JLS Notes Issue_Spring 2023

THE

NOTES

ISSUE 3 | SPRING 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

2023 WINTER FORUM

2023 Winter Forum

The JLS sent several members to this year’s Winter Forum! The 2023 Winter Forum was held virtually on February 10-11 and offered five intensive learning tracks for attendees to spend two days diving deeply into the topic of their choice. There was a combination of instructor-led sessions with facilitated round tables that allowed members to connect with their peers and learn from each other.

Monthly Celebrations Fund Development Community Updates Membership Updates League Awards & Nominations Save the Date / Kudos Board Updates

MARK YOUR CALENDARS 3/14: March GMM Start Time 6:00 pm 4/11: April GMM Start Time 6:00 pm 5/9: May GMM Start Time 6:00 pm Don't forget to register for the GMMs on Seeing Spot!

EMERGING LEADERS TRACK By: Tess McLaughlin I attended the Emerging Leaders track, which focused on increasing engagement, improving communication, and honing leadership skills. Our courses were led by Human Resources Specialist Dr. Mimi Hull and AJLI At-Large Director Dr. Karen Thompson-Jackson.

Dr. Hull spent Friday morning explaining the important distinction between a satisfied member and an engaged member, emphasizing that deeper engagement leads to an increase in project ownership, enhanced productivity, lower resignations, and greater impact. To increase engagement, Dr. Hull underscored the importance of taking inventory of each member’s strengths and interests, noting that a member who is intellectually stimulated will be more engaged.

We also focused on tools to address conflict resolution. Dr. Hull explained that “conflict arises from unmet expectations” and emphasized the need for clear communication at the beginning of each project to ensure everyone is on the same page. When conflict does arise, we discussed the importance of “assuming the best intentions,” taking an anonymous vote and confronting the issue head-on. These tools help avoid resentment, answer questions, and increase buy-in from the team.

2023 WINTER FORUM (cont.)

During our roundtable sessions, we heard from leagues nationwide discussing strategies for member retention, online engagement during hybrid GMMs, and fundraising events in a post-COVID era. One of my favorite ideas came from JL Portland, where their members are developing a curriculum to ensure each member masters specific core competencies in order to serve as an effective board member for organizations throughout their community. In the end, Winter Forum left me feeling inspired and provided a wonderful opportunity to connect with other members in leagues both large and small.

MONTHLY EVENTS MARCH:

INCOMING PRESIDENTS TRACK By: Victoria Wejko Governing and Leading as Junior League President during our first day we spent a good amount of time really looking at the role of the president to lead the board including Fiduciary, Strategy, and Generative.

One major thing I took away from this day was the importance of managing both short and long-term goals and leading the board to be able to look at both.

Also, the encouraging everyone to spend time thinking about the most important questions we need to be asking each other, not just the answers.

President as Chief Communicator was what we spent our Saturday focus on, it was inspiring and challenging all at the same time. We have so many different ways to communicate, and it's important that we use them all, both verbal and non-verbal. I came away from all the sessions realizing the importance of figuring out and working on strategic priorities for the league year. While we won't be able to do everything in one league year, we can do some things and we can always be open to opportunities that present themselves.

APRIL:

MAY:

FUND DEVELOPMENT SPRING RAFFLE It’s time for the Spring Raffle! Tickets will be sold from the March GMM to the Annual Dinner in June. A winner will be drawn on June 17th. You do not need to be present to win!

First place will take home $1000 dollars, second place $500, and third place $250.

Tickets are $5/ea. or 5 for $20. Tickets can be purchased through the Fund Development CMTE or at any GMM.

AmazonSMILE As many of you saw, Amazon is no longer participating in the AmazonSMILE giveback program for nonprofits.

Each quarter, we received over $100 from member purchases through Amazon. This free money helped support our local impact through community projects, technology advancements, and our general operating budget. Losing just the slightest amount will undoubtedly have a small impact on our League.

With fewer members overall and the loss of “free”money sources, it is important to remember to give back during our Annual Appeal in the fall and dues collection in the spring. Donating is simple and you don’t need to remember your log in to donate on our website! Just click the menu, support us and choose give to us!

We are a 501(c)(3) organization. Charitable gifts made to most nonprofit organizations that are officially recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as having 501(c) (3) status are considered to be tax deductible contributions.

Jen Baker

Fund Development VP

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

COMMUNITY UPDATE The Community Committee has been busy this league year. If you haven’t been able to join us, yet, don’t worry, because there will be many more upcoming volunteer opportunities to close out the remainder of this league year!

We kicked off the year volunteering at the Salt City Harvest Farm, where we harvested daikon radishes, bundled carrots, and cut fresh flowers for a local farmers market.

In October, we planned four women’s cooking classes with the Salvation Army’s women's shelter (supported by a grant from the CNY Women’s Fund).

Each week we cooked something different and gave the women to-go bags filled with personal care items.

To cap off the program, we donated cookware sets to each woman. See the last edition of the NOTES for more details.

Our committee didn’t stop during the holiday season: In November, we purchased and donated cornbread to feed 200 guests at the Boys and Girls Club’s Thanksgiving dinner. In December, we collected hygiene and personal care supplies at our holiday party for PEACE, Inc.’s drive. We also donated five $100 Target gift cards to the cause. To give back for MLK Jr. Day, JLS donated the leftover socks from the sock fundraiser to go to families in need.

For the spring, we’re planning several events: a viewing party of the movie 9 to 5 in honor of National Women’s Day on March 8 (a collaboration with the Public Policy Committee), our annual STEM event with Brighton Academy at the end of April, and our annual Clothing Drive and Tea Party with the YWCA in early May. We will also be wrapping up the final two remaining 100th Year Events: one with Nascentia Health packing baskets of supplies and one with the Boys and Girls Club’s Smart Girls on the Go program focused on mental health and wellness. *For details on the events and how you can help out whether it be packing baskets, backpacks, donating clothes, or volunteering your time - make sure to check your emails and SeeingSpot for announcements!*

Camille Marcotte & Kimber Doolittle Community VP and Community Collaborations Chair

MEMBERSHIP UPDATES The Membership Committee is off to a busy year.

We closed out 2022 with our annual holiday party at Shaughnessy’s Irish Pub where we collected items to donate to PEACE. Vicky Wejko did a fantastic presentation, “4 Cultures” and engaged the members in a DEI&B training and activity during our January GMM The month of February brought back sectionals this year and there were 3 opportunities for members to participate. A Galentine’s Day Wine Exchange at the Philanthropy Center, Trivia Night at Meier’s Creek Inner Harbor and the opportunity to "Flow with Soul" at a beginner yoga class at Samadhi Yoga Syracuse.

Members enjoyed connecting at these gatherings.

At our March GMM, we’ll take a “peak behind the curtain” with Nominating taking the lead and each committee sharing a brief summary of what they do throughout the year. Our goal is for our members to know more about the nominating process and have a better understanding of each committee’s roles and responsibilities.

A new event entitled, We Care Wednesdays, is taking place at the Syracuse Mets baseball games this season.

We Care Wednesdays will feature local 501c3 organizations at the Syracuse Mets game on Wednesday's to help bring awareness & raise money for selected organizations. We have applied and we will update you as soon as possible IF we are selected and the date/time of the game.

Save the date. We are excited to announce Annual Dinner will be taking place on Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at Sky Armory. More details to come.

If you have ideas for future sectionals, GMM Trainings, or engagement activities, please email Amanda at amandarichie13@gmail.com

The New Member Recruitment Committee recently held another informational session and New Member Training! We have two new members who are joining the league in March. They will be voted into membership at the next GMM on Tuesday, March 14th. With the addition of these two women, we will have added six new members so far during the league year! The rolling admission strategy for new member recruitment seems to be working very well and we are excited to be half way through our pilot year trying this new approach. We’d love to hear feedback from our members as we start planning for the next League year! We expect to continue this pilot in 2023-2024. The remaining new member training classes will occur on: Saturday 3/25 and 4/29! We will not hold a session in May due to Memorial Day and will resume trainings in the fall with the new League year! Please be on the lookout for announcements regarding additional Spring Meet & Greets for recruitment coming soon!

On a side note two of our members, President Elect Vicky Wejko and Amanda Terzian will be competing in the Mrs. New York America/American pageant on Sunday, June 4, 2023. The pageant is being held at The Holiday Inn Rochester Downtown (70 State Street Rochester, NY) and begins at 2:00PM.

Michelle McGillivray VP Membership

LEAGUE AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS Let’s Celebrate our amazing members and sustainers!

League awards are a great way to honor the hard work and dedication of our amazing members. Do you know someone who embodies the spirit of one of these accolades? We will be accepting nominations for the following awards for the 2022-2023 league year. The Spirit of Mary Harriman Award, given to a Sustaining member, has an additional nomination form. Sustainers, please keep an eye out for information from VP of Sustainers, Cheryl Ward about nominating a deserving member for this award. Active members, please keep an eye out in coming communications about nominations for one of our active member awards! This is a great way to highlight and showcase the amazing work our members do each year!

Spirit of Mary Harriman Award: Honors and recognizes an innovative JLS member whose volunteer work continues Mary Harriman’s efforts. This award provides a contemporary link to our founder’s sense of social responsibility and her ability to encourage others to share their talents through effective volunteer service.

The League Cup Award: Given to a person who has dedicated an extraordinary amount of volunteer time and effort both in the League and the community: commitment to the JLS by involving participation in League committee work and dedicated to community by regularly spending many volunteer hours within the community.

In-League Award: Given to a member(s) for outstanding contributions to committee work.

New Member Award: Given to a member(s) with 1-3 years League experience for dedication and commitment to the League and to the community.

Community Service Award: Given to members(s) for significant community involvement.

Sustainer of the Year: Recognizes outstanding contributions by a sustaining member of the League.

SAVE THE DATE Denim & Diamonds Past Presidents' Luncheon May 17th, 2023 @ Noon Shaughnessy's Irish Pub 550 S Warren St Syracuse, NY 13202

KUDOS Announcing JLS President Elect Vicky Wejko!

We are so excited to announce the slating of Vicky Wejko as President Elect (to serve from January-June 2023). Vicky will then step into the President role July 2023-June 2024.

She joined the Junior League of Syracuse four years ago to become more involved in her community. In her involvement, she has been a committee member and Chair of Member Education and Engagement, and is currently on the Board of Directors as our VP of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.

Vicky has worked both in government and nonprofits settings, with a focus on youth development for over 15 years. She holds two Master’s Degrees in Public Administration and Theology. She currently works full-time as the Associate Director of Formation for Church of the Transfiguration. She loves strong cups of coffee, anything fitness and cat memes. A lifelong New Yorker, who currently calls Central New York her home, with her husband and four rescue cats.

Beyond her career and JLS, Vicky also sits on the board for the Catholic Courier and the Miss Finger Lakes and Upstate New York Organization.

FEBRUARY BOARD UPDATES BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DATE: FEBRUARY 7, 2023 Meeting Agenda: 6:00 p.m. Call to order Reading of the Mission, Vision and DEI Statement (Amanda) 6:00: p.m. Consent agenda – items for single vote January Board meeting minutes (Holly), February Board Reports (Holly) 6:05 p.m. Active agenda – items for discussion: Treasurer Report Technology for meetings, hybrid is not easy, would like to purchase OWL (just needs wifi) to make it better, liked using the 3rd floor better for meetings, Amanda uses it the library and gave a few tips, Amanda will order it tomorrow DEI Report Going over the data and getting feedback, summary is attached under February Board Reports, wanted to know about any priorities, please let her know if you have any feedback, we need to focus on inclusion and retention, possibly have a break out at a GMM about feeling welcomed Community Report Other committees that want to print communications materials? Jen will contact Avalon since she is working with them for raffle, the brochure was updated by the fund development team last year, community gives the stats about the members and volunteer hours, etc.

NYSPAC Winter Conference - March 5th from 4-6:30pm, virtual- can reserve the upstairs room and order pizzas, we will have to vote to support about the diaper bank- Camille motions, Amanda T. seconded, all agreed

Fund Development Report Rachel will reach out to communications about scholarship being on the website- live on the website, had 50 people apply last year, requested to contact the ladies that applied last year that didn’t get the scholarship, should we open it up to 3, 4, or 5? using a google form and text, applications due at the end of April & voting at the May GMM, presenting the award at the annual dinner Have money at the Sky Armory, 1500 for a weekend, spend a minimum of 500 on food and beverage, would be a good price if we hold our annual dinner there Jen will reach out to them, will just cost members for parking and cocktails Revisit ways to involve membership in scholarship decision Office Coordinator > No applications so far, asked for ideas, hopefully a member or sustainer will take this on, Membership Report Happy about the sectionals’ selections, working on annual dinner, working on engagement activities possibly a hockey game, baseball game, bigger wine tour in Skaneateles, asking each committee to present in March about what each one does, Amanda for April