110th Anniversary Celebration

Background:

The year 2020 marks the 110th Anniversary of the Junior League of Portland (JLP), the fourth oldest League in the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) and the first on the West Coast. JLP was founded in 1910 by Gretchen Corbett, an original member of the first Junior League in New York City in 1901. Gretchen convinced her sewing group and other friends to come together and form a group of trained women volunteers to help address issues in their community. Since that time, JLP has provided countless volunteer hours to improving and positively impacting the community, launching much needed programs and initiatives to protect the underserved, as well as preparing generations of local women for a lifetime of civic leadership. 

In honor of the Junior League of Portland’s 110th Anniversary, the “1910 Campaign and Fund” was relaunched in 2016, with the goal of raising $110,000 to honor our 110 years of JLP history in 2020. This large-scale capital-seeking initiative is one of many Capital Campaigns supported by the JLP, which seeks to raise large multi-year donations to support a community partner that would benefit from a substantial financial gift. And now in our 110th year as an organization and having reached our fundraising goal, the Junior League of Portland is proud to donate $110,000 to New Avenues for Youth, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention and intervention of youth homelessness. 

Along with our check presentation event on May 29, where we will present a $110,000 gift to New Avenues for Youth to support their ongoing programming in their Youth Opportunity Center in East County, we will be hosting a series of monthly events that will celebrate our numerous programs and the impacts that we have made on our community. Please join us at any of these events and receive a commemorative 110th anniversary pin.

Sign-ups will be available on the JLP website, www.jlpdx.org. 

110th Anniversary Events:

LITERACY CELEBRATION – February 29
Multnomah County Central Library
10:30am – 12pm

ADVOCACY TRIP – April
Trip to Salem

VOLUNTEER – April 18
110 Volunteers Needed
Oregon Food Bank

LEADERSHIP – May 8
Rose City Women’s Leadership Summit
Downtown Hilton

FUNDRAISING – May 29
1910 Check Presentation
New Avenues for Youth

FRIENDSHIP – July 19
Allison Kehoe hosts a Tea

HISTORICAL WALK – August
Historical Walk Downtown Portland

COMMUNITY PROJECTS – August 23
Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk

EDUCATION – October
Communities for Safe Kids
Location TBD

CELEBRATE – October
Gretchen Corbett’s Birthday
Cerulean Winery

Mrs. Gretchen Corbett (Right)