[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 148 (Thursday, September 29, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF SAINT PAUL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 28, 2016

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Junior League of 
Saint Paul (JLSP) as the organization marks 100 years of dedicated 
community service to the people of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Since 1917, 
the Junior League of Saint Paul has been an all-female volunteer 
organization committed to the work of its founder, Elizabeth Ames 
Jackson. For the past century, JLSP has forged coalitions and leveraged 
the talents and passions of volunteers to address our community's 
greatest challenges.
  After working on behalf of the Red Cross and supporting the war 
effort in the 1920's, JLSP found a cause of their own to champion. 
Realizing that there was a need in the community for women to have a 
place to recover peacefully from surgery, they created a Convalescent 
Home for Women and Girls. This allowed women to have a place out of the 
hospital where they might regain their strength before returning to the 
stresses of work and family.
  In 1933, the JLSP was approached by the Children's Hospital to create 
a needy-bed fund for children whose families could not afford medical 
care. The JLSP eagerly stepped in and started a city wide push for 
funds to support the hospital. Their success culminated in the creation 
of the Children's Hospital Association, which in later years has gone 
on to fund hospital initiatives and start-up programs. The Children's 
Hospital Association is still providing for the healthcare needs of 
children in the Saint Paul area to this day in part because of the work 
of the JLSP.
  Understanding that there were other challenges to address in the 
community, the JLSP shifted their focus to the development of 
recreational spaces for Saint Paul's youth. They partnered with the 
Neighborhood House and the Community Chest, which later became the 
United Way, to start Saint Paul Community Services. With the help of 
$12,000 of seed money from the JLSP, Saint Paul Community Services, now 
known as Keystone Community Services, is still in operation today.
  In the 1980's as Saint Paul welcomed an influx of Hmong refugees, the 
women of the Saint Paul Junior League saw a way that they may help 
their new neighbors. The JLSP saw the beauty and opportunity 
represented in the story cloths made by Hmong women. By helping to 
market these beautiful cloths for sale in the community, JLSP assisted 
in empowering their new neighbors to earn money and improve their 
English.
  In the 1990's the JLSP pivoted to the issue of domestic violence and 
started the Minnesota chapter of Silent Witness; an organization that 
helped to bring awareness and honor the memory of women killed as a 
result of abuse. In the new century, members of JLSP worked with 
Women's Advocates in Saint Paul, the nation's first battered women's 
shelter. They helped to make the shelter more physically comfortable, 
inviting, and safe for women who were seeking refuge.
  Over the course of a century, the JLSP has taken on daunting 
challenges in Saint Paul to create solutions to lift up those 
disadvantaged and struggling members of our community. Mr. Speaker, 
please join me in rising to honor the Junior League of Saint Paul on 
its 100th anniversary--and for the next century of service to the 
community.

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