[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14796-14797]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING THE JUNIOR LEAGUE

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the Junior 
League of Washington, JLW, as this organization honors 100 years of 
community service and dedication to the greater Washington, DC, area. 
The Junior League has approximately 300 organizations across the world, 
including eight leagues in my home State of Louisiana. I know that the 
women in these organizations make a profound impact on their 
communities, and in particular, I recognize the positive impact the 
women of the Junior League of Washington have made in communities 
throughout our Nation's Capital since 1912.
  The Junior League of Washington, JLW, is an organization of women 
committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, 
and improving communities through the effective action and leadership 
of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and 
charitable. Throughout their history, the JLW has provided millions of 
volunteer hours and more than $5.4 million to the community.
  It was one woman, Miss Elizabeth Noyes, and her sewing circle, that 
started the JLW in 1912. The League quickly grew to over 100 women 
working for the welfare of children and serving the helpless and sick. 
One hundred years later, the league is still going strong with over 
2,300 members still striving to improve the lives of children and the 
poor.
  The league continues this mission and in the late 1990s chose to 
focus its energies on literacy-related programs. The ability to read, 
write, and communicate affects far more than a person's knowledge of 
literacy masterpieces. It changes their access to jobs, health

[[Page 14797]]

care, and transportation, and the way they raise their children. The 
JLW has adopted a broad approach to solving the literacy challenges 
their community faces by addressing the issue from many angles: adult, 
child, and cultural. The league is proud to partner with over 23 
organizations throughout the area to achieve this laudable goal.
  In addition, the league honors and celebrates diversity while 
focusing on shared values, and it strives to create an environment in 
which any woman committed to improving her community, regardless of 
race, religion, or national origin, will feel welcome and be encouraged 
to be part of the organization. The JLW is a vibrant presence in the 
lives of the women and children in the greater metropolitan area of the 
District of Columbia, serving as a resource throughout the community to 
effect positive change, seek common ground, and inspire hope.
  In honor of their centennial year, the women of the JLW have created 
the Resolution Read Program, committing themselves to purchasing and 
distributing 100,000 new books to needy children in the greater 
Washington, DC, community. This is no small undertaking for a small 
group of women, but by meeting this goal, many children throughout the 
area will get a book to call their own. As such, JLW will continue to 
make a lasting impact in their community by fostering a passion for 
books and reading where it otherwise might not exist.
  I would like to sincerely thank the volunteers of the Junior League 
of Washington for their commitment to volunteerism, their community, 
and the District of Columbia. Their efforts are extraordinary and 
greatly appreciated. I congratulate the league on their 100 years of 
success and look forward to hearing about all the wonderful things the 
league will accomplish by their Bicentennial.

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