JLW To Support Literacy at National Book Festival's 10th Anniversary
More than 450 Junior League of Washington (JLW) volunteers will join the Library of Congress to promote literacy at the 10th annual National Book Festival on Saturday, September 25, on the National Mall. The event, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, is free and open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. between 3rd and 7th Streets on the National Mall. The National Book Festival began in 2001 with approximately 30,000 people attending and the event has grown in popularity to include more than 130,000 attendees and renowned authors. This year's theme is "Celebrating a Decade of Words and Wonder" and includes more than 70 authors, illustrators, and poets.
"The Junior League of Washington is honored to once again support the National Book Festival and the Library of Congress in their efforts to celebrate literacy," said Maria Marks, Junior League of Washington President. "For over ten years, the Junior League of Washington has focused its volunteer efforts to strive to lead, coordinate, and support programs in the Washington, DC area that enhance literacy skills in the community. The National Book Festival is the perfect partner for us and we are incredibly pleased to be involved for our ninth year."
For a full list of participating authors and additional information, please visit http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/. For JLW's press release, please click here.
The Junior League Lends a Helping Hand at the National Museum of Women in the Arts
One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is working with our volunteers. Volunteers at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) give tours, staff the information desk, assist with public programs and work with different departments. I recently met with the Junior League of Washington NMWA committee for our 2010 kickoff meeting. Around the table were fifteen ladies from all around DC, each of whom was pledging her valuable time to support NMWA and its mission.
NMWA wouldn't have our fantastic volunteer corps without the Junior League of Washington (JLW). Before the New York Avenue museum space was opened, the JLW generously donated funds to create a volunteer program. The museum was able to hire a coordinator who organized docent-led tours of Founder Wilhelmina Holladay's Georgetown home. When the museum moved to its present location, the volunteer program expanded and now includes more than one hundred dedicated individuals (some who remember giving those tours in Georgetown)!
The JLW has often provided much needed resources to the museum. In recent years, they have supplied the Education Department with a projector which allows us to bring the museum to various groups outside our walls and tables so that programs (including our teen Role Model Workshops and Teachers Connect Summer Institute) have spaces to work. As program and event volunteers they present a fabulous face to attendees of our Spring Gala, Shenson Chamber Music Concerts, and literary series.
To read more, click here.
