Nominating News: President-Elect-Elect Announcement!

It is with great pleasure, confidence and, yes, JOY, that we announce the JLPA-MP President for 2013-14:

JOY BAKER PEACOCK!

Joy came to the Nominating Committee with bountiful experience in our own League and in other parts of life, and a tremendous drive to lead our organization onward in its pursuits.

THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Once we had a chance to review all applications and interview the candidates, our committee took some time to weigh this heavy decision. We deliberated, voted, and are very pleased to have now placed our very first leader as a committee. (For details on the Nominating Committee's process, please see the 'Process' tab in the Nominating Forum, which is found in the members area of our website.)

Joy is organized, efficient, smart, reliable, well-spoken, thorough, effective as a leader, gracious, humble (somehow), and fun! Congratulations Joy, and thank you for agreeing to serve in this big way!

YOUR LEADERSHIP FUTURE!

Joy will be serving on next year's Board of Directors as our President-Elect. Would you like to be there with her? Nominations for all Board positions and the Nominating Committee slate for next year are due 10/15. Please see the Nominating section of our website for more information, call or email your Nominating Committee liaison, or get in touch with Nominating Committee Chair Tara Roussel. And please do indicate your own interests. Our committee loves hearing from you personally regarding your leadership goals.

We look forward to filling more positions very soon!

Tara Roussel, chair

Jan Woolsey, chair-elect

Stefanie Bruggeman

Katie Husak

Moira Jacobs

Jennie Lang

Amanda Okamoto

Steff Witlin

ABC²: Amy's Bean Counting Corner

By Amy Aldrich, Treasurer

As this year’s League treasurer, I am thrilled to be your trusted “bean counter,” making sure every last penny is being raised, spent and saved in the manner it was intended. Although I spent my previous seven placements in community projects, this role is tapping into my passion: managing and tracking finances.

This passion started very early in my childhood when, in the fourth grade, I made a budget so I could track my revenue (babysitting, bake sales and car washes), my expenses (mainly dollhouse furniture) and my donations (the collection basket at church). My grandfather taught me the power of purchasing stock at age 8 when I selected Disney and McDonald’s as my first shares of stock (to this day, I still have them!). So that’s a bit about my background. Now on to important matters: the League’s finances.

Even with the continued turbulent economy, the League is off to a great fiscal start! We are already a League quarter in and have earned 33 percent of the revenue expected for our General Fund budget (click here to view the League's financials as of August 31, 2011). Collection of Membership dues and sales from The Shop led the charge in the League’s revenue through August 31, 2011. Thank you to all our members and congratulations to The Shop for a fantastic summer!

Now in its fourth year, the Finishing Touches Home Tour is expected to be another exciting event with expectations for a higher turnout and greater exposure with the community. Did you see the Home Tour committee’s video presented at the September General Membership meeting? After that, I AM FIRED UP! We hope you’ll be a part of it by underwriting, volunteering or attending one of the great events planned December 2-3. Right now, the committee is at 80 percent of their underwriting goal of $40,000. If every active member were to donate just $50, we’d not only meet but exceed that threshold! Stayed tuned for ticket sales starting October 1.

As it relates to expenses, the board has made cost reductions wherever possible. As of August 31, 2011, we are at 25 percent of budgeted expenses. The net income goal for the year – at the minimum – is to be at zero and not have to touch our reserves. Of course, we want to avoid any deficits and, if possible, end the year with a surplus while maintaining our commitment to the community.

Like last year, we have an ambitious budget to meet, so let’s work together to increase League contributions and save our financial resources without compromising our programs. You can actively participate to the League’s financial success this year through a variety of ways: bringing friends and family to the Home Tour, engaging your employer to underwrite, providing a gift to the Endowment Fund or making a donation to The Shop. Every little bit helps in a big way! Ultimately, the more money we raise and the fewer expenses we have, the more we can give back to our community.

Please feel free to contact me, our Finance VP Jovita Honor or President Meaux Costello if you have questions or comments about our financial position.

BreakfastFirst Campaign Success with SPAC

By Catherine Carlton, Endowment Fund Committee Member, 2010-2011 Senior SPAC Delegate

State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, issued a letter on Wednesday endorsing innovative school breakfast models. Torlakson announced that he is now the Honorary Chair of the Breakfast First Campaign, emphasized that Classroom Breakfast and instructional minutes are perfectly compatible [referencing the prior State Supt./State Controller letter on the subject], and strongly promoted the BreakfastFirst Campaign!

This is wonderful support for school breakfast advocates working to ensure that all children start the day well-nourished and ready to learn through innovative school breakfast models! It doesn't mandate a conversation about breakfasts, but it does go a long way to meet our goal of working to educate the school boards, school administrators, etc. about the benefits of breakfast. State Superintendent Torklakson's letter is below, for your reference. As Honorary Chair of the Breakfast First Campaign, he will continue the effort to support Breakfast First implementation in schools throughout California.

IMPROVING STUDENT NUTRITION AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAMS

Dear County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, and Nutrition Service Directors:

I am proud to be the new honorary chair of the BreakfastFirst Campaign. Promoting the School Breakfast Program (SBP) is integral to my Team California for Healthy Kids campaign, which focuses on making healthy choices the easy choices. In alignment with the Team California goal to promote good eating habits, BreakfastFirst aims to ensure that all students are served an optimally nutritious breakfast using innovative models such as Classroom Breakfast, Grab-and-Go, and Second Chance Breakfast. These models are known to dramatically increase participation, bringing the benefits of school breakfast to the maximum number of students.

Research confirms the clear connection between health, learning, and attendance. Healthy children are more successful in school, miss fewer days of school, are more attentive and well behaved, and are more likely to graduate from high school and go to college.

Healthy students not only excel academically, but also are more likely to be positively engaged in social, community, and extra-curricular activities. The implementation of inventive models like Classroom Breakfast links nutrition to our joint goal of increasing academic achievement in school. In most cases, the breakfast can be completely supported by federal and state meal reimbursement. In addition, as former Superintendent Jack O'Connell and State Controller John Chiang shared in a joint letter last year, "As long as the breakfast is served and eaten in the classroom while otherwise allowable instructional activities are underway, the time will not be considered free time by auditors . . . The SBP is an easy way to enhance children's health and improve their academic achievement." The full letter is located on the CDE Breakfast in the Classroom - Letters Web page.

I urge you to expand your School Breakfast Program (especially outside of the cafeteria) to serve the nutritional needs of your students and to strengthen their academic performance. If you would like information on innovative breakfast models, visit the California Food Policy Advocates Web site for the BreakfastFirst Campaign. You may also contact your Field Services Unit Child Nutrition Consultant by phone at 916-445-0850 or 800-952-5609.

Sincerely, Tom Torlakson


The following information regarding the JLPA-MP's involvement with the State Public Affairs Committee can also be found on our website.

Advocacy

The State Public Affairs Committee of the Junior Leagues of California (SPAC) is a non-partisan education and advocacy organization, representing 16 member Leagues, nearly 12,000 members, and millions of fundraising dollars in support for community programs that assist women and families.

Since 1971, SPAC has represented the interest of its member Leagues and the groups or issue areas addressed by Junior League projects accross California to policymakers at the national, state and local levels.

SPAC advocates in four issue areas: health, education, family support, and violence prevention.

The members of the SPAC delegation: 

• ADVOCATE for specific legislation relevant to member league issues
• EDUCATE their home Junior League members
• COORDINATE the exchange of information from community based league projects to policy makers.

Since 1992, SPAC has sponsored six bills, and co-sponsored two bills, that are now California Law; sponsored one California Resolution; and co-sponsored one Congressional Resolution.

Each year, SPAC solicits ideas for potential new legislation by holding its "There Ought to Be a Law" contest.

To learn more about the League's advocacy work, please download the CalSpac brochure, visit the CalSpac website or email the JLPA•MP delegates at spacdelegates@thejuniorleague.org.

Teachers in our Lives

By Valarie Dennis, DIAD Committee

Has a teacher made a difference in your life or the lives of your children? Want to give back to all those teachers that give so much to us? My answer to each of those questions was YES, and that’s why I volunteered to lead the DIAD Resource Area For Teachers (RAFT) event coming up in October. I know that my son and daughter, both teachers in inner-city schools, devote enormous amounts of their personal income to creating meaningful and enriching activities to the students they encounter as the parents don’t have the means to do so. I want to help them in their efforts to give back to an under served community in a time of shrinking state budgets and increasing class size.

If you haven’t heard of RAFT before, they help educators transform the learning experience through "hands-on" education that inspires the joy and discovery of learning. RAFT's products, services and low cost teaching supplies enrich and improve the education of over 600,000 young people each year. RAFT produces innovative "hands-on" teaching idea sheets and packaged activity kits that are created around important concepts in science, technology, engineering and math, as well as reading and art. DIAD volunteers will help them by sorting books, packaging academic kits, and sorting material donations.

If you are a JLPA-MP member and want to join us, save Saturday, October 22 from 1pm to 4pm and look for eNews for more information or go online to the DIAD section of the League website.

Shelter Network - First Workshop

By Amy Hamilton, Shelter Network Committee Member

Shelter Network hosted its first workshop for 2011-2012 at First Step for Families in San Mateo on Wednesday, September 7th - it was very successful! The training included 3 sessions led by Shelter Network committee members in small groups of 2-4 clients - Time Management, Money Management, and Interview Skills and How to Keep a Job.

The 10 Shelter Network clients who attended included one family, one couple, and other individuals. The clients received workshop materials relevant to the sessions (i.e. we provided alarm clocks during the Time Management session). The Shelter Network clients seemed very engaged and asked many questions! One client commented, Great! I am glad that I chose this meeting! Another exclaimed, I'm very appreciative that they have the time to help. Love it!.

I think the Junior League Shelter Network committee members get as much out of the Workshops as the clients! We really feel like we can make a difference when the clients ask questions and tell us their stories. Committee members have been asked to review resumes and give opinions such as what to wear to an interview and whether someone should cover their tattoo.

One of the best parts of the Workshops is the small groups. Each committee member discusses her topic with 1-4 Shelter Network clients at a time. This is a small enough group to facilitate discussions and feedback. We hand out course material and checklists for each topic along with relevant workshop materials including the alarm clocks and calculators. We will hold 10 Workshops during the League year (August, 2011 - May, 2012) - 5 Workshops at Haven House in Menlo Park and 5 at First Steps for Families in San Mateo. It should be a rewarding year!