[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 30, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E49]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E49]]
    IN HONOR OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NEW YORK JUNIOR LEAGUE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 30, 2001

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to the New 
York Junior League (NYJL) on the occasion of its 100th Anniversary.
  The NYJL is a remarkable organization, dedicated to training women 
for leadership in serving their communities. The Junior League is 
committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, 
and improving the community through the effective action and leadership 
of trained volunteers.
  The NYJL was founded by Mary Harriman, a 19-year-old New Yorker and 
Barnard College student, to unite young women and provide an organized 
means for them to give back to their communities. Originally called the 
Junior League for the Promotion of Settlement Movements, the 
organization was inspired by the settlement movement started by Jane 
Addams 13 years earlier. The NYJL quickly boasted 80 members. The new 
organization's first beneficiaries were residents of the New York 
College Settlement on the Lower East Side. Recognizing the success of 
NYJL, other areas of the country began to form their own Junior 
Leagues. Today there are 296 Junior Leagues in the United States, 
Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
  Eleanor Roosevelt joined the NYJL at the age 19. Her volunteer 
activities included serving as a dance teacher for young girls living 
in a Lower East Side settlement house. She later acknowledged that the 
experience played an important role in developing her social conscience 
and her commitment to public service.
  Today, Junior League volunteers are engaged in helping a wide range 
of New Yorkers, including children, the elderly, victims of domestic 
abuse and prisoners. The NYJL teamed up with the Legal Aid Society 
Community Law Offices in East Harlem to help domestic violence 
survivors obtain divorces. As its 85th Anniversary project, NYJL 
created Milbank Houses, which provides transitional housing for 
homeless families. Junior League volunteers continue to provide 
education on subjects including living skills, nutrition and job-
hunting. NYJL volunteers paired up with Victim Services to provide 
temporary emergency shelter victims of domestic violence through 
Project Debby. Volunteers recruit hotels to donate unused rooms for one 
to three nights to women and children in need of a safe haven until 
permanent arrangements can be made.
  Ms. Speaker, I am delighted to congratulate the New York Junior 
League on its 100th Anniversary and I wish them many more years of 
successful service to my community.

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