“This ain’t your momma’s Junior League,” Terrill Martinez, the Vice President for Membership of the Guadalajara Junior League’s new board, says laughingly, quoting a phrase she heard recently at a League training meeting. “This organization has changed so much in the last several years, and especially here in Jalisco. We are working locally to get the word out to women that the Junior League is more open, more exciting and more inclusive than ever before in its history.”
Indeed, the 28-year-old volunteer entity (here in Guadalajara at least) is undergoing a major metamorphosis from what was just a few years ago considered by some a rather staid, oversized brunch- and lunch-going women’s club to a suddenly lean and mean group of no more than 50 women of all ages from all over the world, with a programmatic approach that is nothing short of ambitious.
“A group of my friends and I were already doing some volunteer work in the city, and we learned a bit about the Junior League and its mission, and decided to join,” notes Martinez. “Several women were in the process of ‘retiring’ out of the organization, and it was on the verge of closing down. We just happened to get involved in the League during a real transition period here in Guadalajara. We felt there was a great opportunity for us to help revitalize the organization here, and that it was important not to let it die out – there’s so much potential and so much need here.” The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (AJLI) is a not-for-profit organization of almost 300 affiliated Junior Leagues in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States. Junior Leagues are educational and charitable women’s organizations aimed at improving their communities through Voluntarism and building their members’ civic leadership skills through training. According to its mission, “The Association of Junior Leagues International Inc. (AJLI) is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.”
“Our membership here in Guadalajara is primarily American at the moment,” says Martinez, before going on to describe the local League’s current efforts to mobilize and increase membership, most immediately through the upcoming kickoff meeting for the fall season, a General Membership Meeting scheduled for September 18.
“However, we have many members who are Tapatios, as well as members from Thailand, China, South Africa, India and Canada – from all over the world, really. It’s an impressive group with roots from very diverse areas, and we welcome the lively interchange of culture and ideas.”
While almost half the local League’s board members are native Tapatios, the membership certainly reflects the wide range of expat residents in the area. “We didn’t really intend for the Guadalajara League to be an “expat” organization, says Martinez, “but it is evolving into a very broad group of women who have varied experience here in the city. Some expats, like our new president Sherri Lukac, has been here for more than 20 years, while others have arrived less than a couple of years ago.
But we want members – new members – from everywhere, including and especially those women who have lived here all their lives. They have so much to teach us ‘newcomers’ about Guadalajara.”
The September 18 General Membership meeting is designed to be both a “welcome back” to current members and an informational meeting with an open invitation to interested women to come and find out more about the League and its local mission.
“We’re interested in new members who want to work – who want to really get their hands into being active in the community,” insists Martinez. “Our message to new members is that the new Junior League is about women who work, women who are dynamic and responsible in many facets of business, civic life, and social service.
We want to make sure that women know that we are inclusive – we’re not stuffy! This is a great way to meet other women who are active and interested, to share learning and fun social experiences while giving back to the community.“
The Junior League is historically a training ground for voluntarism. Here in Guadalajara, expat members can take their experiences back with them to their return countries. Membership transfers are common and honored within the League local organizations around the world.
Programmatically, the local league is involved in an impressive variety of social service projects throughout the year, and according to Martinez, there is room for involvement and leadership in every area, including exploring additional needs in the community.
For women interested in attending the September 18 meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the home of League President Sherriy Lukac, email Terrill Martinez at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information and directions. For more information about the Guadalajara Junior League and its programs, including videos, visit the website at http://juniorleagueguadalajara.org.
Guadalajara Junior League Programs
Tienda Casi Como Nuevo
A second-hand store featuring gently used clothing and household items for sale. Proceeds go to program funding and maintaining the Junior League office. Donations are welcome! Both the office and the store are located in the American Society Building, 3332 Avenida San Francisco, in front of the Colegio Guadalajara.
Mi Bebe y Yo
A more than 25-year old project that provides free “welcome” packets and breast feeding information to new teen mothers at the Hospital Civil. Packets include diapers, blankets, and toiletries for baby and onesies – items that the hospital does not provide, and often the only items the young mothers receive during the delivery period. League volunteers deliver packages twice per month. Volunteers reach more than 1,200 teen mothers annually.
Casa Hogar Zapopan Nacidos para Triunfar
League volunteers visit this orphanage weekly throughout the year to help students with homework, monthly to provide “Super Saturday” activities, and assist with purchasing food, school supplies and uniforms for the children. Anywhere from 60 to 100 children are at the orphanage at any one time. The League hosts an annual fundraising dinner to underwrite projects here.
Soup Kitchen
A new project that focuses on teaching kids voluntarism and providing a soup kitchen service to some of the area’s impoverished population. Organized through various churches to serve twice monthly, the soup kitchen is primarily operated by high school students from the American School, who cook and serve the meals themselves, with supervision by league volunteers.
Hecho en un Dia – Done in a Day
A four times per year project that identifies and performs needed community service that can be done in one day. Recent projects include installing a roof for the Asociacion de Invidentes de Jalisco and members spending a day with elderly women in an indigent care home, providing personal contact, hand massages, and much needed personal human interaction.