The Junior League of Miami At-A-Glance

In the beginning...and to this day. Women Building Better Communities. That's the Junior League of Miami.

The Junior League of Miami has served the South Florida community for more than eight decades. With a membership of nearly 1,000 volunteers, we reflect the many interests of women of varied professions and backgrounds, showcasing the diversity and strength of Miami as a community.

The mission of the Junior League of Miami is to promote voluntarism, develop the potential of women, and improve communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.

Our roots in the community run deep, as seen through the establishments fostered and founded by the League such as: the Children's Home Society, begun in the early 1930s, and the Miami Museum of Science, in 1949, and continues today through two Inn Transition Homes, helping women and their families combat domestic violence and homelessness.

As an international organization of over 170,000 volunteers, the Junior League is known for its accomplishments not just here in Miami but around the world as a force that invokes positive change. Whether by improving health care for women and children, reaching out to victims of domestic violence, or by promoting and preserving cultural institutions, The Junior League trains volunteers who get the job done.

Community Projects

The volunteers of the Junior League of Miami work thousands of hours in our community each year, giving hands and heart to your dollars.

• All-Aboard Family Literacy League volunteers coordinate and facilitate family literacy nights, with dinner, storytelling and thematic activities that encourage children and caregivers to practice both verbal skills and print literacy.
• Done In A Day This committee provides trained volunteers in response to requests from the community agencies for short-term service by volunteers for special events.
• Hurwit Teen Moms Trained League volunteers will engage in hands-on mentoring of teen mothers with parenting skills training, tutoring, playgroups and job readiness and training.
• Inn Transition North League volunteers mentor a family and participate in regular outings with the women and children in residence who are escaping domestic violence and building new lives.
• Inn Transition South League members plan monthly life skills/parenting events for the women and organize activities for the children in our South Dade transitional housing complex for families who have fled domestic violence.
• Kathryn Menke Miller Community Service Awards The Junior League of Miami awards college scholarships every spring to high school senior girls for outstanding academic performance and community service.
• Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired “Little Lighthouse” provides League volunteers to facilitate playgroups and activities to further develop the skills of the children and parents in the Blind Babies program. League volunteers also provide social support through weekly sessions with blind and severely visually impaired children.
• Step Up to the Plate This project, an expansion of AJLI’s national Kids in the Kitchen program, works with Girl Scouts and their families to provide education, advocacy, and hands-on training on food and health.
• The Sundari Foundation’s Project Lift for the Lotus House League members coordinate donations of furniture, delivery and set-up of the apartments of women transitioning from the Lotus House into their new homes.
• Therapy Dogs After testing and training, members and their dogs will participate in therapy sessions with children and elderly in local hospitals, nursing homes and schools.

Community Grants

• America SCORES Miami This after-school program seeks to improve the development of youth through sports and literacy by providing after-school programs for at-risk children using soccer, creative writing and service-learning activities to teach self-expression, teamwork and leadership skills.
• Sundari Foundation Project Back to Work funds free to low-cost day care for infants and toddlers of newly employed mothers residing at the Lotus House, a transitional home for women.
• Thomas Armour Youth Ballet The League’s grant will support the purchase of dance clothing and shoes, including shoes for the new tap dance program for this group that provides dance training, free of charge, to over 400 dance students in four locations throughout MiamiDade County.
• Miami Beach Police Athletic League The Helping Hands Program provides hands-on activities, interaction at learning centers, structured recreational activities, and nutritional programs for the community with an emphasis on preventing homelessness and child hunger.
• Kristi House The League’s support of the Client Fund will provide assistance for child victims of sexual abuse and their families for urgent, direct needs not covered by existing agencies or funding.
• Voices for Children The Transitioning Youth Project Emergency Fund will provide financial assistance for education, food clothing and other necessary living expenses for children aging out of the foster care system.

Fundraisers & Partnerships

The leadership and participation of members and community partners over the Junior League of Miami’s eight-decade history have bestowed a legacy of creative, entertaining and enterprising Fund raisers to support our many community projects, and ensure the ability of the Junior League to attain its vision of empowering Miami’s women, children and families.

• Junior League Golf Tournament This year’s 5th Annual Junior League Golf Tournament will be held at Crandon Park Golf Course on Key Biscayne Thursday, October 2, 2008, 12:30 p.m. shotgun start. The day includes 18 holes of golf and an awards reception.
• JLM Card for a Cause JLM is partnering with stores and restaurants throughout Miami to offer the Card for a Cause,which provides a discount at participating retailers for a nine-day period from Oct. 25–Nov. 2, 2008
• Women Who Make a Difference Luncheon Our Spring fundraiser, in its eighth year, recognizes outstanding women in South Florida who “Make a Difference” in our community through their volunteer endeavors.
• InStyle The Junior League of Miami has partnered with InStyle magazine each spring during the past four years to host Inside InStyle on Miami Beach. The Junior League of Miami receives the proceeds from ticket sales.
• Community Partners is a program in which individuals, corporations, and foundations forge long-lasting partnerships with the Junior League of Miami. The program allows our partners to give support to our projects, events or other fundraisers through sponsorship or multi-year pledges.
• The Junior League of Miami Foundation, Inc. was established in 2004 to help secure the funding of the JLM as it grows into its eighth decade of service. The goal of the Foundation is to increase our endowment to provide a solid financial base to support community projects. The 1926 Society is working to achieve this goal.
• The Ronni W. Bermont Endowment Fund was created to directly support the Junior League of Miami’s community projects. Named in honor of our Past President whom we lost to cancer, the principal of the fund generates interest income to fund our community projects.

Junior League of Miami, Inc. • 713 Biltmore Way • Coral Gables, Florida 33134