The Junior League of Birmingham, Alabama, is an organization of approximately 2,000 women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.
The Birmingham chapter is part of the national organization, The Junior League, which has grown into one of the oldest, largest, and most effective women’s volunteer organizations in the world. It encompasses more than 125,000 women in over 295 Leagues in four countries.
Baylee Clark completed her first year with the organization in 2022. She was double-placed as a provisional new member and was also on the Market Noel committee. “I always knew that I wanted to join the Junior League,” Baylee said. Her mother was really involved with the chapter in Montgomery. Baylee grew up going with her to meetings, and fundraisers, helping with 5Ks, going to nursing homes, and volunteering with schools.
As she shadowed her mother, Baylee saw how much she enjoyed it, and she knew she wanted to be a part of it. “It was really impactful at such a young age to see that there are issues in our community. A lot of times, you are sheltered when you are small, and you don’t realize how fortunate you are. I grew up wanting to help whenever I could, and when I moved to Birmingham, I thought it would be a perfect way to meet people and become involved in the community,” Baylee said.
This past year, Baylee was chosen for the New Member of the Year Award. Throughout the year, she and approximately 160 other new members completed a curriculum to learn more about the organization locally, nationally, and internationally. She completed research projects discussing the past 100 years of the organization and volunteered with nonprofits like Meals On Wheels and North Star Ministries.
“Shout-out to Strong for allowing us to have flexibility in our work schedules. I completed all of my shifts for Meals On Wheels during my lunch breaks, and I was able to take two hours and make up the time later thanks to our flex hours. I am really thankful to be able to do that,” Baylee said.
New members were also required to learn about the many partner agencies in the area. “We have around 150 different partner agencies. We got to learn about a lot of the nonprofits that I didn’t know existed or even needed to exist. It was a great learning opportunity,” she said. “It was so much fun, and it was awesome to be picked for the award.”
Baylee says she believes the best way to learn more about the surrounding community is to see how other people live. “It’s important to see more than just the highlights of the great city of Birmingham. We need to find what needs to be improved and discover how we can help,” she said.
Anyone who is interested in joining the JLB, please reach out to Baylee. While the class for 2023 is already closed, the fall of 2024 is accepting new members!
