President's Message

 

Welcome to the Junior League of Toronto

This year, The Junior League of Toronto (JLT) will be celebrating 85 years of community work in Toronto.

The JLT has much to be proud of given our strong history of making significant contributions in the city of Toronto and surrounding areas.

Just a few of the projects we’ve been involved with include:

  • developing a number of projects with Sick Children’s Hospital including a Well Baby program and an eyeglass distribution,
  • establishing a children’s radio program Sounds Fun” which was taken over by CBC after 10 years, 
  • assisting with establishing the Elizabeth Fry Society,
  • founding New Directions,
  • contributing to the opening of the Rose Cherry Home for Kids (now called Darling Home for Kids),
  • making a substantial financial contribution and providing mentoring with Pathways to Education

Our focus on teens continues to have positive impact within the community through the JLT Tea for Teens, the JLT Kickstart for Health with both St. Alban’s Boys’ and Girls’ Club, and Pathways for Children, Youth and Families of York Region. 

 The JLT is a member of the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI), a network of 293 Leagues representing Canada, the United States, Mexico and Great Britain. There are over 160,000 members in the association – all committed to the Junior League mission – that we are an organization of women, committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action of trained volunteers.

 The JLT offers its members an exceptional opportunity. While we are very fortunate to enjoy many wonderful experiences through the community work we do and the relationships we form, we are developing ourselves to be civic leaders. It is a result of this that the JL has the most profound impact in the community.  When you empower women, communities do change for the better.

 The training component is significant to the Junior League mission. We train and develop our members through both formal and experiential training in a number of areas which include board governance, strategic planning, event management, community research and project development.

 What is truly special about our organization is the opportunity to work together with like-minded women, that we learn from, get inspiration from, and build long-lasting friendships with. In my years with the Junior League, I continue to be motivated and enlightened by the qualities of our members.

 The JLT is of course very interested in growing our membership – so please do contact us if our mission is something that inspires you like it inspires us!

Sincerely,

Jonna Smith
JLT President, 2010-11