Holiday Galleria

Junior League of Wichita (JLW) is a nonprofit organization of over 700 women committed to building a better community. Our mission is to promote voluntarism, develop the potential of women, and improve our community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. We work to achieve our mission through community projects and training programs.

Because of events such as Holiday Galleria, since its founding in 1925, Junior League of Wichita, Inc. has contributed more than $5.8 million to the Wichita community in the form of community projects and training programs. In addition, over $44 million in-kind services in the form of volunteer hours have been donated to improve the quality of life in the Wichita area.

In its first five years, Holiday Galleria net proceeds have totaled over $560,000. Proceeds are being reinvested into the community through JLW community projects such asFun & Phonics and Reading at the Ranchand by funding JLW training programs. This year, JLW has undertaken exciting partnerships with the Fundamental Learning Center and Judge Riddel Boys Ranch.Our trained volunteers are working with the Learning Center to spearhead the creation and implementation of a new preschool language and literacy training program. At the Judge Riddel Boys Ranch, we are developing and facilitating a book club and creating a library facility.

Fun & Phonics
Fun & Phonics marks the beginning of Junior League of Wichita's funding relationship with the Fundamental Learning Center (FLC) which was founded in 2000. FLC’s vision is “all children reading, all children succeeding,” and serves as an educational resource center in Wichita. The project will develop a 20-hour preschool language and literacy training program to benefit preschool children in the Wichita area with a focus on those children identified as most likely to have learning difficulties. The training program will be used by FLC as the cornerstone for its early literacy programming.

Reading at the Ranch
The women of Junior League of Wichita will work with Judge Riddel Boys Ranch in the Reading at the Ranch project. A Book Club and Facility Library will stimulate residents’ interest in reading, improve their reading and reading comprehension skills, promote positive interaction with community volunteers, provide them with a variety of enjoyment-reading materials, provide a variety of library resource materials, and create a central location where books and reading materials can be stored and maintained.

JLW Through the Years—A Timeline of Selected Projects

This timeline is not comprehensive but does highlight many Junior League of Wichita, Inc. projects.

1925 Junior League of Wichita, Inc. (“JLW”) was founded with 10 charter members as the 51st Junior League in the United States. Helen Brooks Hall (Mrs. Standish Hall) was the first president.

1925-26 Free Milk and Ice; members provided over 25 cars and drivers weekly to take nurses and social workers on their visits to the poor and ill, deliver free milk and ice to needy babies and drive mothers and children to doctors and clinics.

1926 Junior League Day Nursery; JLW set out to build the “best planned, best equipped day nursery in the Southwest” after the Cleveland Avenue Day nursery was condemned by city inspectors.

1932 JL Salvage Shop opened at 2142 N. Market, renamed in 1940 to The Thrift Shop, in 1980s renamed to the Junior League Shop; the shop has moved many times but has always served the purpose of raising money for JLW and providing clothing at reasonable prices to the community.

Town Talks luncheon lecture series formed to address women’s issues and the state of our community. In 1961 Eleanor Roosevelt spoke at the series.

1937 Marionette presentations were given to over 4,350 Wichita children that year

1940s Members sold war stamps and bonds to the public, sewed and knitted for the Red Cross, and passed out donuts, coffee and smiles at Union Station.

1940 JLW started the Dental Clinic in conjunction with the Board of Education to assist children needing dental care. In 1945, the clinic and all of the equipment was turned over to the Sedgwick County Board of Health.

1946 Puppet and marionette productions by members led to the beginning of Wichita Children’s Theater.

1950s Members made and delivered over 1,325,000 cancer bandages to local hospitals, the Wichita Public Health Nursing association and the Cancer office in the fight against cancer.

1951 Community Arts Council formed; members served on boards of local art associations and provided countless volunteer hours to identify and meet needs of the Wichita Arts community.

1952 Toy Lending Library in the Southwest Community Center opened; fully staffed and funded by JLW volunteers. By 1956, the library serviced over 400 children a week and had grown to three locations in Wichita.

1966 JLW helped promote a bond referendum and furnished volunteers and funds in connection with the proposed new zoo.

1969 JLW along with the Historical Museum Association published an official centennial book, Wichita Century, depicting a pictorial history of Wichita from 1870 to 1970.

JLW began the Juvenile Court Volunteer Program to work one-on-one with children on probation; by 1971, 150 volunteers had been trained and 135 children had been served.

1972 JLW established the Ecology Study Committee, which eventually led to the creation of the Ecology Speakers Bureau.

1972-73 JLW increased the number of volunteers registered with the Volunteer Bureau (renamed to the Volunteer Action Center) from 1,567 in 1970-71 to 2,459 volunteers with an estimated 206,520 hours of volunteer service per year with agencies in need

JLW was instrumental in establishing the Wichita Youth Home, Inc., a residential home for twelve to fifteen year-old boys by purchasing the home for the organization.

1976 JLW’s 50th Anniversary was celebrated by raising $75,471 for the funding of Heritage Square, a “park for the people.” Each year thereafter, JLW sponsored a flower festival to mark the beginning of the Wichita River Festival.

1977 JLW’s Child Advocacy Committee implemented the Pelican Project. Pierre the Pelican, a free monthly newsletter series, was designed to educate new mothers on the growth and development of the child and the parent. By 1980, 4,200 monthly newsletters were sent to new and expectant mothers.

1981-82 Kids on the Block, a creative hand puppet show educating audiences about the disabled child’s problems and feelings, was implemented.

JLW members supported Accent on Kids, Inc. in its efforts to establish a Ronald McDonald House in Wichita; funding was obtained for two homes to be purchased and were established as a home-away-from-home for families of critically ill children.

1982-83 Support for Roots and Wings began to assist with training of court appointed special advocates for children in need of care. Some JLW members even became C.A.S.A. volunteers.

1983-84 Old Cowtown Museum benefited from JLW’s purchase of a microfilm reader, microfilms of 1870’s Wichita newspapers and other equipment to assist with historical research.

JLW’s Witness Wichita Bus Tour, which started in 1972, gave 41 guided tours, 19 school tours, 19 convention and civic tours and three additional tours.

1985 As part of JLW’s 60th anniversary, a new recreational facility at Sleepy Hollow Park including two game field clusters, a jogging path and a children’s play area was presented to Wichita.

1990 JLW started the Komen Wichita Race for the Cure®, the first Komen co-ed race with over 1400 participants, the largest first year road race in Kansas history.

1993 Better Beginnings project: an effort to improve health and wellness of kids in Wichita.
The Limited Edition Sunflower 20th Anniversary cookbook was published.

1994 The Children’s Health Expo at Colvin Elementary School was held. The JLW assisted with education, hearing and dental screenings, vision testing and immunizations, and donated necessary hygiene products.

1995 Women of Great Taste cookbook won the regional Tabasco® Award for the Midwest the year it was published as well as an advertising award for the artist who designed it.

1997 JLW partnered with Communities In Schools for the Giraffe Project. This elective course for 9th graders taught them how to identify real-life heroes, and to become active in community service.

1999 JLW established Kids’ Zoobilee, a collaboration with Sedgwick County Zoo benefiting the Pride of the Plains exhibit and JLW community projects.

2000 JLW’s 75th Anniversary gift to the community was the Pride of the Plains exhibit at the Sedgwick County Zoo; the exhibit was a $1.5 million financial commitment and houses lions, meerkats and warthogs.

2003-06 Share A Story: A Junior League of Wichita and KPTS Reading Initiative designed to break intergenerational illiteracy, volunteers read aloud to 3,600 pre-kindergarten children weekly in 72 Wichita Public School Pre-K classes for a total of 63,000 volunteer hours as well as distributed over 36,000 Clifford books to the children.

2004 Holiday Galleria inaugural year; in its first four years, Holiday Galleria net proceeds have totaled over $350,000 that JLW is investing back into our community in the form of community projects and training programs.

2005 Good Works! Making the Nonprofit Leadership Connection, collaboration with the Nonprofit Chamber of Service, a one-day training event designed to equip leaders for non-profit service and match them with organizational needs in the Wichita area.

2006 JLW won an Association of Junior Leagues International Leadership Development Award for partnering with the Nonprofit Chamber of Service to produce a premier training event called, Good Works! Making the Nonprofit Leadership Connection.

JLW members participated in the rebuilding of a home for a family in the community for the television show "Extreme Home Makeover," volunteering over 1,000 hours.

2006-07 Reading Rocks: Literacy for Lifelong Learning, collaboration with Wichita Public Schools and Wichita Public Libraries. JLW invested over $60,000 into the Wichita community impacting approximately 1,300 elementary students.

Money Talks: Financial Literacy for Teens, collaboration with Youth Entrepreneurs of Kansas. JLW invested over $10,000 into the Wichita community teaching approximately 125 high school students important lessons about managing credit and finances.

2007-08 Reading Rocks: Literacy for Lifelong Learning, collaboration with Wichita Public Schools and Wichita Public Libraries. JLW invested over $65,200 into the Wichita community impacting an estimated 1,750 elementary students.

Centsable Girls: Financial Literacy for Elementary Girls, partnership with Girls Scouts of the Golden Plains. JLW invested $6,000 into the Wichita community teaching 120 elementary school girls financial literacy skills.

* Resources include: JLW Archives, 75th Anniversary Propeller, & 80th Anniversary Propeller

2008-2009 Building Libraries, Changing Minds,collaboration with Holy Savior Catholic Academy, Anthony Family Shelter, Harbor House. JLW invested over $82,300 into the Wichita community providing libraries, computers and literacy programs for underserved populations to foster a lifetime love of learning.

Eyes for Others, partnership with Envision allowing children to help their visually impaired peers by recording audio books. JLW invested $5,700 into the Wichita community impacting over 500 visually impaired children.

Holiday Galleria proceeds will be used to fulfill Junior League of Wichita, Inc.'s mission of building a better community.

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