Letter From the President | Oana Brooks
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Dear Friends,
Welcome to the first issue of the Communique for the 2016-2017 League Year. Our year began with a facilitated “getting to know you” themed June general membership meeting (GMM). Thank you to Margaret Roth, our Vice President of Community Impact, for serving as our facilitator. The idea and theme were born out of my desire for members to engage with one another in meaningful ways and a hope that as a result, they would feel more connected to each other and the League. It is my true belief that you, our members, are the League’s greatest asset.
The summer months provided continued opportunities for members to get to know one another. Whether you hosted or attended a BBQ in July, joined the League as a new member in August, or learned something new about a fellow member through the “getting to know you” opening activity at the September GMM, the opportunity was there for you to create a connection with a fellow member. In October, we were joined by guest speaker Beth Thompson, RN, MSN, CBCN. Ms. Thompson, the Nurse Navigator/Educator in the LiveWell Center for Young Women with Breast Cancer at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and a breast cancer survivor herself, shared with us what breast cancer is and is not in 2016. Members were very engaged in the presentation and many shared personal stories furthering the connection among us.
Though the League year recently began, all of our committees and members have already been hard at work planning new member recruitment events, socials and trainings; focusing on our website and social media policy; identifying future Junior League leaders; organizing done in a day volunteer events; hosting fundraisers; identifying repair needs for headquarters; and planning and hosting special sales. The Wise Penny Committee achieved consistent success raising more funds than before through such sales as Dollar Day and the Junior League Headquarters and Wise Penny Grand Opening Anniversary Sale. Thanks to the efforts of members Jenna Laube and Joanna Freeman, the Junior League of Baltimore now recycles! Through joint efforts, President Elect Ashley Chalmers and I successfully revitalized and renewed our partnership with Bridges, a tutoring and volunteer program for Baltimore youth.
This first half of the League year also ushered in the new phase of the League’s community impact transformation roll-out. Over the last year and a half, the Community Impact Council has worked tirelessly to identify, research, and analyze possible community impact focus areas. The committee researched over twenty possible impact areas, surveyed members, and analyzed the findings. They concluded that the Junior League of Baltimore’s members enjoy working directly with people and value interpersonal relationships. Moreover, the committee’s work brought to the forefront that our League’s resources, current and past programs, coupled with our members’ expertise share a theme of supporting women in personal and professional growth. And thus, the community impact focus area was identified as: Women Building Women- Helping Women and Girls Unlock their Potential through Personal and Professional Development. Members quickly embraced the focus area and voted to approve it as the official community impact focus area for the Junior League of Baltimore.
In the coming years, our League will focus on developing and delivering within the impact area through internal trainings for members, external trainings for the community, and an annual Speaker Series Presented by the Junior League of Baltimore. The best is yet to come and the excitement surrounding the focus area is palpable.
In addition to the work completely internally, the League was also hard at work and increasingly more visible in the community. The Junior League of Baltimore served as a founding partner of the 2016 Women of the World Festival (WOW), something which could not have happened without all of you, our members. When presented with the opportunity for our League to be a part of WOW, members immediately rose to the challenge and exceeded all expectations by donating the funds required to become a founding partner. As a result, I was able to represent the Junior League of Baltimore on the WOW Baltimore Partnership, a coalition of Baltimore’s leading nonprofit, community, and business organizations. Many of our members attended think-ins which helped shape the programming for WOW.
The League was also well represented during the festival. The Larks- our very own choral group and longest running community project, performed on three separate occasions at WOW; several of our members participated in the speed networking activity; numerous other members helped staff the Junior League’s table in the WOW marketplace; Margaret Roth served on a panel for girls in STEM; and I was honored to be invited to share my personal immigration story during a WOW-bite. The two-day festival held at Notre Dame Maryland University was a huge success and the Junior League of Baltimore was instrumental in bringing this event to Baltimore!
In just a few short months, our League has already accomplished so much and even more is on the horizon. I cannot wait to see all that is to come and am so honored to share in this journey with you! As I reflect on the last few months, it is difficult to believe that half the League year has already passed. In the coming months, the League will publish a cookbook, a huge endeavor that we hope to celebrate with a book release party! We will select new members and future League leaders. We will further develop our community impact focus and strengthen our bond to each other as civic and professional leaders and agents of change. I encourage each of you to be active; be engaged; give as much as you get; get to know each other; celebrate our differences; and embrace our commonalities. It has been such an exciting time in the Junior League of Baltimore and I could not be more honored, humbled, and grateful to serve as your President.