Author: JL Works

Each year, we hold our Annual Meeting to conduct the most important business of our organization. The Board of Directors, based on recommendations from the Project Advisory Committee, proposes the community work in which we will engage and the fundraisers we will conduct to support our mission. If needed, the Board proposes the adoption of, or amendment to, significant programs and/or policies. After Annual Meeting, members vote electronically on the motions presented.

This year’s Annual Meeting will take place on April 15 at the Warwick Hotel in Center City. The Placement Fair and Cocktail Hour begins at 6 p.m. with the Annual Meeting following at 7 p.m. All New Members, Actives, Transfers, and Sustainers are welcome. This event counts as an Annual Meeting credit to those in attendance.

Members are required to review the Voting Packet prior to the event. Please see you email for more details.

Additionally, we will also be collecting food items at Annual Meeting to support the Garden of Health Food Drive. See the JLP calendar for more information on the specific items needed.  

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at Annual Meeting!

Reflecting on our January General Membership Meeting: The Junior League of Philadelphia is making waves in 2023!

The Nominating Committee is excited to announce the Junior League of Philadelphia Board for the 2024-2025 League year:

• President, Kate Hall
• President-Elect, Pam Phojanakong
• Secretary, Adrienne Taylor
• Director of Development, Victoria Lynch Mullane
• Parliamentarian, Jenn Adams
• Nominating Chair, Natalie Caldwell
• Treasurer, Rose Cuozzo
• Chief Operating Officer, Erin Nanovic
• DEIB Chair, Jennifer May
• Assistant to the President, Jacqui Rothera

We are looking forward to seeing what this team can accomplish next year!

“What is our purpose?” At our first Hotline Co-Chairs meeting, we knew we had a strong heritage to uphold with this publication. So, we kept coming back to this core purpose, looking to ground ourselves in our forthcoming roles.

The Hotline, our print newspaper, has a longstanding significance for the Junior League of Philadelphia (JLP). The pre-social medium, it kept the pulse of all our goings-on, from weddings and births and all our League activities. And it was, and continues to be, an important way to bridge the Sustaining Members and Active Members.

We realize if the Hotline serves as such a major channel of communication for the JLP, perhaps there is some opportunity to expand on our workas incoming Hotline Chairs: How can we capture all of our League’s hard work in photos? How can we celebrate events and happenings in a timelier manner? How can we highlight our efforts for potential members and the community? And what about showcasing our non-profit partners?

With this in mind, we decided it was time to expand on the enduring work of the Hotline. Don’t worry, we are still committed to publishing our multi-issue print piece. But, in addition, we also rolled out this coordinating blog on our JLP website to house all our photos and timely updates. We also coined a new name for these two sister publications, The JLP Works, paying homage to both our collective work as an organization and our heritage aiding the renovation of Philadelphia’s historic Fairmont Waterworks building in the 1970s.

To submit photos and content to either the blog or biannual print publication, please contact us at hotline@jlphiladelphia.org or reach out to your committee’s Hotline liaison. Our goal this year is to ensure all our committees and their works are celebrated in print.

More to come,

Victoria Denaro & Serena Zelezny

P.S. Many thanks to Jamila Robinson, last year’s Hotline Chair, for laying the foundation for us. We also offer a nod of gratitude to our Council Chair, Veronica Gillenwater, the Management Council, and the Sustainer Leadership Council for their support as we expand the impact of this publication, to our 2023-2024 Committee for its willingness to forge this path with us, and to the Website and Brand & Marketing Committees for partnering with us to bolster our League communication – we’re looking forward to it!

Our Foods to Families: Kids in the Kitchen Committee has been busy over the past few months. They’ve been planning six-week long curriculum plans over the summer to be used for Methodist Services Kids in the Kitchen program. “We really hit the ground running with our first meeting in August. We do a lot of the leg work earlier and try to reach out to those in the committee often with updates,” said Committee Co-Chair Laura Riechl.

Compared to last year, the committee has focused on preparing as much as possible in advance to ensure an impact-filled Junior League year. “We try to get things planned ahead of time, so we have something to work with, because once they start the program with the kids, there isn’t a lot of time to reorient,” said Co-Chair Monica DiRenzo.

The program educates Philadelphia-area children on the delightful and creative aspects of making healthy food enjoyable. In addition to providing curriculum, every week the committee also supplies cutlery and food to go along with the lesson. Carole Boughter, the executive director of Methodist Services, emphasized the impact the JLP has made on their organization: “The Junior League of Philadelphia has been instrumental in helping Methodist Services shape effective learning mechanisms for students and instructors.”

In September, the committee held a special event at Methodist Services, providing a behind-the-scenes perspective of how Methodist Services programs, such as Kids in the Kitchen, aid in the battle against food insecurity. DiRenzo thought it was a valuable opportunity for members of the League to see the inner workings of Methodist Services.

Over the years the Kids in the Kitchen Committee has modified and evolved their program based on the needs of Methodist Services and has grown to become an integral part of their organization. “It’s really amazing to see what our partners do and the good things they have to say about the Junior League,” Laura Riechl said. She noted Methodist Services recently built a community garden with funds supplied by a grant from the JLP.

Methodist Services and the Kids in the Kitchen alike are excited to what is ahead of them in the new year.