Mary Catharine H. Miller has been named president of the Junior League of Rhode Island for 2008-2009. Miller has been an active member since 1996 – first in the San Francisco League where she held various leadership positions, and since 2004 in the Rhode Island League. Miller is a development associate in the Division of Biology and Medicine at Brown University.
PBN: What are you looking forward to in your new position?
MILLER: Under the direction of the previous three presidents and the collective membership, the Junior League of Rhode Island has made incredible changes in approach to new membership, engaging active members and selecting community partners. This plan was created as a result of dipping membership, which indicated that change needed to happen. The league made a commitment to promote and support a healthier organization . … I still have a piece of that plan to move forward myself, so I am excited to see where the league is by the time my year is up.
PBN: What were some of the changes that were made?
MILLER: I think our changes were strategic. During the year we do have a few mini-fundraisers, like happy hour, a wine tasting, or a yard sale. But the Junior League of Rhode Island now only conducts one “major” annual fundraiser. It takes a lot of woman-power, corporate sponsors, solicitations and underwriting to make an event happen. With more than one fundraiser a year, it was burning out the membership.
The Junior League of Rhode Island also became more strategic about community partnerships. The American Red Cross, for example, is an amazing organization and we love it – but it is huge! For the Junior League, our dedication is to the immediate community, along with training our members to become better volunteers themselves. Some larger Junior Leagues, like in New York City, might partner with more than 20 different agencies. In Rhode Island, the Junior League partners with only one to two agencies at a time. The agencies are smaller, and they campaign in specific areas of interest that members could be inspired by and focus on.
PBN: What is the mission of the League?
MILLER: The Junior League is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving the communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. We have an overarching goal of continual and professional leadership training for our members. Junior League members also serve on many of the nonprofit boards of well-known organizations. League members are great fund raisers, strategic planners, project managers, and community advocates. They can facilitate a new startup nonprofit, develop and implement a new community program or help get a shelter or soup kitchen up and running. •
