What We Do
Pioneering positive change
ABOUT THE JUNIOR LEAGUE
Since its founding in 1901 by social activist Mary Harriman, The Junior League has evolved into one of the oldest, largest and most effective women’s volunteer organizations in the world, encompassing 150,000 women in over 200 Leagues in four countries.
Our mandate has not wavered: to develop exceptionally qualified civic leaders who collaborate with community partners to identify a community’s most urgent needs and address them with meaningful and relevant programs and initiatives that not only improve lives, but also change the way people think. This important work has won us dedicated community and corporate partners and loyal supporters for more than 114 years as well as an enduring legacy as the foremost provider of civic leadership training for women.
For more than a century The Junior League has been on the forefront of social reform, identifying problems and finding solutions in a collaborative way. The list of issues they've tackled is long and complicated: pollution, illiteracy, domestic violence, foster children without a safety net, to name just a few.
Our approach is simple. Through hands-on training and formal learning opportunities we give women the skills they need to improve the quality of life in the communities they serve.
Among our many successes are our contributions to the passage of the Clean Water Act, our campaign for free school lunches, the “Don’t Wait to Vaccinate” campaign, and The Junior Leagues’ Kids in the Kitchen initiative, which combats childhood obesity and educates families on health and nutrition, to name just a few.
Childhood obesity is a raging epidemic in every developed country. Junior Leagues’ Kids in the Kitchen is doing something about it in more than 200 communities in four countries
Children’s health and wellness has been a key issue for Junior Leagues since our founding in 1901. Today, a critical element of our ongoing commitment is teaching kids and their parents about the importance of eating healthy foods and involving them in the fight against childhood obesity.
Kids in the Kitchen is grounded in the belief that children and families empowered with the knowledge of how to feed and exercise their bodies will be less likely to become obese and subsequently suffer the many associated health risks.
In today’s food system, though, making healthy choices is not so simple, and healthy foods such as fresh produce are often more expensive and harder to find than the less nutritious alternatives, especially for low-income families. Thus, the issues of poverty, food access, and community development are intrinsically intertwined in the causes of and solutions for childhood obesity. Recognizing this, since its inception in 2006 Kids in the Kitchen has evolved in breadth, scope, and resources beyond nutrition education.
Now, Kids in the Kitchen not only puts kids (and families) “in the kitchen”, but also in the community garden, at the farmer’s market, in the dentist’s chair, on the playground, and so much more. Through this expansion Leagues are now building programs that not only address childhood obesity but also its systemic root causes, while still maintaining the hands-on, interactive, and inclusive nature of its original iteration.
BRINGING IT TO LAS CRUCES
One of Junior League of Las Cruces’ key community events is KidFit.
KidFit is an event for children, and their parents, to come out and learn about the dangers of obesity, the positives of exercise, and how they can begin eating healthy. KidFit has a field of physical activities that kids can participate in, reflecting on the physical part of being healthy. We also host a Kids in the Kitchen activity in which the children get to make healthy snacks and the parents get to take home a recipe book full of fun, creative, healthy ideas for snacks and meals.
JLLC also participates in Done in a Day events by providing significant items other non-profits around our area are in need of:
*Jardin de Los Ninos – Literacy: JLLC donates books, crayons, school supplies and delivers them
*Soup Kitchen – JLLC volunteers to serve and help on a given day
*No Child Wet Behind – JLLC donates diapers
*Tent City – JLLC donates sunscreen, hats, Chap Stick, water, wet wipes, dog food, etc.
*School Supplies – JLLC donates supplies to public schools
*La Casa – JLLC donates toiletries, clothes and volunteers to meet with other women there at the shelter
You can help continue the legacy Junior League has established with its commitment to improving communities and our children with your donations. Donations received help fund these events and initiatives discussed. For more information, please email JuniorLeagueLC@gmail.com