Monday, September 26, 2011

Junior League New Member/Transfer Landmark Tour with Chevy

The Junior League of Jacksonville kicked off the year with our first ever New Member/Transfer Landmark Tour with Chevy on Saturday, August 27. It was a successful day - collecting enough school supplies to fill eight car trunks! The women presented the supplies to the faculty at Annie R. Morgan Elementary school.


The 65+ women had the opportunity to drive or ride in eight brand new Chevrolets; including the Chevy Volt (Motor Trend Car of the Year which isn’t even available in Jacksonville yet), Equinox, Traverse, Tahoe Hybrid and Cruze. Along the tour they visited Junior League volunteer spots such as Sanctuary on 8th Street and Community Connections.



Monday, September 19, 2011

Board Profile: Becky Patel

Board Member Profile: Becky Patel

Age: 36

Resides In: Mandarin

Family Details: Husband – Rakesh, Kids – Jaden, 5 and Malana, 3

Pets: Australian Shepherd Mix named Daisy

Hometown: Miami

Current Board Position: President

College and Major: Florida State University – Finance; Nova South Eastern University - MBA

Professional Details: Vice President, Sr. Underwriter at Bank of America

Community Involvement:
Junior League of Jacksonville, August 1998 – Present
President, Board Member 2011-2012; President-Elect, Board Member 2010-2011; Community Council Director, Board Member 2008-2009; Provisional Vice-Chair 2007-2008; Provisional Advisor 2006-2007; Volunteer of the Year 2006-2007; CARES Chairman, 2005-2006; CARES Vice-Chairman, 2004-2005; Volunteer of the Year 2004-2005; Provisional Vice-Chair, 2003-2004; Treasurer, Board Member 2002-2003; Treasurer-elect, 2001-2002; Communications Council Administrative Assistant, 2000-2001; Provisional Member, 1999-2000

Junior Achievement, Classroom Volunteer, January 1998 – Present

Sigma Kappa Sorority, Beta Tau (University of Florida) Chapter Advisor, August 2000 – May 2006

Sigma Kappa Sorority, National Officer, May 2006 - Present

Sigma Kappa Alumnae Chapter of Jacksonville, Various Board Positions, January 2001 – Present

Bright Horizons Parent Group, Various Volunteer Roles, March 2006 - Present

Girls on the Run of Northeast Florida, Coach, Fall 2009

HandsOn Jacksonville, Blueprint for Leadership Cohort, Spring 2011

Member of JLJ since: 1999



Why did you join JLJ? Volunteering in the community has always been a priority to me. I think it is very important to give back and it is something that I enjoy very much. In addition to the volunteer aspect, I was new to Jacksonville and thought joining the Junior League would be a great way to make new friends.

What is Your Goal for this year? I have been an active member of the JLJ for 10+ years and I have seen us do some truly great things. I have served in a variety of leadership roles with an emphasis in Finance, Community and Training & Development, and I hope to leverage this experience as President. I would like to build upon the foundation that has already been established. I want to continue to focus on making the JLJ fun! I want to get people excited about coming to meetings and volunteering. Retention is also a key goal. We are working to meet member’s changing needs and interests through social activities, and more training and community opportunities. We also want to get more sustainers involved by encouraging them to participate in more events. We also are working to enhance our fundraising activities. This will help us in so many ways – more funds to support our community goals, but also gets our name out there in the community.

What has been your most rewarding moment in JLJ? Seeing the smiles on the kid’s faces at CARES or KITK events. I think we are really making a difference in these kids’ lives by giving them our time.

What has surprised you most about your time with JLJ? Just how much fun it can be. If you find the right committee and dedicate yourself to it, every meeting can be a fun experience.

What has been your favorite placement? Why? I loved CARES. It was great to be a part of that committee. We did so much for Norwood and I really felt like I bonded with some of those kids given the amount of time I spent at the school.

How have you been able to use skills you learned in JLJ in your everyday life? Definitely – I am more confident overall.

Give us a reason why you would encourage other women to join JLJ: It is a great way to work together with like minded women to give back to the community. You will also make some great friendships.

How do you think JLJ most helps the community? We help the community in so many ways. We give of our time to so many organizations and we help so many kids. Whale of a Sale is also such a big community service and I think we sometime forget that aspect of the event.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Dig a Little Deeper: Give and Go!

Give and Go!

Give and Go! is your chance to purchase the lowest priced Jaguars tickets while supporting your favorite charity. For every ticket you purchase to any of the Jaguars 2011 preseason and regular season games through the secure Give and Go! site, you automatically donate $20 to Junior League of Jacksonville, Inc..

Give and Go! is a partnership between the Nonprofit Center, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and WeGive.org.

Let's get started! Choose the game you want to attend


Friday, September 9, 2011

Board Member Profile: Kathy Waller

Age and Birthday: 36, Birthday is Aug 7

Resides In: Jacksonville Beach

Family Details: Married for 9.5 years to Chuck; Mother to almost 6 year old twins, Will and Sophie, and almost 2 year old, Lainey

Pets: none, even plants die in my house

Hometown: Savannah, GA

Current Board Position: Secretary

College and Major: Georgia Tech, Industrial and Systems Engineering Professional

Details: Software consultant and business analyst for 7 years prior to becoming a stay-at-home mom

Community Involvement: Junior League, Neptune Baptist Church Preschool, Children, Student, and Women's Ministries, Jacksonville Galloway Marathon Training, MOMS Club,

Member of JLJ since: 2005

Why did you join JLJ?
I joined JLJ to meet women, to give back to my community, and to feel like I was a part of something fabulous!

What is Your Goal for this year? My goal for this year is to help make JLJ that "thing" that people are excited to be a part of!

What has been your most rewarding moment in JLJ? I love reading real life stories about how our programs have impacted people; the ones from the kids "get me" every time!

What has surprised you most about your time with JLJ? I am really surprised that I've become so involved, but the years where I was most involved are the ones I look back on as the most rewarding.
What has been your favorite placement? Why? My favorite placement was definitely chairing Kids in the Kitchen. It came at a time in my life when I had just come from a pretty fabulous career and all of a sudden found myself at home with two toddlers. At home, my daily work seemed pretty unimportant, and the successes seemed few and far between. It was so exciting researching childhood obesity and bringing the project to Jacksonville...working with a great leadership team, some pretty amazing community partners and a really awesome committee.

How have you been able to use skills you learned in JLJ in your everyday life? It's great ; I use it all the time, even the weirdest things. I definitely use everything that I learned about nutrition and obesity in my home today. It had such an impact on me during a time when my children were learning important eating habits! I also learn so much from the women that meet related to serving the community but SO MUCH MORE! And it all spills over into other parts of my life and other community service I am doing. It just keeps paying forward really.

Give us a reason why you would encourage other women to join JLJ:
I would encourage other women to join JLJ because without a doubt I would not be the woman that I am today without my time in the League.

How do you think JLJ most helps the community? I think before now, I would always talk about the lives we change referring people that we touch when we are serving. Lately though, I'm really reflective on how the League has shaped me and other women in this community, and I now often see what we are building here in Jacksonville that will last so much longer than that! We are creating women that will carry JLJ's mission way farther than a DIAD or a one year project at a school. One of the best things our League does THROUGH all of the service is create these amazing pillars in our community!