A Q & A with
Junior League member, Tarina Charleston
ODI is not just another Junior League acronym. ODIs –
Organizational Development Institutes – are a part of the benefit of being a
member of the Association of Junior Leagues International – an extension of our
mission to provide trained volunteers and develop the potential of women.
ODIs are a series of educational training meetings – with
several held each year. Leagues from all over send representatives to receive
effective, informative training to improve their League leadership. These
trainings focus on “Building Internal Capacity,” “Fund Development,” and
“Governing for Excellence,” among others.
Tarina Charleston, chair of the National Rehabilitation
Hospital Committee, recently attended an ODI training. Here, she shares a
glimpse into the experience and what she learned.
When and where did
you attend ODI? What was the weekend
like?
I attended ODI on June 3-5 in Houston, TX. The weekend was a
mixture of small and large group sessions and networking opportunities. There
was also plenty of time to shop and buy Junior League merchandise.
What session did you
attend and what were the overall topics and themes?
I attended the Achieving Community Impact: Creating Lasting
Changes for Healthier Communities session. The overall topics and themes were
the following:
•
Decline in the scope and impact of Leagues’ community
work
•
Disconnected volunteer experience that fails to
leverage member skills and interests
•
Limited League capacity to collaborate and build
community relationships that sustain responses to the community
•
Is the League viewed as a viable partner?
What applications did
you see to JLW as a whole? To your role or council in particular?
As leaders in the League, we must recruit to our mission so
that our members are excited about our mission and work in the community. We
should focus on what the member is learning, not just what they are doing. [We
should] strive to have a stronger relationship with our community partners and
provide updates to our committee members regarding the progress we are making. And
we must have continued open communication with our members so that they see the
value in what we are doing.
How do you think ODI
did develop your leadership skills?
ODI gave me the opportunity to learn how to both think critically
and evaluate the outcomes that we want to attain for our members, the League, and
the community.
ODIs provide an
opportunity to exchange ideas with other Junior Leagues. What did you learn from
members of other Leagues?
I found it interesting that many of the Leagues actually
perform a community service activity at their membership meetings, such as
making gift baskets for the holidays or packing backpacks for back to school.
Many of the other Leagues use apps like Go
to Meeting and/or conference calls and video conferences to make sure
everyone has access to the meetings.
Would you recommend
ODI to another JLW leader?
I would recommend attending ODI because it gives one a good
perspective of what we are doing well in our League and what we could improve
on. In addition, it gives one the opportunity to meet members of other Leagues and
discuss things that they are doing in their League. For instance, a League in
Pueblo, CO, provides babysitting during their meetings along with a playroom
for children. I thought that this was a fantastic idea because, as a mother, I
think a lot of women would like to be more active but childcare can be a
deterrent.
To learn more about training opportunities that AJLI
provides, including online training webinars, please visit www.ajli.org.
