“As the Junior League of Monmouth County approaches its 75th birthday, I’ve spent some time thinking about the League – why I joined and what it means to me. Many of my non-league friends will tell me, “I’m not the Junior League type”. What I’ve ultimately found, though, is that there is no “type”. We are all so different. We are single, married, divorced, older, younger, working, mothers, grandmothers, friends, aunts– all at the same time. Joining the League, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some really great women that I may not have met in my day-to-day life right now, which seems to involve an extreme amount of carpooling.
We all have one thing in common though – we are type “A” people. We are doers. We have ideas, lots of them and we get things done. Efficiently. Cooperatively. A lot of the time we have more ideas than we have time. And as anyone knows who volunteers, it can be hard, thankless work at times. But underneath it all is this underlying kinship, this support system of women who believe in the importance of training other women to be effective volunteers in the community. There is this sense of being part of something bigger than one’s self, this invisible web connecting us to each other and the other leagues throughout our country and world. There’s definitely a magic in that kind of girl power for me.
And that’s what we do – we train each other, mentor each other. The results are gratifying and tangible in our community. Take a look at a non-profit board and there will most likely be a Junior League member on it.
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After joining the League, I was inspired to cofound a non-profit 501c3 with some of my friends. Our mission is to help local families in need. The Junior League of Monmouth County gave me the confidence and skills to take on this venture, something I wouldn’t have imagined previously. My non-profit and JLMC have even partnered together: marrying two of my worlds – it was like the perfect gift!
So, when I think about what the League means to me as we approach this milestone, I think this: more than anything, I believe in the women in our League and I am grateful to be one of them.”
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-Tori McAndrews
JLMC Nominating Placement Chair and Active Member for 6 years
Co-Founder of Life Guard Ecumenical Foundation
A component of the Junior League mission is to “improve our communities through effective action and leadership of trained volunteers”. The JLMC is committed to developing volunteers' leadership skills in a variety of ways. Informative and educational speakers provide an educational and inspirational component to our General Membership Meetings. We strive to continually provide opportunities for our members to improve their existing skills and gain new ones through their placements in the JLMC. Junior League leadership training delivers informative, innovative and inspiring programs. Strengthening our members through training today improves our community tomorrow. Acquired leadership skills can be applied in careers, other aspects of life or assist members in volunteer work with other nonprofits.
Women interested in joining the JLMC can email JLMCmembership@gmail.com and learn more at www.jlmc.org. The JLMC is always interested in recruiting new members in the Monmouth County area.
The Junior League of Monmouth County (JLMC) membership has a wide range of backgrounds, interests and professional pursuits. They all share an interest in and a commitment to voluntarism. Each member has her own personal story of how the JLMC has made a difference. The JLMC 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. The JLMC focuses on facilitating the empowerment of girls to become confident women.
