The Junior League of Cincinnati through

As you know, this is the League’s Centennial year, and our nearly 1,000 members had plans for a myriad of dynamic events to honor this legacy. Our Perspectives team had planned to extend this issue to cover these events, but just a week after the Centennial Gala, the city slowly closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with many activities being canceled or postponed. While those events did not take place, we’d be remiss not to cover the work that members accomplished during this time — League women did not stop during the pandemic but continued to find ways to serve the community and each other.

How the League engages in and partners with the community will likely change in the coming months, and we as the League’s Communications Council are committed to sharing those stories with you.

Best Wishes, Chelsea E. Zesch VP Communications

Continuing to Serve Even through the midst of a pandemic, League members consistently asked, “What can we do? How can we help? Where can we serve?” With many local volunteer opportunities closed, League members were hard pressed to find options to give back, but our CandO and Program Acceleration Committees still found a way to provide virtual volunteer opportunities and donations to community partner, Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank (SCDB).

One of the planned cornerstone events of our Centennial year was the 100 Hours of Service event, led by the League’s CandO Committee. The original intention was to host volunteer events during the week of April 13th with the goal of reaching 100 hours of volunteer service by the end of the week. In light of social distancing guidelines, the committee quickly and creatively pivoted by identifying ways to support both current and new partners where virtual donations of time were needed and easily facilitated. Two such new partnerships were with Rosemary’s Babies and Operation Gratitude. Rosemary’s Babies’ mission is to help teen parents master the concepts of self-leadership to leave a legacy. League members provided recipes and instructions for meals that could be made for under five dollars with simple ingredients a 13 to 19 year old would purchase. Each recipe also included inspirational quotes or advice. Operation Gratitude sends care packages from american people thanking troops, veterans, new recruits, or wounded heroes and their caregivers for their service to our country. League members partnered with the organization by providing letters, notes, and drawings.

The partnership with Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank also continued during the pandemic, though in a different form, given that in-person diaper wrappings were not permitted. The League continued to collect donations and coordinate the transport of hundreds of diapers to the SCDB warehouse, during this even more pressing time of need in our community. A Bit of History: Radio Reading During WWII

The League is no stranger to stepping up during global hardship; during World War II, the JLC took its children’s theatre works (now the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati) to the radio, to meet children in their homes.

In an article on BroadwayWorld.Com, The Children’s Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director recently shared, “During WW2, the women of the Junior League were faced with the same problem we are today. Yet, that did not stop their mission to engage their audience through new and innovative methods. They took to radio to broadcast their shows and kept the mission alive.”

As the League continues to operate amidst and beyond the pandemic, there will be many new ways we will strive to fulfill our mission and commitment to the community.

GMM Planning Committee Flawlessly Executes the League’s First Virtual GMM

Emily Haun and the General Meeting Planning Committee proved their ability for agile coordination with the execution of the League’s first virtual GMM, the final GMM of our Centennial year. What’s more, this was voted to approve our 2020-2021 Operating Budget. A huge kudos to Emily and Legal Advisor, Beth Berkowitz, for their diligent work during this unprecedented time. The JLC Staff

During the period of the stay-at-home order, our the League’s April voting GMM during which the League

tremendous and small-but-mighty staff continued to work remotely and support the League’s day-to-day operations. We are grateful for their time, talent, and flexibility during this challenging time.

Program Acceleration Committee and the JLC leadership made a combined donation to the Freestore Foodback.