Junior League of Boston

A voluntary organization of women engaged in service to the community, the Junior League of Boston grew out of the Sewing Circle League (1907), was renamed (1916), and incorporated (1922). With a current focus on serving the arts, women, and children, the League has channelled the energies of women into socially useful work and trained them in administration of voluntary projects.

From the description of [Videotape collection] [videorecording]. 1981-1988. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 232008950

A voluntary organization of women engaged in service to the community, the Junior League of Boston grew out of the Sewing Circle League (1907), was renamed (1916), and incorporated (1922.) With a current focus on serving the arts, women, and children, the League has channelled the energies of women into socially useful work and trained them in administration of voluntary projects.

From the description of Records, 1897-1994 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 122421364

The Junior League of Boston (JLB) is a voluntary organization of women engaged in service to the community. It grew out of the Sewing Circle League, formed in 1907. Sewing circles were clubs for debutantes organized since 1867 to sew for the poor. The Sewing Circle League was renamed the Junior League of Boston and affiliated with the Association of Junior Leagues of America in 1916. The second oldest JL in the country, it was incorporated in 1922.

The membership is divided into four parts: provisionals, who are in-training, perform voluntary service but may not vote or hold office; active members (up to age 40), who hold office, vote and perform voluntary service; sustaining members, who have retired from active membership but continue to support the league financially; and honorary members. Transfers from other leagues and inter-leagues (temporary members) are allowed.

The JLB has always looked for new forms of social and civic activism. Beginning in 1907 with a play committee to put on entertainments in settlement houses and a lecture series for self-education, it has developed a constantly changing menu of community programs: war-related activity in 1917-1918 and 1942-1945, fundraising (Bargain Box and Decorators' Show House) to help pay for its community outreach projects, and an array of programs relating to health, children, education, the arts, the elderly, and women's issues. Its strategy is to identify a social or civic problem, create a program to address it, run it for a period of years, and then hand it on to another group. In this way the JLB has made substantial contributions to the improvement of city and suburban life, channeled the interests and creative energy of many women into socially useful work, trained them in administration, and fostered their interest in the conditions of Boston and its suburbs.

The JLB continues to be a member of the Association of Junior Leagues, Inc., whose purpose is to unite and advise member Leagues and provide conferences and workshops. The JLB is administered by a president and Board of Managers, who oversee standing committees that in turn organize community projects. The JLB employs an executive secretary and several assistants in its current headquarters at 117 Newbury Street. Since 1950, it has had associated suburban areas: Dedham-Dover-Milton, South Shore, North Shore, Wellesley, Belmont, and Concord, and from the 1960s a "Professional Area" committee composed of career women.

• 1907: Sewing Circle League formed
• 1916: Renamed Junior League of Boston (JLB) and affiliated with the Association of Junior Leagues of America (later Association of Junior Leagues, Inc.)
• 1917: Office located in American Red Cross building at 142 Berkeley Street; members worked for the Volunteer Service of the Bureau of Red Cross
• 1920: Play, Legislative and Redstocking Community Christmas committees formed; moved to 20 Newbury Street
• 1921: Provisional membership and training courses established. Moved to 240 Boylston Street
• 1922: Incorporation of JLB
• 1923: Debate with JL of New York, on resolution "that the Puritan influence has been detrimental to the development of this country," caused public outcry
• 1924: Moved to 37 and then to 6 Commonwealth Avenue
• 1925: Social Services Committee formed, with professional worker to lead members
• 1929: Glee Club, Garden Club, and Arts and Interests Committee formed
• 1930: Purchase of Zero Marlborough St.
• 1940: POLL (Presidents of Larger Leagues) conference met
• 1942: Transfers welcomed for first time; Orchestra including women service personnel established; Women's War Bond Drive
• 1945: Embankment Garden transferred from Women's Municipal League
• 1946: Support for Boston Eye Bank, JLB's first health-related program
• 1949: Bargain Box opened on Newbury Street
• 1950: Six suburban areas formed under umbrella of JLB
• 1954: Sale of Zero Marlborough Street; JLB moved to Harvard Club (380 Commonwealth Avenue)
• 1958: Sponsored Metropolitan Opera's New England Regional Auditions
• 1960 - 1961 : Produced two films about the mentally handicapped: "The Innocents" and "The Disquieted"
• 1966: Wilder Street summer enrichment program in Roxbury – Reading is Fundamental, in Waltham and Charlestown
• 1967: Commissioned children's opera, "The Fisherman's Wife," in celebration of 50th anniversary
• 1968: Community Research Committee (CRC) established to educate JLB about community opportunities, identify projects, and communicate with local organizations
• 1970: Public Affairs Committee formed
• 1971: First Decorators' Show House
• 1972: Gilday Center for abused children opened
• 1973: CRC divided into two groups 1) "professionals" for career women and 2) "day" for non-career women
• 1977: Public Relations Committee formed
• 1978: Pet Therapy and Companionship project for the elderly began
• 1979: WIRE (Women's Information and Referral Education) service van launched to provide information about services and resources available to women Position statement advocating optimal opportunities and services for children ushered in a new focus on children AJLI endorses ERA
• 1981: New focus on women
• 1982: Focus on the Arts
• 1983: Good Grief program to help children cope with death and dying
• 1985: Child Awareness Training re: sexual abuse
• 1992: Handgun violence prevention committee

JLB consultants provided technical assistance to non-profit organizations.

From the guide to the Records, 1897-1994, (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)