JLSLC SUSTAINERS A Legacy of Impact and Service By Kristin Kraus Junior League of Salt Lake City Sustainers come in 182 different packages: each one entirely unique, but all committed to the mission of the League to advance women's leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration and training. Active members may not know much about the Sustaining members of the JLSLC since they don’t see them regularly at General Membership Meetings. But the Sustainers have a rich history of supporting not just the JLSLC but the entire community. Many Sustainers stay involved in other community organizations such as The Sharing Place, the Girl Scouts, or the United Way. In order to fulfill new commitments to these worthy groups, Sustainers step back from day-to-day involvement in the JLSLC. They bring to these other organizations the skills they learned while volunteering at CARE Fair, Women Helping Women, past projects or while helping develop the JLSLC’s cookbooks from piles of recipes to a gorgeous bound book. Many Sustainers parlay their JLSLC experience into leadership roles on the boards of other nonprofits. Their love for Salt Lake and its residents drives our Sustaining members to work hard to make the valley a better place for everyone. The most recent JLSLC Sustainers changed their status from Active last June. The most senior Sustainers are lifelong members who are over 80 years of age. Clearly, the JLSLC has undergone many changes during their careers. Terrell Dougan, who was an Active member in the 1960s, remembered their Flea Market project which helped fund the Columbus Community Center on the west side of Salt Lake City: “Picture Junior League Provisionals in 1962, getting our picture taken for the Salt Lake Tribune. Some were seated on a loveseat, others standing. We all had white gloves on. Some wore hats. We were mostly homemakers. We had the time to invest in projects for the community, and we launched several projects, among them Columbus Community Center, donating $18,000 of the $28,000 we made on our huge Flea Market, held first in 1967, and again in 1968. In a warehouse on the west side, we collected used clothing, purses, toys, books, baby clothes, shoes, jewelry and even silver (the sustainers had polishing parties!). We even had a hat booth! After two years of collecting, we got the Job Corps to come help move our huge inventory into moving vans donated by Redman 14 Women Elevated
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==