By: Mallory Pearce
Originally the Welfare League in 1924, the Junior League of Charlotte, Inc. (JLC) committed significant financial and volunteer resources to local agencies and projects that focused on the most critical needs of the Charlotte community.
In its infancy, the JLC saw the need to support local orphaned and underprivileged children. 1926 brought exciting changes. After joining the Association of Junior Leagues of America (AJLA, now known as AJLI or the Association of Junior Leagues International) and having utilized a donated cottage for a temporary orphanage, the membership voted to construct its own Baby Home at a value of $16,000. Today that would be the equivalent of $250,000.
The Baby Home operated until 1935 and was subsequently replaced by the Children’s Service Bureau. This shift was vital, as the JLC was able to advocate for the children of Charlotte more broadly. Free youth art classes, a children’s community theatre, weekly radio broadcasts delivering wholesome content, and a junior exhibit at the Mint Museum, all became family fixtures into the 1940s.
The 1950s ushered great changes as the new Junior League Thrift Shop collected donations to support a massive undertaking. Coupled with a community health focus, a generous donation to the Mecklenburg Tuberculosis Sanatorium was made, and ground was broken for a permanent Children’s Nature Museum in 1950. It still stands in its original location in Freedom Park.
Current Focus Area: Starting June 1, 2018, the JLC began partnering with our community to ensure that all children are school ready by focusing on the health and educational needs of children from birth to fifth grade in six priority zip codes of Mecklenburg County.
Momentum only increased through the late 1950s. The Junior League adopted, for the first time in its history, two projects simultaneously: the Charlotte Reading Center, pledging $30,000 (a $341,000 value today), and a commitment to the Girl Scouts’ Camp at Lake Lure in Rutherford County. A youth concert series awakened an initiative celebrating the arts for several years. The youth of Mecklenburg County remained at the heart of the JLC’s mission.
Our predecessors shared a bond and promise toward bettering the lives of Charlotte-area youth. As we continue to mature and move towards 100 years as an organization, we can take pride in knowing the early mission of our founders still stands while today’s JLC ensures our focus is supported by data, research, and a plan years-in-the-making.
