Junior League of LI fights stereotype

The Junior League of Long Island is not your mother's Junior League.

Members build playgrounds, provision computer labs for children who need access and help teach children about nutrition and healthy eating.

Nor is it the same Junior League portrayed in the recently released movie "The Help," based on Kathryn Stockett's book of the same name, points out Georgia Gier, Long Island affiliate president.

"That's not what we're like," said Gier, a high school science teacher in the East Meadow School District. "It's not white gloves and the ladies who lunch. We have to fight that stereotype."

Established in 1951, the Long Island group now has more than 300 members in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Within the group there's a good mix and representation of ages and backgrounds, Gier said. Members include full-time professionals and young mothers, native Long Islanders and some transplants.

Membership is open to women over the age of 21. The group's headquarters are in the village of Roslyn, where the league runs a thrift store at 1395 Old Northern Blvd. Proceeds from store sales help support the league's community projects. In addition to membership fees, members are required to donate items to the thrift shop and contribute volunteer hours to certain projects.

League members tackle projects aimed at improving the lives of women and children in their communities, and get help identifying what those needs are from a community advisory council.

Community work

Their efforts include:

Kids in the Kitchen, a nutrition and health project for elementary students;

Project Playground, where members work with a community or organization in need of a playground;

Compute the Future, where the league provides the hardware, software, furniture and wiring for a computer center;

First Step, where the league provides clothing and training for women re-entering the workforce.

League members narrowed a list of 50 issues they felt needed attention to five, Gier said, and in April members voted to decide the top two issues to focus on this year: domestic violence and environmental health on Long Island.

Members said they hope spreading projects over the geographic area will help increase the league's name recognition. An upcoming Project Playground installation is set for Patchogue. Members built one two years ago in Seaford, and the 2010 Kids in the Kitchen project was in Westbury.

"Some of the comments we get is that we're like the Girl Scouts, but for older women," Gier said. "People just don't know who we are."

Nicole Larrauri used to be among those unfamiliar with the league. A managing partner at EGC, an ad agency in Melville, she attended a meet-and-greet gathering in 2009 to learn more.

"I wanted to personally get involved with a group in a hands-on way, do projects and affect the Long Island community in a more tangible way," she said.

Though she was worried about having enough time to volunteer, Larrauri said she found the league is flexible to help members meet commitments. Working on the Kids in the Kitchen project at Powells Lane Elementary School in Westbury was a great experience when she was a provisional member, Larrauri said, learning the ropes during her first year of membership. That even included making turkey meatballs to serve as an affordable, healthy meal option.

"I remember thinking the day of the project, 'This is the best day in my life,' " Larrauri recalled. "It's based on a shared experience in doing good."

A supportive network

The feeling of shared commitment and personal growth keeps the diverse group of members involved, according to Gier. The league is all about educating women and building civic leaders who can go out and make a difference in their communities, she added.

"We offer members the ability and freedom to try something new," Gier said. "You have women to support you, not point a finger and say you're doing it wrong. It's a great organization for women who want to give back to the community, and it's a great way to meet like-minded people."

The students at The Hagedorn Little Village School, Jack Joel Center for Special Children, a nonprofit school in Seaford that provides educational and therapeutic services for children with developmental disabilities, benefited from the group's playground project.

Executive director Jon Feingold said the school applied for an adaptive playground to benefit its youngest students, ages 20 months to 4 years.

"A lot of these kids benefit from working on both their fine and gross motor deficit delays," Feingold said. "They work on goals with the teachers, assistants and therapists."

The league's grant covered the playground's $25,000 cost, and to help keep labor costs low the members helped install the playground at a community workday also attended by students' families.

"I can't say enough nice things about them," Feingold said. "To a person, they were terrific."

Recruitment drive