over $100,000.

As you can see, we’ve been busy this year! I’m  incredibly proud of our members for all their hard work to move JLLA’s mission forward. It has been an honor serving as president and leading an organization whose members are committed and passionate civic leaders dedicated to making Los Angeles a better place to live.

Sincerely,

Katie Young McCullough

President, 2017-2018

2017-2018 Highlights

• Honored by community partner Children’s Bureau with the Spirit of Giving Award.
• Organized 28 Done-In-A-Days throughout Los Angeles.
• Graduated 11 women from our Public Policy Institute.
• Graduated 20 women from our award-winning Leadership Development Institute.
• Organized the newly rebranded Civic Leadership Forum presented by Legacy Leadership Circle, which brought together leaders working across our communities for an impactful day of learning designed to empower attendees to become strong community advocates.
• Netted over $240,000 through our fundraising efforts, including over $78,000 through the LA Big 5K, the highest amount ever raised through this event.
• Established two new incubated projects, School on Wheels and Happy Trails, to be launched in the 2018-19 League year.
• Graduated 177 new members who organized eight “Thrive Through Literacy” Projects throughout Los Angeles.
• Through the generous funding of the Legacy Leadership Circle, held our inaugural Distinguished Speakers Series at the January General Membership Meeting.
• Redesigned and relaunched JLLA’s website.
• Raised over $30,000 through two new incubated fundraisers, Touch-A-Truck and Little Black Dress.
• Revised bylaws to optimize our governance structure.