'The Next Chapter" helps Sustainers stay connected to JL network

 The following article was adapted from an AJLI release distributed on February 1, 2017. 

   The AJLI has started a new initiative for Sustaining members to continue to stay connected to the Junior League and get value from their Sustainer membership. The initiative, called 'The Next Chapter', is designed specifically for The Junior League’s 77,000 Sustaining members who want to remain meaningfully connected to their individual Leagues, to the Association, and to the extraordinary network of women who, like them, believe in the power of women to effect positive change in the world through leadership and community service. The AJLI aspires to provide value to Sustaining members by offering unique experiences and opportunities for lifelong development and enrichment that complement experiences and opportunities they have with their local League.
  The first Next Chapter event was held in Los Angeles, CA during the Association’s Annual Conference in 2015 and was our first AJLI Past Governance Reunion. The event ran parallel to the traditional conference and featured thought leaders of business, the arts, technology, philanthropy, media and entertainment, politics and pop culture, including former First Lady of California, Gayle Wilson; co-founder of One Kings Lane, Susan Feldman; author Mallika Chopra; and Susan Steinhauser, vice chair of the California Arts Council, among others. The program also included an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Getty with Richard Meier partner Jim Crawford and Joanne Kozberg of the J. Paul Getty Trust. Interest from Sustaining members was significant, so the next Next Chapter “event” (in the Twin Cities, May 18-20) has been opened to to the entire Sustaining member population.
   Focus groups have helped the AJLI to better understand what Sustaining members would like in future programming… we’ve heard that they want thought-provoking, inspiring and relevant development opportunities, opportunities to travel together and volunteer internationally.
   Registration for The Next Chapter | Twin Cities conference went live in late January. The agenda includes a hybrid of Annual Conference activities—Opening Session, Keynote, Opening Reception, Mary Harriman Awards Luncheon, Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet—and content designed specifically for Sustaining members. Presentation topics will range from women’s philanthropy to the mind-medicine-heart-soul connection, from the power of dialogue/how to have constructive conversations on divisive issues to the meaning of global citizenship today. Speakers come from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University, Harvard Business School, and the city’s most esteemed cultural institutions. Active Gold and Sustaining members can find out more about the three-day program here.
   Please direct all questions about the Twin Cities program or about The Next Chapter initiative overall to Laurie Dodge, AJLI Director of Marketing & Development (ldodge@ajli.org or 212-951-8347).
 

Sustainers continue annual blanket making tradition

Michelle Adams
Sustainer Chair

  On Thursday, February 23, a group of fifteen Sustainers gathered at Williams Sonoma, in the Stonefield Shopping Center, to socialize and participate in an appetizer making class. A lovely time was had by all. Our thanks to Williams Sonoma!   
   Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the annual Provisional-Active Gold-Sustainer social and Fleece Blanket Making Project, to benefit the Ronald McDonald House, which is scheduled for Tuesday, April 18, at 6:00pm, at the Senior Center. Last year we made 88 fleece blankets, which were delivered to the Ronald McDonald House to be given to hospital patients, who are children of the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House. During this project will also collect miniature (sample size) toiletries, such as shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste, lotions, and soaps, etc. These will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House, along with the blankets.
   It is time to submit nominations for the annual Sustainer of the Year Award. This award is presented each year to “The Sustainer member who best continues to exemplify the League’s mission of community service and empowering women.” Please send you nominations to new Sustainer Committee Chair, Tori Tremaglio, at vtremaglio@gmail.com 
  As always, if you have any ideas for the Sustainer Committee or would like to help, please contact either Tori, at the above e-mail address or me at adamsmw@comcast.net