AJLI Turns 100

The Junior League of Charlotte, Inc. (JLC)’s 95th birthday isn’t the only milestone celebration of late … The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (AJLI) turns the big 100 this year – and there is much to celebrate!

What is AJLI?

You may know that the Junior League was founded in New York by Mary Harriman in 1901. What you may not realize is that just twenty years later, in 1921, there were already thirty Junior Leagues across the country, itching to join forces to bolster their power and amplify their collective voices. And so the umbrella organization (then The Association of Junior Leagues of America) was founded, giving the Junior League a national voice. With its powerful professional support, within two years, the number of Leagues doubled to 63 – with dozens more already in the pipeline.

What does AJLI do?

Fast-forward to today, AJLI is a membership corporation jointly owned by all 295 individual Junior Leagues. It provides services to more than 125,000 women across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico, and its sole purpose is to add value to member Leagues in their fulfillment of the Junior League Mission.

In addition to supporting its members, the AJLI is the uniting factor among all Leagues. The AJLI’s collective voice is a vastly powerful force for change – having influenced research, policy and legislation on issues important to Junior Leagues across the globe.

Indeed, the AJLI has had a hand in many reforms: • Access to vaccinations for children

• Education and provision of healthy food and nutrition for children • Securing the right to vote for women • Providing access to the arts • Advancing literacy for children and adults • Building awareness for the inadequacies of the justice system for adults and juveniles • Establishing museums for children • Legislation to secure safe drinking water • Awareness for the problem of alcohol abuse • Support for victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, and cyberbullying and education of the public about the issue

Perhaps you recognize these goals from your own work: there’s no question that the JLC has been closely aligned with each of these missions.

How are we celebrating?

There is so much to celebrate about AJLI – specifically the powerful women who have made up its membership, the institutions that have been born from their hard work, and the imprint each of these has left on the world.

We’ll be toasting the milestone at a future GMM – but until then, watch our social media pages for #JLCCelebratesAJLICentennial as we spotlight the work and women of the collective force that is AJLI!