The Junior League of Lancaster (JLL) is the Lemon Street Market #GiveLocal partner organization for January and February. When customers opt to round up at the register, all proceeds will be donated to JLL in order to support community building, youth resiliency, and girls in STEM initiatives. We spoke with Elizabeth Payne, Fund Development VP of the Junior League of Lancaster, about some ongoing and upcoming projects. The following interview has been edited for length.
In three sentences, how would you describe the Junior League?
Like any organization that has been around for 95 years, there are always going to be perceptions of generations past, however we’ve certainly done our share of evolving and changing. Today, the Junior League of Lancaster is made up of a diverse group of women who are extremely dedicated to Lancaster and participate in all aspects of community service including hands-on community service work, advocacy awareness, and participation on partnering organization committees and boards. Our members regularly research the needs of our community and conduct issue-based research, which has led to our current focus on two issues: supporting and empowering young women to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) degrees and careers and working with youth at risk to build resiliency.
What are some of the Junior League of Lancaster’s recent initiatives?
One of our projects is the STEM Rain Garden program which addresses the major stormwater runoff issue facing Lancaster City while teaching children the STEM elements behind rain garden design and construction. So far we have designed and built three gardens over the past year, including one at the North Museum, at Stone Independent School, and at Pineapple Manor (working with the North Museum’s STEM Sisters, Stone Independent School, and Penn Manor High School students, respectively). Students learned and used several STEM skills including using the Pythagorean Theorem to calculate the pitch of the roof to determine the rate of runoff and how large the rain garden should be; engineering by grading the land to allow for correct drainage; and botany to determine which native species to plant and where to plant them. These lessons are being compiled into curriculum that other schools and organizations can use to build a rain garden. Each of these gardens helped to reduce runoff caused by having a combined sewer system in Lancaster City. Our organization competed in the Lancaster Chamber’s #impactlancaster challenge and received second place for this project!
We recently installed aquaponic fish tanks at three different locations: Stone Independent School, the second grade classrooms at J. E. Fritz Elementary School, and the Lancaster Science Factory. If successful, we hope to install these tanks throughout the 63 School Districts in Lancaster County.
Our members have been mentoring and volunteering for the North Museum’s STEM Sisters program as well as at the Girl Scout STEM Expo. Additionally, for the past three years, JLL has sponsored a cohort for the Lancaster Science Factory’s Girls Code Club where girls ages 8-13 meet monthly and learn how to write code.
Through our Youth at Risk focus, we have been working to build resilient youth by partnering with organizations like the Youth Intervention Center, Community Action Partnership, and Bench Mark Program to work towards ending the cycle of poverty in Lancaster.
Members created a career closet at Bench Mark Program to help young girls feel confident when applying for jobs; created welcome home kits for youth aging out of the foster care system; and organized outings for Youth Intervention Center. We are sending 10 children from Lancaster City and Bench Mark Program to YMCA Camp Shand this summer for a week of overnight camp with the hopes of adding an additional 10 children.
What is the impact of Junior League of Lancaster projects?
Though our various initiatives, we have reached over 800 Lancaster County girls between the ages of 8-18 in the past two years.
Over the summer of 2018, JLL made a $50,000 gift to Community Action Partnership for the construction of a STEM classroom in partnership with Advantage Lancaster and Thaddeus Stevens College. This project will help to educate children from Pre-K through elementary school while many of their parents pursue STEM careers at Thaddeus Stevens.
Where do funds for Junior League projects come from and how are they spent?
JLL funding comes from a combination of our Cornerstone Sponsors, internal fundraisers such as our four-mile Run 4 Luck coming up on March 16th, our Author’s Luncheon, and our membership dues. We use our funds to support our community in a variety of ways through our various committees. For example, our Girls + STEM Committee has provided funding for a Girls Code Club cohort of 25 girls, funded portions of our STEM Rain Garden program, and installed 4 aquaponic tanks with more on the way this spring.
The Junior League also has a grant program under which we offer grants up to $5,000 to organizations that align with our initiatives and mission. In addition, we award The Deborah P. Altman Outstanding Youth Award to a Lancaster County high school student who exhibits exceptional interest in voluntarism. The student receives $1,500 and $300 for a charity of the winner’s choice.
What projects should we keep an eye out for from the Junior League in 2019?
We are collaborating with the Lancaster Science Factory and City of Lancaster on a rain garden installation at the Lancaster Science Factory’s new outdoor space for this summer. Follow our Facebook page to keep an eye out for more rain gardens and aquaponics fish tank installations this spring! We will also be participating in Lancaster County Conservancy’s Water Week again, painting rain barrels at the Science Factory and partnering with Pennsylvania College of Art and Design to paint two rain barrels which will be put on public display in the weeks leading up to Water Week.
We have partnered with Rock Ford Plantation to create an all-day STEM in architecture and building event, The House that Hand Built, to be held it at Rock Ford on April 6, 2019 for 6-12 graders.
The Junior League will also be organizing events this spring to help gather supplies listed on the camp packing list such as backpacks, sleeping bags and bedding, toiletries, clothing, etc. for youths attending Camp Shand.
Learn more about Lemon Street Market’s #GiveLocal campaign
Elizabeth Payne
Fund Development VP
Junior League of Lancaster
Coming up next: Our March & April #GiveLocal partner organization is Leg Up Farm.
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