Our History

The Junior League of Westchester on the Sound has a robust history contributing to the Sound Shore community for over 75 years.

  • 2010-2019

    Highlights

    • Project Madres Transitions over to the Community: In keeping with JLWOS’ aim to spark initiatives where we find gaps and find opportunities for community partners to carry them forward, after five years of JLWOS coordination, Project Madres was turned over to the Mamaroneck Community Action Program, where members continued to meet.

    • Hands-on Volunteer Projects to Supply and Renovate Numerous Community Partners Facilities: JLWOS members conducted numerous hands-on volunteer projects through the decade in service to a range of community partners. Several examples:
      • Collected kitchen essentials, including cookware, utensils, dishware, and cutlery, basic tools, cleaning supplies, high chairs, safety equipment, snacks, and gift cards for residents at Providence House’s New Rochelle location.
      • Renovated the Teen Lounge at the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle, including painting murals, designing and furnishing areas for doing homework, for relaxing, and for snacking.

     

     

    JLWOS was honored by Songcatchers  for their work transforming the main music room at their facility, painting a mural, adding framed art, reorganizing storage, and replacing instruments and music stands. Continued to run successful programs focused on supporting girls with Long-standing Community Partners:

    • JLWOS’ SMART Girls program, received the Boys & Girls Club’s 2013 “Be Great” award, in recognition of the impact of the program’s educational workshops for girls ages 8-10.

     

     

     

    • Advocating on Behalf of Victims of Human Trafficking: JLWOS members traveled to Albany with a Junior League delegation to lobby for the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection and Justice Act to close loopholes in prior laws and toughen penalties against those who prey on human trafficking victims.

    The Golden Shoestring continued to thrive and serve as the JLWOS’ fundraiser, thanks to the efforts of dedicated staff and volunteers.

    Supporting the launch of the Westchester Children’s Museum: After the JLWOS launched a public interest survey in the late 1990s to gauge community interest in a Sound Shore-based children’s museum, JLWOS members continued to support the ongoing campaign to site and launch the museum through the early 2000s, and the museum opened its doors to the public at Playland Park in Rye in 2016.

  • 2000'sa special year

    Our 50th Anniversary

    Celebrating the League’s 50th Anniversary: JLWOS kicked off the 2000-01 with a special event at the Golden Shoestring on October 2nd. Representatives of nine JLWOS community partners that received special $50K anniversary grants were in attendance to accept their awards, and elected officials from the JLWOS’ seven communities, along with our state senator and county legislator, were all there to proclaim October 4, 2000 as “Junior League of Westchester on the Sound Day.”

    Grant winners included: the Boys and Girls Club Remington Unit, The Guidance Center, New Rochelle Public Library Foundation, Even Start Family Literacy program of Port Chester, CAP Center Mamaroneck, Family Services of Westchester – Camp Viva program, and Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, and Port Chester public schools for extracurricular children enrichment programs. The JLWOS also presented special recognition awards to organizations that the League played an important role in founding, including the L.I.F.E. Center in Larchmont and the Youth Employment Service at Mamaroneck High School.

     

     

    • Coming together with the Community after 9/11: The JLWOS joined other local community organizations in sponsoring a walk to benefit Larchmont and Mamaroneck families impacted by the September 11 terrorist attacks.
    • Launching Project Madres: In partnership with Holy Rosary Church, Catholic Charities, the Latina Connection, and Healthy Beginnings, JLWOS launched a program to support women who had recently immigrated, producing workshops to explain how to navigate the tax payment system, how to access medical care, how to seek legal support, etc. and collecting donations for their homes. One memorable event was the “Day of Beauty” at the Holy Rosary Church in Port Chester: local hair stylists and a Mary Kay consultant donated time and supplies, offering free haircuts and makeovers, providing a rare opportunity for the women to treat themselves.

    • Continuing support for childhood literacy: JLWOS’ STAR Readers program continued to expand to new groups of children and their parents, in partnership with the Mamaroneck Community Action Program Center, the Martin Luther King Child Development Center in New Rochelle, and Port Chester Head Start. In addition, JLWOS organized book drives for multiple partners, including Carver Center, Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle, Open Door Family Medical Center, Parent Child Drop Off Center in New Rochelle, and others.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    • Working with Abbott House: JLWOS members organized activities with Abbott House children: pizza night followed by board games, trips to Paint Your Art Out, breakfast at a diner, a holiday party at Chevy’s, basketball games at Iona College, a trip to the Rye Nature Center, a performance at the Emelin Theatre, as well as a coat drive.

    • Seeding Furniture Sharehouse: JLWOS member and 2001-2001 League President, Kate Bialo, identified a gap in support for economically disadvantaged people in the Sound Shore area and responded by founding Westchester County’s only furniture bank, with grant support from JLWOS. Furniture Sharehouse collects gently used furniture and distributes it for free to neighbors in need, furnishing hundreds of homes each year.

  • 1990's Highlights

    • The League emphasized projects targeting children’s literacy, including bringing its own literacy program to Head Start sites operated by Mamaroneck Community Action Program and Carver Center and distributing thousands of books to community organizations serving children. It also coordinated with our libraries, holding readathons at the New Rochelle Children’s library and pajama storytimes at the Port Chester library.
    • JLWOS volunteers physically improved children’s spaces, including refurbishing the children’s community room in the Purdy Street Public Housing Complex and in St. Peter’s Church in Port Chester. League volunteers converted unused racquetball courts at the Carver Center into homework/ recreation lounges for the Center’s after school and teen programs, beautified the children’s day care rooms at the Adult Learning Center in New Rochelle, renovated classrooms at the Port Chester Head Start, and renovated the resource room at the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle’s Remington Unit and at Desda’s Grate, a transitional home in New Rochelle for women and children experiencing homelessness. League members also approved a special grant to establish a day care facility within the New Rochelle Family Court.

    JLWOS facilitated mock legislative programs aimed at area 8th graders, moderated by George Latimer, then the Chair of the Westchester Board of Legislators, hosting children from Port Chester Middle School and Albert Leonard Middle School in New Rochelle.

     

     

     

    • The Golden Shoestring continued to thrive as JLWOS’ main fundraiser, in the location where it is today at 149 Larchmont Ave.