Junior League of Atlanta to Award $1 Million in Centennial Grants

From the Junior League of Atlanta, Inc.:

In honor of its Centennial anniversary, The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. (JLA) announced that it will award a total of $1 million in grants to local non-profit organizations. The Centennial Grants will honor the league’s legacy of leadership throughout the past 100 years and launch the organization into its second century of service.

“The Centennial Grants celebrate the efforts of nearly four generations of women leaders who have been dedicated to serving Atlanta communities,” said JLA president, Deanna Anderson. “These grants will offer recipients the opportunity for transformational change as they continue to evolve, building a better Atlanta and cultivating future generations of passionate leaders.”

The JLA will kick-off its anniversary celebrations with the Centennial Gala at the newly renovated Atlanta History Center and Swan House in Buckhead on Oct. 1, 2016. Past presidents of the century-old organization will be honored at the gala.

“The Junior League of Atlanta has a rich legacy started by 45 women who dared to form an organization that would allow their voices to be heard,” added Anderson. “Their vision has been sustained by extraordinary women leaders dedicated to tackling tough issues, like generational poverty and commercial sexual exploitation.”

The league’s many contributions include the founding of the Atlanta Speech School, the Atlanta Children’s Shelter and Children Have All Rights – Legal, Educational, Emotional (CHARLEE), an agency serving at-risk children and youth. Additionally, JLA members have volunteered millions of hours to support organizations including Zoo Atlanta and Children’s Health Care.

“The JLA’s contributions to the Atlanta community have shaped the city as we know it,” said Chris Jones, Director, Volunteer Services at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “Its support of Egleston began long before the hospital opened and included members’ talent, time and treasure – from staffing the front office, sewing bandages and furnishing the hospital, to raising funds to support the Junior League Ward in Egleston."

Today, the JLA membership consists of 3,500 members with backgrounds of different races, religions and national origins. Members focus on issues surrounding commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking, generational poverty, and early childhood education. So far this year the JLA has:

• Partnered with YouthSpark, Street Grace, Wellspring Living, Georgia Cares and Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (GAIN) to raise awareness, directly assist survivors of human trafficking and those at risk, and advocate for policy changes at local, state and federal levels.
• Partnered with the Women’s Community Leadership Alliance to advocate changes in public policy that facilitate emergence from generational poverty.
• Partnered with Voices for Georgia’s Children Georgia Pre-K Week, which is a weeklong celebration of Georgia’s early childhood program and an opportunity for Georgia leaders to experience first-hand the quality learning taking place in Georgia’s pre-K classrooms.

In October, JLA members will participate in the Little Black Dress Initiative, a worldwide campaign that illustrates the effects poverty can have on a woman’s access to resources, confidence and opportunities.

“Each year, the JLA invests thousands of volunteer hours to community agencies and programs that empower women and children and support their self-sufficiency,” said Anderson. “Our members will contribute more than 75,000 volunteer hours, along with $250,000 in grant funding to community partners in 2016.”

Visit here to learn more about the Junior League of Atlanta’s initiatives and its centennial celebration. Tickets to the Gala and Lawn Party are available until September 15, 2016. Organizations interested in applying for a Centennial Grant must submit a letter of intent by Sept. 19, 2016.

About the Junior League of Atlanta, Inc.
The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc. (JLA) is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and to improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.

Funds raised through the efforts of the JLA are used to aid and support projects and programs of our community partners. In addition, funds are utilized to train and develop our membership to become future leaders of the Atlanta community. Combined, our volunteers and funding have impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and children in the communities in which we serve.

For more information on the Junior League of Atlanta, visit here or call 404-261-7799.

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