Centennial One Hundred Years of Service JLLR Through the Years Timeline

JUNIOR LEAGUE OF LITTLE ROCK

One Hundred Years of Service

Rachel McLemore, Mimi Hurst, and Betsey Mowery

Founded in 1914 as an auxiliary to the United Charities of Little Rock, Junior League of Little Rock (JLLR) began its work as a Junior League and member of the Association of Junior Leagues of America in 1922. Since its inception, the League has focused on training women with varied backgrounds, interests, and professional pursuits to work together to identify unmet needs, forge effective coalitions, and work for change. Through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers, JLLR has established many successful initiatives that have become independent charitable projects and continue to make a tangible impact on the community.

Perhaps the most important project in the League’s early history was the Child (Baby) Welfare Station, which was housed in the Arsenal Tower Building in City Park (now known as MacArthur Park). As has become the organization’s operating procedure, JLLR began by conducting a survey of conditions in Little Rock, assisted by Dr. John Thames. With this survey, League leaders chose to focus on the Child Welfare Station for their first independent project.

JLLR:Through the Years

1920s

The Baby Welfare Station

1930s

Visiting Nurses

1940s

Speech Correction School

1960s

Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (formerly the Arkansas Arts Center) and Gaines House

1970s

Riverfest

A nurse and several volunteer physicians would assist mothers who could bring in infants and preschool-aged children for examination and receive education on care and feeding. The Child Welfare Station was an enormous success, expanding from three to five days of operation and serving thousands of local children. In 1937, feeling that the Child Welfare Station could operate independently and could serve the city in other areas, JLLR turned the Child Welfare Station over to the City of Little Rock. This started another League tradition: letting well established projects go in order to fill a new need in the community.

Additionally, another League tradition since the beginning was that projects were visionary at the time of their development and establishment. Junior League of Little Rock had and has a visionary view for projects to positively impact children, youth, women, families, and the quality of life for all in Little Rock. There are many visionary projects, but a few notable ones include:

In the late 1950s, JLLR had the desire to develop a Community Arts Center since the benefits of Arts and Cultural events enhance the quality of life for all citizens, a novel focus at that time. In 1959, the League signed an agreement between the Museum of Fine Arts and the Community Arts Center to combine support for what would become the Arkansas Arts Center (now known as the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts). JLLR was instrumental with ideas, volunteers, and fundraising during the early 1960s. At the dedication of the new Arkansas Arts Center in May 1963, JLLR President Barbara Penick was presented a plaque and special citation from the City of Little Rock Mayor Byron R. Morse for the JLLR’s involvement with the creation of the Arkansas Arts Center.

In the 1960s, The Gaines House was established through the combined efforts of JLLR, the Pulaski County Mental Health Association, Arkansas Rehabilitation Services and Altrusa International of Little Rock. Gaines House served as a transitional

1980s

Centers for Youth & Families (formerly Parent Center) and Seven on Your Side

1990s

Potluck and Museum of Discovery (formerly Arkansas Museum of Science and History)

Making Little Rock Our Home

JLLR has long been a pioneer in downtown Little Rock, with our first headquarters located at Trapnall Hall. In the early 2000’s, JLLR embarked upon the preservation of the Woman’s City Club, which remains our current headquarters.

Ways and Means Projects

Over the years, the League has raised the funds to help serve our community through follies, cookbooks, thrift shops and sales, a 5/10K race, a holiday market, and our membership dues.

Notable Fundraising Projects

1947-1952 | Charity Horse Show 1962-1977 | Bargain Box 1978-2007 | Bargain Barn Little Rock Cooks (1972) 1980’s | Traditions (1983) 1991-Present | Holiday House Apron Strings (1997) 2007-2012 | Bargain Boutique Big Taste of Little Rock (2009) 2014-2019 | Downtown Dash

2000s 2010s

KOTA Camp (formerly Camp for Fun), Stuff the

Bus, GROW (Girls Realizing Opportunities Within) Boosters and Big Rigs, Nonprofit Board Institute, and Little Readers Rock

Charity Horse Show Downtown Dash Bargain Barn Holiday House

residence facility for homeless women with mental, physical, or behavioral health disabilities and opened in 1967. Public recognition of mental health issues was more novel in the 1960s than today. Each organization was responsible for a different area of expertise, with JLLR taking the lead in writing the initial grants for the project and helping to raise matching funds, conducting a public relations campaign, and placing volunteers in the house to help residents during their transition. JLLR continued its involvement with Gaines House until it formally turned over the project in 1972.

In the 1970s, the concept of outdoor festivals was still a novel idea. However, the American Wind Symphony approached JLLR with a plan to host a summer arts festival along the river. Recognizing their commitment to improving the community, not just socially and economically, but also culturally, the League members took the idea and ran with it. The Summer Arts Festival was held in July 1978 at Murray Park and this was the initial festival that would evolve into what became more popularly known as Riverfest. Held traditionally on Memorial Day weekend, JLLR provided volunteers and a project chairman who worked to build the infrastructure necessary to sustain Riverfest and encouraged local businesses and the arts community to embrace the festival. JLLR remained highly involved throughout the years with thirty-one JLLR members serving as the Riverfest Chairman. JLLR volunteers continued to remain involved with Riverfest Inc., after its formal volunteer requirements ended in 1995.

In the late 1980s, Junior League of Little Rock and KATV Channel 7 developed a broad-based consumer information and referral phone line called Seven on Your Side, with JLLR volunteers answering the phone calls. Seven on Your Side was a forerunner of the consumer advocate type organizations that are prevalent today, and it continues to help public callers.

In the early 1990s, JLLR embarked on another innovative idea to assist with prepared and unused food rescue and distribution to individuals. JLLR, the Interfaith Hunger Task Force, and the Arkansas Food Bank worked together to form Potluck in 1991. Potluck is a nonprofit organization that redistributes prepared and unused food free of charge to a large and growing network of nonprofit community food programs. JLLR provided $25,500 to support the organization from 1990-1993 and leased a refrigerated truck (valued at $30,000) that the League owned to Potluck for $10 to help the organization serve more families. In addition to monetary donations, JLLR members served countless volunteer hours with Potluck.

Throughout the years, JLLR has also raised millions of dollars to ensure the success of League projects and continued support of community partners. Our Ways and Means projects are League fundraisers that appropriately fund our mission and community based projects. There have been many Ways and Means projects since our inception including three Barns: Box, Bargain and Boutique, four cookbooks (Little Rock Cooks, Traditions, Apron Strings, Big Taste of Little Rock), and Holiday House, which celebrated its 30th year in 2021!

Junior League of Little Rock’s commitment to its mission is borne out in its tradition of conducting community surveys to identify needs, launching successful projects to address those needs, and allowing those projects to stand alone once established in order for the League to focus on other community needs. Standing on the precipice of our 100th active year in Little Rock, it is important that we look back, celebrate the impact we’ve had on the community, acknowledge the growth our organization has undergone and look forward to continuing our efforts to better assist our community. We look forward to developing more visionary projects to help citizens of Little Rock during our next 100 years!