Book Club: A Renewed Junior League Tradition!

This spring, Membership Outreach revived a Junior League of Washington tradition - book club. A prior book club led by Esprit ended in 2003, but member feedback brought it back!

The online sign up that initially had space for 25 members filled up within 15 minutes after going live. It was expanded to 75 to accommodate the wait-listed members, and it kept growing until 284 members expressed interest.

Members were placed into 30 groups of ladies who either indicated preference in the same literary genre or geographic location in the metro area, based on survey responses they provided upon registering. For fun, each group was assigned a notable female author like Ann M. Martin, Margaret Mitchell or Lucy Maud Montgomery as a sort of “mascot” for organizational purposes.

Each group decided what books it would read. My group started with Rules of Civility, but I plan to add some of these selections from other groups to my summer reading list:

• Bringing up Bebe
• Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
• Commencement
• The Cookbook Collector
• The Social Animal 

Editor's note: One of the best things about the Book Club is that it promotes League Literacy. Whether you are interested in chick-lit or the New York Times' books of the year, you can find a place to read your favorite books, discuss them with League friends and socialize in a fun setting while promoting reading. It's another way to help us stay excited about our literacy goals in the D.C. community!

*Missed out on signing-up for Book Club this spring? Don't worry, sign-ups will be available again in the fall!

Making a big city seem smaller

One of the reasons I decided to join Junior League of Washington was because I wanted to make a big city seem smaller. I also wanted to meet women with similar interests with whom I could form lasting friendships.

The Junior League of Washington is such a large organization of women with numerous events each year that many times you do not see the same people again at another event. It can also be hard to get to know someone and make connections in such a large group of people.

In order to meet a group of ladies in my same geographical area with similar interests, I joined JLW Small Groups. JLW Small Groups are groups of women that want to meet other members who share the same interests. In order to get placed in a group we are asked to fill out a questionnaire.

The survey to sign-up for your small group asks questions such as what would you like to get out of your group, what sort of activities you would like to do in your small group, what type of women would you like to be grouped with and where would you like to meet with your group.

After filling out a questionnaire and being placed in a small group, you attend a small group event sponsored by JLW in order to meet the girls in your group. For the fall small group event, we participated in a blind wine tasting event. I had a great time meeting the members in my group in such an interesting way.

Small groups are open in the fall and the spring. For my fall small group, we decided to meet early on a Friday night for dinner at a restaurant in our area. We really enjoyed each other’s company and had a great conversation. We are also planning on meeting for a brunch or for dinner before the holiday season gets underway.

I enjoyed my fall small group so much that I’ve decided to participate in the spring as well. I filled out a second questionnaire hoping to be grouped with girls in my area that would like to attend events around town together, meet after work for gatherings and attend JLW events together. I am looking forward to the spring small groups event and to meeting my new small group.

There’s an app for that? There’s a GROUP for that!

Love running? There’s a group for that.
Live in Arlington? There’s a group for that.
Enjoy good food and fine wine? There’s a group for that.
Work in Dupont Circle? There’s a group for that.

The Membership Outreach Committee is dedicated to helping members make connections, build relationships and have the best League experience possible. One way ladies can meet each other is to gather around common interests. The Small Groups Program matches members with common interests and/or locations in order to foster strong relationships. Each small group of five to eight women, meets monthly to socialize and/or to attend JLW events together.

JLW Small Groups have two cycles, one in the fall and another in the spring. The Fall Kick-Off Event was held on Tuesday, October 18, in the courtyard at League Headquarters. Approximately 100 ladies gathered for a wine tasting and an opportunity to meet their fellow group members. There was delicious food, stimulating conversation and a variety of wine. League members mingled and met their fellow small group members for the first time. Now the groups will plan their own outings and activities for the coming months.

Membership Outreach is looking forward to hearing about all the fun events the ladies plan and attend together. If you missed the fall kick-off and are interested in joining a group in the spring, keep an eye out for details in January!