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President Jenny Cushing
President-Elect Jane Wagner
Public Relations Marifran Georgis
Focus Area Women, Children and Families
Vision Statement Empowering people to improve the quality of life in our community.
Purpose Founded in 1930, the Junior League of Rockford, Inc. (JLR) is an organization of women
committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving our
community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is
exclusively educational and charitable. The Junior League of Rockford, Inc. reaches out to
women of all races, religions and national origins who demonstrate an interest in and
commitment to voluntarism.
Membership 73 Active Members 14 Provisional Members 193 Sustainer & Emeritus Members
Affiliation The Junior League of Rockford, Inc. is a member of an international organization, the
Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (AJLI), comprised of over 190,000 women
in 293 Junior Leagues in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and England. AJLI supports
the local chapters by offering leadership development training, maintaining the AJLI
website, facilitating networking with leagues, and providing members with discounts on a
variety of products and services.
Activities The Junior League of Rockford, Inc. holds nine meetings each year for its membership.
Each active member serves on at least one of the ten committees directed by a Board of
Directors and structured into four sub-councils: Membership, Community, Operations and
Finance. The Ways and Means committee is responsible for researching and selecting one
specific, long-term project that the membership develops and implements. Upon
completion, the JLR turns the project over to the community.
Scholarship JLR offers a $1,500 scholarship annually toward college tuition for an area high school
senior who has proven a sincere commitment to voluntarism in the greater-Rockford
community.
Present Project The Junior League of Rockford’s current project is RAISE (Reaching and Inspiring
Students for Education). The Junior League in collaboration with the Community Education
Partnership, Mayor's Office of Education and Life-Long Learning and Rockford Public
School District 205 are creating and implementing a program aimed to increase access and
success in post high school education for disadvantaged, underrepresented and first
generation college students from the Rockford Public School System.
This initiative is aimed at assisting those high school students by preparing them for and
helping them gain access to post-secondary education. Initially, the program will consist of
20 to 30 high-school students whom have been selected through an application process.
These students will be assigned a trained mentor who will guide the student through the
application process from start to finish. Additional members of Junior League will serve on
teams who will focus on topics regarding ACT testing, Campus Tours, College Applications,
College Survival Skills, Financial Aid and Fundraising/Grants. Workshops will be held on
most of these topics and will be open to all students. Hopes are to expand the program to
all area high schools in the future. Junior League members will serve as the administrators
and mentors during the pilot years.
Past Projects MAYA’S House
Discovery Center Museum
CASA
Bright Side Adult Day Center
Stepping Stones
Rock River Discovery Park
Domestic Violence Assistance Center
Youth Services Network
Washington Park Community Recreation Center
Ken-Rock Community Center - Our First Project in 1930
Funding Community Projects are funded through the generous contributions from JLR members, the
public, corporate donors and JLR fundraisers:
“Under One Roof” Designer Showcase Home Tour
Dine by Design Kitchen Tour
Unique Spaces Tour
Brunch Basket & Generations Cookbook Sales
Awards
2007 Winnebago County CASA Program Appreciation Award
2006 Discovery Center Museum Founding Partner Award
2006 YWCA Non-Profit Recognition Award
2003 Rock River Chapter of American Red Cross Partner Award (MAYA’S House)
2000 National Society of Fund Raising Executives Outstanding Community Service Award
2000 Boys & Girls Club Volunteer Award (Patriot’s Gateway Homework Helper
Program)
1993 Golden Key Award (Opportunities Industrialization Center)
1992 JC Penney Golden Rule Volunteer Service Recognition Award (Rock River
Discovery Park)
1990 JC Penney Golden Rule Volunteer Service Recognition Award (STEP-ONE)
1988 Rockford Register Star Excelsior Award
1987 WIFR TV-23 Action Award
Association of 2004 “JL” Award - Fund Development for 2003 Designer Showcase Home
Junior Leagues,
International 2004 “JL” Honorable Mention - Project Development for MAYA’S House (Mother’s
Awards and Youth Attaining Stability)
77 Years in the The Junior League of Rockford, Inc., founded on April 11, 1930, has contributed
Community 77 years of service to the Rock River Valley. Throughout its long history, Junior
League members have received the training and knowledge necessary to build
coalitions, identify community needs and develop effective and responsive
programs to serve those needs. The Junior League of Rockford’s first community
project, Ken Rock Community Center, was initiated in 1930 and remains an
integral part of the community today with many other JLR projects that were
developed over the years.
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