Junior League of San Antonio Community Council 2015-16 Year in Review

Written by Rebekah Elliot, Community Writer, Graphics by Sara Buske, Graphic Designer

This year, the Junior League of San Antonio, Inc. was also able to give over $22,000 to these local non-profits! (Learn more about the grants process on jlsa.org)

American Cancer Society $1,000

The Arc of San Antonio $2,578

Boysville, Inc. $1,300

Roy Maas Youth Alternatives $2,518

University Health System Foundation $2,500

Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of San Antonio, Inc. - Help a Senior $1,500

Kinetic Kids, Inc. $2,500

Good Samaritan Community Service $2,500

YOSA (Youth Orchestras of San Antonio) $2,500

Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of San Antonio, Inc. - Guadalupe Home $2,500

Volunteer Services Council of the San Antonio State Hospital $800

$8,000 was also awarded to local high school arts and music education programs at the 2016 Margaret Tobin FAME Awards!

2015-2016 has been such a wonderfully successful year of giving, volunteering and caring. Cheers to all of the amazing women in Community for accomplishing all of the below and more!

You Say You Need a Resolution

By Sarah Bragg, Junior League of San Antonio Admissions Chair

Okay, so about this time a few years ago,  Christmas was over and I’d eaten my entire body weight in sugar cookies. What to do before the sugar wore off? Make an ambitious list of New Year’s resolutions of course!  

1. I wanted to get fit
2. In order to get fit I needed to eat healthier (remember all those cookies I just confessed to eating?)
3. Learning something new is always good
4. So is getting organized
5. I thought about how I could give back to the community
6. In order to know my community better I needed to explore San Antonio more

Wow, that’s 6 resolutions that I’d come up with; it sounded a little bit daunting. I questioned how I was going to do all these things over the next year. There’s a myriad of organizations to volunteer for in San Antonio and so many new and up and coming areas to explore. 

I asked a couple of my friends if they had any suggestions. 

One very smart friend suggested that I check out the Junior League of San Antonio. After reading about the organization online at jlsa.org I decided to fill out an application- I had nothing to lose! 

I read all about JLSA’s Resolve for a Better SA 5K and the Let’s Go San Antonio Program; it looked like I could get two of my resolutions checked off my list right away especially because the 5k is at the end of January… I found my running shoes fast! There's still time to register for the race in 2015! 

2014 JLSA Resolve for a Better SA 5K

Let’s Go San Antonio seemed like a really great way to give back to the city and to pick up some healthy eating habits too. I’m slowly I can’t eat mac n’ cheese forever. (The key is moderation.) And I loved the fact that Let’s Go San Antonio is a city wide initiative to help children develop healthier eating habits. 

I also was ready to get organized and when I learned more about the Junior League's partnership with Goodwill for donating I thought it was awesome that the donations basically counted double: support Goodwill's mission of changing lives through the power of work and earn gift cards for JLSA to give to our community partners! 

One resolution kept sticking out in my mind-volunteering. I wanted to be a part of an organization that had rich history in my city, part of an organization that could help me development myself as a better leader, an organization that would guide me. The Junior League of San Antonio seemed like a great fit! I knew a couple women in the organization already and both spoke very highly about how the Junior League helped them to grow as women and as leaders, and honestly I had been looking for an organization just like this since I graduated college. I truly felt like JLSA could really help me accomplish my New Year’s Resolutions.

The single biggest way I could accomplish all of my resolutions was to join JLSA. So I did and you can too! If you’re interested in joining the Junior League of San Antonio you can fill out an application online at jlsa.org. There will also be an information session on Tuesday, January 13th at 5:30 pm at the Bright Shawl prior to the January General Membership Meeting.

2014-2015 JLSA Summer Reading Camp

July 13, 2014, by Amanda Shippey

Service to the community does not stop over the summer for the Junior League of San Antonio. In fact, this is the season where one of our life changing projects, Reading Camp, is put on. Reading Camp is an event hosted by the Junior League of San Antonio. This two-week event is dedicated to improving the academic skills of students in San Antonio. "Giggles fill the air as wide-eyed children stare at the reader with a sense of wonder. Students find a new found joy in reading and writing.  They blossom with curiosity!” Elizabeth Kreager, Reading Camp Volunteer explains the atmosphere for this remarkable event.

Holding this camp is crucial to developing the skills of students over the summer. “Studies show that children experience a decline in their reading level over the summer months.  The Junior League tries to help bridge that gap by providing books to these children." Reading Camp chair, Samantha Beyer tells us. Leading us to believe that implementation of this camp is crucial to improving the lives of San Antonio area children.

Students that attended camp this year were immersed in a curriculum full of reading, science, arts and crafts. The two week course focused on a central theme, habitats. When the camp concluded, students were able to take home a bag full of goodies, a t-shirt, and 9 books to help them continue building their literacy skills.

Board of Directors Food Bank Project

July 2, 2014, by Hannah Steward

On Saturday, June 28th, members of JLSA worked with the Food Bank Mobile Pantry, and The Fountain Christian Church, to sort and distribute food baskets to over 200 needy families.  The JLSA Board of Directors, "Let's Go San Antonio" Leadership Team, and JLSA Staff sent home baskets filled with fresh meat and vegetables, in addition to non-perishable goods, with the grateful families.  JLSA Members enjoyed the opportunity to give back to the community and work alongside the church congregation.  It was a terrific start to the 2014-2015 League year and put our Mission to action.

Cellar Classic Event At Max's Wine Dive

Have you heard? We are only two weeks away from Cellar Classic at Max's Wine Dive (October 8)!

This tasting event is truly a culinary adventure in your own backyard! Save money you might have spent on airfare to Italy or California and instead grab your girlfriends, buy a set of tickets, and join us in sampling more than 75 wines from all over the world. You deserve a day to kick back and enjoy live music, wine tastings, and culinary delights prepared by Executive Chef James Moore. Chef James' culinary delights will truly span the globe with little tastes of Spain, Italy, France, and North and South America.

Chef James is an enthusiastic partner with the Junior League of San Antonio for Cellar Classic, speaking highly of the league and our community involvement. He is excited to join forces with JLSA to create networking opportunities and awareness, as well as generate proceeds that go toward a great cause.

Chef James credits his mentor, Martin Rios, as well as living in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego as influences on his cuisine creations. Chef James even recommended a great Shiraz for entertaining: a 2005 Penfolds RWT Shiraz that has a "velvety smooth, tremendous fruit, and flawless finish."  For you aspiring oenophiles, you'll receive even more wine tips at the Cellar Classic event, including white and red wine pairings with different foods.

Get your tickets today! Come on out and enjoy the fall weather, wine, food and friends. General admission tickets are available and you can also purchase VIP tickets that include some added perks. Our Ole Committee will also be at the event selling Holiday Ole Market tickets.

Hope to see you there with a smile on your face - Chef James says that's the best compliment a chef can ever receive!

Welcome BACK !

Jessica McAnelly, a member of the communications council team and our newest blogger extraordinaire, has seen autumn off to a busy start this year. In this latest post, she reminds us not to just get caught up in the hustle and bustle of this season, but also to welcome challenges, growth and opportunities.

Welcome back to another wonderful year in the League.
Welcome back to school.
Welcome back to a routine.
Welcome back to being more involved.
Welcome back to personal growth and development.

As I ran around town in a whirlwind of buying backpacks and school supplies, I saw other moms in the same panic of finishing up their own "to do lists." I, as well as the other moms around me, were all getting ready to get our kids, and ourselves, into a back-to-school frame of mind! It made me think back to how exciting the first day of school really is, kind of like going to our first JLSA General Meeting! You get to see friends you haven't seen all summer; you hear about all the new things that are planned for the year; and you learn new skills!  It's truly a time to get back to growing yourself, to embracing new opportunities to enrich your life!

No matter what stage of life we are in, it's never too late for us to build and grow on the foundations the Junior League of San Antonio has instilled in us. Our league continues to develop our potential and improve our leadership skills through education and our charitable work. So ladies welcome yourselves back to growing within our league and within your life!

This fall, consider taking advantage of opportunities for personal development, whether they're within the League or in our wonderful South Central Texas community.
*Take an online course in a subject that interests you
*Start or finish that Master's degree
*Learn a new Language. Oui ? Si?
*Take on a leadership role within the league
*Take a Toastmasters class and finally get over that fear of public speaking
*Sign up for training sessions the league offers and sometimes get a Member Credit. Double Bonus!

Whatever you have on your mind to do, remember it's never too late to get back to growing yourself!

And mark your calendars to attend our first General Meeting, Sept. 13 at the Bright Shawl. We want YOU to get in that back to school mode by showing us your college pride (prizes will be awarded)!

I don't know about you, but I already feel those first day of school butterflies and can't wait to see old and new friends and hear about the things we will accomplish in the League this year! Hope to see you there!

Member Perspective: SA Eye Bank

New member Emily Gary recently volunteered at the San Antonio Eye Bank's  Memorial Donor Quilt Ceremony. She graciously provided a recounting of her experience:

Today I volunteered for the San Antonio Eye Bank at their annual Memorial Donor Quilt Ceremony. This day was for families to honor and remember those loved ones who have passed and subsequently donated their eye tissue to SAEB. They were able to pin a personally-decorated memorial patch on a donor quilt in their family member's honor. The ceremony included testimony from both donor families and recipients.

It was so moving to speak with families who were there to honor their loved ones. One mom in particular touched me, teardrops falling onto the registration table as she filled out her remembrance card, still hurting from the loss of her 7-year-old donor. A father spoke to the group as a recipient who had lost vision in one eye. He now lives his life each day, with vision in both eyes, in such a way as to respect and honor the donor who made his restored vision possible.

I didn’t go into the day expecting to take anything from this experience other than five more required hours, but this amazing circle of life that we witnessed was touching and it gave me an entirely new view on organ/tissue donation. The day ended with a grand release of a hundred or so yellow balloons.

About the San Antonio Eye Bank:

The community-based San Antonio Eye Bank has become a pioneer and leader in providing eye banking services to patients, surgeons and hospitals in San Antonio and throughout South Texas for more than 40 years.

The eye bank reaches out to the community with innovative programs designed to increase awareness about the importance and need for donated eye tissue for transplant. The non-profit, non-governmental San Antonio Eye Bank is a member of the TBI/Tissue Banks International non-profit network of vision and certified by Eye Bank Association of America.

The San Antonio Eye Bank Donor Family Quilt is an opportunity to honor and remember donors and allow transplant recipients to express their gratitude for the gift of sight. Organizations across the country use quilts as a visual display of how lives are touched by donation and transplantation.
The San Antonio Eye Bank is proud to sponsor the quilt in partnership with quilting maker, J Larry Beauchamp of the Greater San Antonio Quilt Guild.