Are You in the Holiday Shops Know?

Are you in the know about the 57th Annual Holiday Shops events? In addition to general shopping,
this year's Holiday Shops will host a variety of events for Junior League of Washington members and the wider community! The JLW invites YOU, and those you know, to attend one (or many) of the festive events Nov. 5-8, at the Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel. Funds raised from Holiday Shops support improving the D.C. community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers and the more than two dozen grants awarded annually to local nonprofits.

First up is the 57th annual Holiday Shops Grand Opening on Thursday, Nov. 5, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Guests will enjoy a fun-filled evening of holiday shopping, door prizes and glitz, with makeup artists from Neiman Marcus on hand to offer tips for a beautiful holiday look. Hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be served throughout the evening. Tickets are $45 in advance and $55 at the door.

Friday holds two fabulous events starting with the Holiday Shops Breakfast from 9 to 11 a.m. Sustainers can enjoy two hours of private shopping and a brief program to highlight the continual success and achievements of JLW's sustaining members while partaking in mimosas, coffee and a light breakfast. This year's breakfast will also feature door prizes! Tickets are $45 in advance and $50 at the door. Be sure to purchase your ticket(s) soon as this event tends to sell out in advance. Members may also purchase "Sustainer Host" tickets for $100, which includes one ticket to the breakfast and two shopping tickets.

Friday afternoon Holiday Shops’ newest event will be introduced: the Women’s Leadership Luncheon. Join from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. to celebrate female leadership with a unique opportunity to learn from, and be motivated by, an esteemed panel of guest speakers. The panel will be moderated by NBC4's Angie Goff and panelists include:

• Cathy Merrill Williams, Washingtonian Magazine
• Bhavana Boggs, Ritz-Carlton
• Kelli Richardson Lawson, JOY Media Collective
• April Young, Hercules Technology Growth Capital

Tickets are $75 in advance and $100 at the door.



Saturday night JLW will host the hottest holiday party of the season, The Junior League of Washington Soirée from 7 to 11 p.m. The black-tie optional event features signature cocktails, carving stations, delicious hors d'oeuvres, silent and live auctions, and musical entertainment! Tickets are $100 advance and $125 at the door.

Sunday is fun for all! Be sure to bring the family out for The Junior League of Washington Family Fun Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Children's entertainment and crafts will be on hand to keep the little ones entertained while mom and dad have a chance check some Christmas shopping off the list at the Holiday Shops’ merchant booths. Special guests include Santa and Mrs. Clause, both of which will be available for pictures from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.! Tickets are $25 per family.

Sound too good to be true? Purchase your tickets before it is too late. Tickets for all events can be purchased here.

The Holiday Shops Committee, and Junior League of Washington, thank you for your support.



Resolution Read Makes Every Month National Literacy Month

While September is National Literacy Month, the Junior League of Washington celebrates literacy’s impact on children and communities year round. One committee that works tirelessly in this effort is Resolution Read. This committee volunteers at community events, tutors students, hosts story time at local libraries and donates thousands of reading materials annually to help all Washington, D.C., youth develop a lifelong habit of reading.  

In the last year, Resolution Read has:

•        Handed out 600 books in partnership with DC Scores!, a soccer and community service organization
•        Distributed an additional 350 books through the DC Scores! Poetry Slam
•        Donated books to the Literacy Lab, a tutoring program that encourages summertime reading for more than 200 D.C. students
•        Volunteered at the recognition ceremony of the 2015 “Letters About Literature” essay contest; Letters About Literature is a project of The Center for the Book and the Library of Congress
•        Assisted at workshops led by Turning the Page, an organization that works with D.C. Public Schools, families and communities to ensure students receive valuable resources and a quality public education
•        Volunteered at the STAR Family Festival, an event that promotes early literacy and the importance of singing, talking and reading to children

One of Resolution Read’s largest events is its annual holiday book drive. In 2014, the committee delivered more than 1,000 books to several local organizations. Resolution Read will continue this holiday tradition with another major book delivery during the 2015 season. 

These efforts are more than just donations of time or material. They are an opportunity to spark a love of reading and foster a desire for learning. That’s a gift shared by both the children and the members of Resolution Read all the months of the year. 

The committee was created during the JLW’s centennial year and currently has more than 25 members striving toward the our League’s overall focus.  

Why I Serve: Bringing Smiles

My colleague, friends and family have long since accepted that many nights I have a “Junior League thing”—especially when they see the spark that the Junior League of Washington (JLW) has added to my life since moving to D.C. nearly 8 years ago. Raised by a mother who brings new meaning to the term ‘do gooder’, a grandmother who (even into her 80s) volunteers at the town library, and later dozens of teachers at my prep school who ignited a passion for education and service in me, the JLW was the perfect organization for me to join.

Simply put, I volunteer because I love smiles. I love to smile, love to see others smile, and love to make people smile—especially those who maybe do not have as many things about which to ‘smile’. This year, I’ve had the pure pleasure of serving as the JLW’s Community Affairs Council and in that role, I’ve had the chance to be a bit of a smile fairy.

In September, over 550 of you smiled to the over 200,000 National Book Festival goers as they stood in line to meet their favorite authors, played in the PBS Kids tent, or rocked out to one of the story time bands in the Target Family Pavilion.

JLW Volunteers at the National Book Fest

Since June 2012, through joint-leadership by the Community Affairs Council and Ways and Means Council, JLW’s Resolution Read 100,000 books project has distributed nearly 50,000 books to D.C. area kids – resulting in way more than 50,000 smiles.

This fall, the Community Affairs Council, via the Targeted Grants and Volunteer Resources Committee, gave out three new grants to D.C. non-profits working to make illiteracy an issue of the past – Jubilee Jumpstart, Little Lights Urban Ministry, and Hope House, DC – resulting in many, many more smiles.

On Saturday, March 2, the Community Event Planning Committee is hosting another ‘smile-maker’ event – the free Annual Kids in the Kitchen children’s health, nutrition and fitness fair—at the YMCA National Capital (1711 Rhode Island Avenue NW) from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. At Kids in the Kitchen, children of all ages will learn how to eat smart and make healthy lifestyle choices through exciting hands-on games and demonstrations, energizing games and delicious healthy snacks. This will be my fifth Kids in the Kitchen event and I can’t wait to strap on my apron and ‘get healthy’ with the nearly 400 kids expected for Saturday’s event. 

If tasty treats and yoga-for-kids don’t get you smiling, a new partnership between the JLW, Association of Junior League International, and Colgate’s Bright Smiles Bright Futures Campaign surely will. Colgate’s Campaign, along with their Mobile Dental Van will be joining this year’s Kids in the Kitchen to provide FREE dental screenings to kids ages 1 to 12, along with a toothbrush, games and information on oral hygiene, and a ‘report card’ on their smile. As one of seven Junior Leagues selected by AJLI to partner with Colgate and the Bright Smiles Bright Futures Campaign, we are especially excited to have the van on Saturday and at Kids in the Kitchen and other JLW events in the next few months, including D.C.’s largest homeless shelter, D.C. General.

I hope to see you all on Saturday at Kids in the Kitchen, at an upcoming Resolution Read book distributions and read-aloud sessions, or other JLW events soon – I’ll be one with the big smile.

Carly Susan Rockstroh
Community Affairs Council Director

JLW Chair Extraordinaire- Amy Shuart

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and  become more, you are a leader."

- John Quincy Adams

We are proud to honor Amy Shuart, chair of Resolution Read, as JLW Chair Extraordinaire. A fourth-year Active, Amy has risen to the challenge of managing a committee that is fully immersed in the goal of donating and distributing 100,000 books in honor of our centennial anniversary. With moving parts that include multiple projects, distributions, budget negotiations and more, Amy has demonstrated tremendous leadership and grace. Her can-do attitude is contagious and children across the city, as well as her committee members, are benefiting from her dedication. Congratulations, Amy, and keep up the good work!

Did you know there are more than 125 leadership positions in the JLW?  Each year, an amazing group of women answer the call to serve and their talent and skills form the support structure upon which our organization runs. Just as we value and appreciate your membership, we appreciate their service. The JLW Chair Extraordinaire is a new award for our Centennial year. Each month, council directors may nominate a leader for consideration and one chair will be recognized by the president.

A Reading Celebration!

Across the District of Columbia this year, the Junior League of Washington's Resolution Read is helping to put 100,000 books in the hands of kids. This past Tuesday at Neval Thomas Elementary, JLW members were on hand to celebrate with fourth and fifth graders at a book distribution with Reading is Fundamental, and I was lucky enough to be on hand to see Resolution Read's work in action.

Students listened attentively to award-winning author Kelly Starling Lyons read from her new book Hope's Gift, a story of a family that is freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. The author gave the children instructions on responses to certain lines from the book; whenever she said, "Nothing can keep freedom from coming," the children would all respond, "Nothing!"

The students, shown here with author Kelly Starling Lyons, each chose two brooks to bring home.
[Photo Credit: Reading is Fundamental]

After the reading, Kelly Starling Lyons spoke with the children about being an author and what inspires her writing. The students named their favorite books, including Harry Potter and Amelia Bedelia. I could see these students clearly had a love for reading and were excited to have new books to dig into!

JLW President Wendy Cumberland and 
JLW members Carly Rockstroh and Amber Huffman 
chat with Pat Mara at the distribution.

There were more special guests on hand as well. Mary Lord and Pat Mara, both members of the DC Board of Education, were on hand to talk about the importance of reading and how projects like Resolution Read are helping kids in the DC schools.

JLW members were on hand to help children choose their books. There were so many to choose from, though I couldn't help but notice many kids choosing Goosebumps books! What a great memory; I remember reading Goosebumps books when I was that age, too!

This one book distribution had been so exciting for the students, and it is thrilling to think that the JLW is making it possible for distributions like this to happen across DC. I'd encourage members to support Resolution Read in any way they can, either through participating in a distribution or through supporting fundraising efforts like Fete this Saturday night.

As the JLW marks 100 years in the community, it's so great to see the League's work help instill a love of reading in students that will last a lifetime. Seeing it in person, it's enough to give you...well...goosebumps!


Kristen Soltis,  Public Relations Committee Chair

Giving the Gift of a Lifelong Love of Reading

As part of the Junior League of Washington's Resolution Read initiative, JLW is once again partnering with Reading is Fundamental (RIF) to put over 13,000 books in the hands of DC children in Wards 1, 5, 7, and 8.  The students at Neval Thomas Elementary are in for a special treat, as the spotlight school for this distribution. February marks Black History Month, and in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the event will feature Kelly Starling Lyons, the author of "Hope's Gift," a story about a family in the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation.

Throughout the month of February, JLW and RIF will distribute 13,000 free books to 6,500 children in twenty District of Columbia Public Schools.

JLW members will be on hand to help distribute books to students, as students will be free to choose two books to take home along with literacy activity worksheets.

During December, JLW members attended distributions across the district, distributing books and participating in fun activities with the students. Members read aloud to students, and in some cases, students even read back to the volunteers? "I had three 5th grade boys request to read their book to me because they thought it was so funny. They each took turns reading the book to me and said it was my turn,"
said Jenny Paxton, member of the JLW of the December distribution at KIPP DC AIM Academy.

The distribution at Neval Thomas Elementary on February 5th is just one of the many distribution and volunteer opportunities for JLW members this month. Additionally, anyone can support Resolution Read by donating online. We look forward to seeing you at a shift!

Enchanting DC Kids, With Books!

[Photo Credit: Reading is Fundamental]

Magic happens when you give books to children, as Junior League of Washington (JLW) member and Celebrations Committee Co-Chair Sloane Hurst quickly learned in December 2012.

Participating in one of three book distributions as a part our Centennial celebration, Sloane said, “I cried my eyes out when a little first grader ran up to me and hugged me to say thank you for her OWN book! She asked me if she had to share it and I said that when she was done reading it she should give it to another little girl.”

The December event featured Paul Zelinsky, illustrator of Z is for a Moose who gave an engaging talk to the kids, sharing an animated storyline involving the moose. The kids then had the opportunity to tell Paul what they thought a “zmoose" looked like as he drew their description. The experience was truly “out of the mouths of babes,” including a flying turtle and shoes for the moose.



The power of ownership and reading is strong. In February, Junior League of Washington members will deliver over 10,000 books to children in the DC area including several distributions on February 5th, the second of three designated distribution days the JLW is hosting this year with Reading is Fundamental (RIF). 

Bringing 10,000 books (and 10,000 smiles) to DC Public and Charter School students is no small task—but  you can help “enchant” kids with books and share your love of reading by volunteering at one of the many February distributions, including those scheduled for February 5th.

RIF was founded with the mission to motivate children to have a lifelong, life-changing love of reading. This ignites a hunger for knowledge and a passion for learning.  The JLW is partnering with RIF to distribute over 30,000 books to DC area students in DC Wards 1, 5, 7, and 8.  The JLW-RIF partnership is a large component of the JLW’s Resolution Read effort to distribute 100,000 new books to kids in the greater Washington, DC area in celebration of JLW’s Centennial year.

The fact is nearly two-thirds of low-income families in the U.S. own no books.

Eyes sparkle, smiles emerge, and imagination comes alive when children are given the opportunity to own a book. During distribution shifts, JLW volunteers give individual attention to children when selecting books, help children write their name on their new books, read aloud to children, and offer a host of other small activities that will foster a passion for books and reading.

Join us for this magical experience at one of the several JLW Resolution Read distributions in February and check the website often for distribution opportunities to be scheduled for the rest of the JLW year!

One book can make a difference—and to help remember that, here is a catchy jingle:

Meet JLW's Newest Partner: An Open Book Foundation

In honor of our Centennial, the Junior League of Washington (JLW) has committed to initiating
an effort to purchase and distribute 100,000 new books to children in the greater Washington,
D.C. community as part of the Resolution Read program.

Through this initiative, the JLW is partnering with a variety of community organizations to get
books into the hands of children who need them the most. An Open Book Foundation (AOB) is
one of our newest partners.

AOB brings children’s authors and illustrators to underserved schools in the Washington, D.C.
metropolitan area and gives each student a signed book to take home. In addition, AOB gives a
copy of the book to each student’s classroom and a set of the author’s/illustrator’s books to the
school library. Since its inception, AOB has given away over 5,500 books at over 50 events.

AOB’s program conducts several activities that support Resolution Read’s mission and vision,
including:

• Providing every student attending an author/illustrator reading event a signed book to take home;
• Inviting Spanish-speaking authors to make bilingual presentations and distributing
• Spanish language books to children whose parents speak only Spanish;
• Providing featured author’s books to each classroom, and a set of the author’s books to the school library so children who forget their book at home can read it in the classroom;
• Providing copies of featured books to each classroom, giving teachers an opportunity to read the classroom copy aloud to the students, while children follow along in their own books.

AOB and JLW’s Resolution Read Committee kicked off this new partnership on Thursday,
January 10 when they distributed 54 books at John Burroughs Education Campus. Author Mary
Amato was our special guest and read from her new book, Guitar Notes. As an extra bonus,
Mary played her guitar and invited the students to write their own songs to express their thoughts
and emotions.

Resolution Read is conducting some very exciting events and changing the lives of our immediate
community through improved literacy. We encourage JLW members to participate and be a part
of this initiative in celebration of our Centennial. Join us at the book distribution on Tuesday,
February 5 with another partner, Reading is Fundamental. Click here to sign-up for a shift. To learn more about Resolution Read, visit www.jlw.org.

The JLW Awards Opportunity Grant to Little Lights Urban Ministries

The Junior League of Washington (JLW) is pleased to announce Little Lights Urban Ministries as the second of three organizations the JLW has awarded an opportunity grant to this fall. Opportunity grants are grants for less than $1,000 and are awarded to community organizations that are addressing one of the following complex areas of the JLW’s narrowed children’s reading literacy focus (1) lack of books in the home; (2) lack of books and resources in the school; and/or (3) reading out loud to children ages 0 – 5.

Since 1995, Little Lights Urban Ministries has been committed to providing sanctuaries of encouragement, hope, and practical assistance to at-risk children, youth and families in Washington, D.C.  Little Lights has evolved from providing an after-school tutoring program to providing both academic and social support. Throughout the year, Little Lights provides programs that focus on four main objectives: improving academic achievement, providing emotional support and encouragement, building character and leadership, and developing creativity and practical skills. The cornerstone of the organization’s programs is one-to-one interaction with caring adults through mentoring and tutoring.

Little Lights works primarily, but not exclusively, with families from Potomac Gardens, a public housing complex in Southeast DC where income for a family of four does not generally exceed $7,830 per year. Ninety percent of the Potomac Gardens children live in one-parent, female-headed households. It is estimated that, without intervention, less that 2% of the complex’s youth will attend college. Little Lights currently serves approximately 100 children and youth each year, many who attend schools designated "In Need of Improvement" by No Child Left Behind.  Little Lights provides a safe and welcoming place for children to learn after school.

At “Reading Heroes”, a weekly program, students improve reading skills, gain confidence, and develop a love for reading through working with caring adults. Last school year, the elementary and middle school Reading Heroes students gained almost a grade and a half in reading accuracy and comprehension skills. Little Lights plans to continue building on this success by accelerating our students' fluency and comprehension skills this school year, ensuring their success as life-long readers.  Students are paired with tutors for one-to-one focused reading tutoring. Each volunteer tutor is trained and equipped with a specific lesson plan, including curriculum, for their student based on his or her reading level as determined by our assessments at the start of the school year. Additionally, the reading curriculum is being supplemented to include an online element called “Ticket to Read”, which tracks reading progress online and provides reading activities that are appropriate for each child’s reading level.

The $1,000 from the JLW will contribute to Ticket to Read program. The JLW also awarded 140 books through Resolution Read, which will enhance the after-school program’s library. Stay tuned to learn more about Hope House DC, the third of the grant recipients awarded this fall.

In the spring, the JLW will be awarding additional opportunity grants to community organizations, with a deadline of February 1 for submission of materials. Additional information can be found online. If you have questions about the opportunity grants or want additional information, please contact Alicia Lee, chair of the Targeted Grants and Volunteer Resources Committee at grantsandvolunteers@jlw.org.

Alicia Lee
Chair, Targeted Grants and Volunteer Resources Committee

JLW Distributed Over 6,200 Books to D.C. Students for Summer Reading

For children across the country, the summer was time to celebrate – the school year had officially come to an end. But behind the celebrations of millions of K-12 students, there were some pretty startling statistics surrounding kids without an opportunity to participate in summer learning. And what that lack of opportunity means is much more significant than you might expect:

• All young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer. Research spanning 100 years shows that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer (White, 1906; Heyns, 1978; Entwisle & Alexander 1992; Cooper, 1996; Downey et al, 2004).
  
• Most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months. Low-income students also lose more than two months in reading achievement, despite the fact that their middle-class peers make slight gains (Cooper, 1996).
  
• More than half of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities. As a result, low-income youth are less likely to graduate from high school or enter college (Alexander et al, 2007).
  
• Parents consistently cite summer as the most difficult time to ensure that their children have productive things to do (Duffett et al, 2004).

These are just a few of the disconcerting statistics surrounding students who lack a structured summer reading program. And that’s why the Junior League of Washington and a handful of Community Partners came together to provide summer reading materials to children throughout D.C.

On June 11, the Junior League of Washington launched its 100,000 books distribution component of Resolution Read with a summer reading book distribution at Smothers and Maury Elementary Schools in Washington, D.C. JLW volunteers joined forces with a new community partner, the Literacy Lab, to distribute books to the 3rd and 4th grade classes at the school. There, the children tore into their bags and were excited to see all of the new books – especially the one where they recognized the titles, like Judy Moody! The teachers were also thrilled for the kids and their summer reading adventures. One teacher commented on the positive impact that she's seen in her student that participated in the Literacy Lab's tutoring program during the regular school year, noting that one student had improved by nearly two grade level!

Then, on Wednesday, June 13, the JLW co-hosted a third summer reading book distribution with the Literacy Lab – this time at Orr Elementary School in Southeast Washington, DC. As with the other two Literacy Lab distributions, students in three classes were given seven books and one dictionary to keep them busy readers over the summer. There, JLW President Wendy Cumberland, Vice Treasurer Marie Hahn and Community Affairs Council Director Carly Rockstroh were on hand to help distribute the books and had the chance to start reading the books with the students. Among the most popular books – Judy Moody and Sideways Stories from Wayside School – which were immediately cracked open. This Resolution Read event was extra special as it was the first time the Literacy Lab worked at Orr Elementary School.

Later, in mid-June, the JLW joined the girls at Excel Academy for their last Friday of the school year to hand out two books to each girl to take home with them and enjoy over the summer, in hopes their home library would continue to grow. These books were in addition to the two books the JLW gave them over spring break. There are more stories to share, and we’ll continue to post them. So far the JLW donated a whopping 6,266 books to D.C. students aged pre-K through 4th grade in partnership with groups such as the Literacy Lab, Excel Academy, Washington Middle School, Washington Jesuit Academy, and Horton’s Kids.

And that was just the beginning of our newly expanded Resolution Read program in which the League will put 100,000 books into the hands of students in the greater D.C. community in the next one to three years.

Getting involved is as simple as reading to a child in your life, signing your children up for summer reading programs such as those sponsored by the DC Public Library and Library of Congress, and of course, supporting JLW's fundraisers by making donations to Resolution Read and attending special Centennial events.

Targeting Literacy Through Resolution Read

As a child, the time I looked most forward to was before bedtime, when my dad would read my sister, Maureen and I our favorite stories. Fifteen Minute Bedtime Stories, anything by Beatrix Potter or about Ramona and Beezus Quimby and the Dr. Seuss books were our favorites. Each weekend, we would go to the book mobile or library and pick out new books, and as we got older and read at night on our own, we devoured The Baby-sitter's Club and Sweet Valley Twins.

Unfortunately, a head start involving reading is not as idyllic for all children, youth and families in our community. Many children in the DC area lack reading materials and often reading is not commonplace in their homes. This month, JLW set out to promote reading and books as a critical resource targeting literacy through Resolution Read!. Along with fellow JLW volunteers Maya and Angel, I had the privilege of reading with the children at St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home in Hyattsville, MD. Sister Kate was a fantastic cheerleader in promoting reading to the children at St. Ann's. To my delight, my assigned kids, Elijah and Saniya, were totally engaged in reading. Elijah, age 6, read to his sister, Saniya, and me several books: Where the Wild Things Were, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Go Dog Go! Elijah was a very strong reader and it was amazing as he read book after book before he decided that we read Flat Stanley together. It was a wonderful afternoon to kick off my personal goal of supporting our community partners and literacy mission as well as my own efforts to read more in 2012. Sr. Kate told us we were a hit,  as too often the kids receive food or toy donations but the personal touch of reading out loud with our new friends at St. Ann's made such a difference! I hope Elijah and Saniya will remember their time spent reading as much as I fondly recall my early days falling in love with books.

Bridget