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By Suzanne Ramsey

This year, the Junior League of Lynchburg celebrates its 85th anniversary.

Since 1926, the women’s service organization–referred to simply as “the League” by its members–has been instrumental in founding many of the organizations, events and projects that have become mainstays in Lynchburg. These have included, among other things, Kaleidoscope, Sheltered Industries, Day in the Park, Genesis House, the Adult Care Center, Kid’s Haven, the Free Clinic of Central Virginia, Amazement Square and the sprayground at Riverside Park.

The League also brought CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) to Central Virginia and started the Department of Physical Therapy at Lynchburg General Hospital. And who could forget Bargain Mart, the rummage sale the League used to hold at the City Armory each fall?

The League’s mission is “promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women” and “improving the community through the action of trained volunteers,” so it should come as no surprise that its active members and sustainers–members who put in eight years of active service and then take on an advisory role–sit on the boards of directors of nonprofits all over the city.

“[The League] is really big on bringing women in and given them the training to be effective volunteers in the community and to feel comfortable doing that,” Holly Perrow, League president, said. “The goal, when someone leaves the Junior League, is to go out and participate in different organizations and committees and sit on other nonprofit boards in the community, and be effective leaders and volunteers.”

During her active years, Jennifer McCarthy, a sustainer and past-president, said she learned how to run a meeting, manage time and evaluate programs, as to whether or not the League should take them on.

“Is this the best use of your money?” McCarthy said. “How do we raise money? How is the program going to sustain itself? These are rough questions to ask. Maybe this isn’t a program we can take on right now. Who wants to say, ‘No’ to anything that affects people? [I learned] how to evaluate things and try to take some of the emotional issues off the table and make good decisions that are in the best interest of the program.”

“There was no fooling around”

The Junior League of Lynchburg was founded by young women who, like the founder of the first Junior League, Mary Harriman, daughter of a New York railroad magnate, saw needs in the community and wanted to make a difference.

Like Harriman, who was active in the Settlement Movement, they also weren’t afraid to take on unpopular causes.

Ann Ream, active in the 1940s and 50s, recalled one meeting during World War II where a guest speaker talked about sexually transmitted diseases. At the time, Lynchburg was a weekend destination for soldiers from Camp Pickett and League members were volunteering with the Red Cross and USO.

“[They were] talking about syphilis and venereal diseases,” Ream, now 90, said. “It was a hush-hush word, which I thought was kind of funny.”

During that time, the League also sponsored a “Sunday morning clinic,” providing prenatal care for poor pregnant women.

“Most of the women who came there were from the county,” Ream said. “Local doctors donated their time. There were a lot of indigent women who needed help with their pregnancies.”

Ream also remembers collecting clothes for Europeans whose towns were bombed during World War II, working with students at the local blind school, doing arts and crafts at the training school in Madison Heights and advocating for teachers with the League’s “Speak Up For Teachers” campaign.

For Ream, there was no doubt that the League was all about community service.

“When I joined, it was quite obvious it was a service organization,” she said. “We had to do so many hours of volunteer work. There was no fooling around. There were a certain number of hours you had to do every week or every month. You were very serious about it. You could be kicked out if you didn’t fulfill your obligations.”

“We’re not like that at all”

In Kathryn Stockett’s bestselling novel, “The Help,” set in 1962, the Jackson, Mississippi, Junior League raises money for a charity called the “Poor Starving Children of Africa.” At the same time, some of its members treat their African-American maids like second-class citizens.

Fictional League president Hilly Holbrook even proposes a “sanitation initiative” aimed at protecting everyone from the dangers of desegregated toilets. “Protect yourself. Protect your children. Protect your help,” she says, her pretension oozing from the book’s pages.

When she read scenes like that from “The Help,” Perrow said she cringed.

“Unfortunately, some people have the idea that that’s how they still operate,” she said. “We’re not like that at all.”

That is not to say members of the Junior League of Lynchburg have never employed black domestic help. Although she admits its “kind of awkward” to talk about now, Ream said most League members during her active years had “some kind of part-time help to look after the babies.”

Initially, she said, they hired teenagers who would come directly from high school and “take the children walking and help you get dinner on the table.” As they became more affluent, they hired full-time maids. Having this assistance gave League members more time to work on projects.

“That meant these women were pretty free to spend more time in the community,” Ream said. “Those women did play tennis and play golf and play bridge but they spent a lot of time doing worthwhile things. They had to fulfill their volunteer responsibilities.”

That’s one difference Ream has found between the Leagues of today and 70 years ago: Today’s young women don’t have as much free time to volunteer. When she was active, Ream said, “very few of the women worked. Now, almost all young women work. It’s a different ball game. I think the purposes and aims of the League are the same. I think the way you go about it is different.”

League membership is also less exclusive today than it used to be. The only requirements are that you are at least 21 years old, pay your annual dues–$100 for actives and $85 for sustainers–and have a passion for community service. You don’t have to live in Lynchburg and the application and selection process has been described as a formality. The League also holds open houses at its Main Street headquarters for women who may be interested in joining.

“You just have to have an attitude of wanting to work hard and as a team,” Shelley Basinger, the League’s public relations and marketing chairwoman, said. “That’s what you need. Nothing else matters.”

Jiggie Holt remembers when getting into the League wasn’t so simple.

“I think you had to be recognized as having good manners and doing the proper things,” Holt, 92, said. “I know that was a part of it. You had to be exactly right. It was very exclusive. It was quite an honor to be invited to join.”

When Basinger joined the League three years ago, she said she was a little worried about fitting the image that she’d always envisioned. She wasn’t from the area–the state even–and as an anchor and reporter for WSET, she laughs about how non-affluent she is. Basinger soon realized there was nothing to fear. What she found was a diverse group that included single mothers, graduate students and minorities.

“That was really surprising to me,” she said. “I was glad to see that. Getting all those heads together, all those perspectives and different views, is how you accomplish things that are good for the community.”

To learn more about the Junior League of Lynchburg, visit www.jrleaguelynchburg.org.