President's Message
Let’s Make It Meaningful Together!
There is an African proverb that says, "You are only given the gift of today. Use this gift." In our busy lives, the way we use the gift of each day must be carefully considered. It is incredibly important to fill each day with the most meaningful of commitments. When I consider the Junior League of San Diego, an organization which represents this type of commitment for our thousand members, I am proud of the meaning we make each day.
When I look out at the San Diego community, our infrastructure masks a lot of the problems that reside alongside us. We are America’s Finest City, yet under that façade our community does need work. The 84-year-old history of the Junior League of San Diego speaks to this directly. We have recognized those needs in our community and addressed them. In the 1980s, we changed the face of foster care with the founding and seeding of Voices for Children. In the 1990s, we tackled the tough and important issue of domestic violence. And over the last decade or so, we have worked diligently in the fields of education and childhood obesity. As someone who has spent the majority of her life here in San Diego, I am glad that there is an organization like ours making lasting change. We have made meaningful impact and I am proud of this work.
However, we cannot rest on our laurels. There is still a lot of work to be done. We have seen the needs in our community as we have worked to select a new focus area for our community impact. We know there is an imbalance of leadership between men and women. The Junior League is one of the few organizations equipped to address both critical community needs and also build the female leadership necessary to make our community a stronger and better place.
We are proud to announce that the Junior League of San Diego will take remarkable strides to address the issues facing transition age foster youth. In 2012-2013, we will develop a large, transformational and innovative program designed to make meaningful impact on the lives of transitional age foster youth in San Diego. This will be a multi-year effort that will require strong community partnerships and a well-trained membership. It will also provide countless experiential learning opportunities for our members to become female civic and community leaders of the future. I am confident that this work building the women leaders of tomorrow while changing the lives of transition age foster youth will represent another of our proudest moments.
I invite you to join the Junior League of San Diego in making meaningful difference in San Diego County. I hope you will consider joining our League or supporting our efforts through your time, treasure or talents. I invite you to come and visit our historic headquarters in Bankers Hill and learn more about the work of the Junior League of San Diego. Because, as San Diego literary legend Dr. Seuss once told us:
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
I am excited for our journey over the next year toward making San Diego even better. Let’s make it meaningful together.
In community spirit,
Jennifer Harris Edstrom
President 2012-2013
president@jlsd.org
