The JLFM is a non-profit organization founded
in 1954 in direct response to the Salk Polio Vaccine Trials.
In January 1954, 20 young women met to discuss how they
could aid in the distribution of the Salk vaccine. Their
decision was to organize a group of volunteer women who
could be called upon in any state of emergency. The group
set a goal of becoming a member of the Association of Junior
Leagues of America. After 12 years and thousands of volunteer
hours, the Fargo Moorhead Junior Service League became
a nationally recognized League in 1966.
The 193,000 members across
the world of Junior Leagues reflect a wide
range of backgrounds, interests and professional pursuits.
Working together, we identify unmet needs, forge effective
coalitions and work for change. It takes courage and commitment – time
and again, the Junior League is among the first organizations
to step up to a community’s biggest challenges. As
one community leader put it, “Every time I work with
the Junior League, I feel like the Marines have landed.”
“I credit the Junior League
for giving me the opportunity and training to become
a leader.”
—United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
(past-president of Junior League of Phoenix)
- Mary Harriman Rumsey, New
York City – founder of
Junior League, 1901; chair of the Consumer Advisory Board
of the NRA in the Roosevelt Administration, 933
- Eleanor Roosevelt, New York
City – First Lady,
author, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
- Oveta Culp Hobby, Houston – Commander of the first
Women’s Army Corps; U.S. Secretary of Health, Education
and Welfare
- Sandra Day O’Connor, Phoenix – First woman
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
- Barbara Bush, Midland, Houston – First Lady, literacy
activist
- Betty Ford, Grand Rapids – First Lady, substance
abuse prevention activist
- Nancy Reagan, Los Angelas – First Lady, substance
abuse prevention activist
- Eudora Welty, Jackson MS – Pulitzer-prize winning
author
- Shirley Temple Black, Palo
Alto – child actress,
former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
- Katherine Hepburn, Hartford – actress, women issues
activist
- Sarah Palfrey Cook Danzig,
New York City – tennis
champion and activist; two-time Wimbledon champion
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