Making a Difference in Memphis since 1922.

The Junior League of Memphis has always been an organization that isn’t afraid to roll up its sleeves and get things done.

We’ve been hard at work in Memphis for over 100 years. In 1922, a group of 17 women gathered with the purpose of starting a local branch of the Association of Junior Leagues of America. Their first order of business was to approve donations to a local orphanage and service to the blind. All motions carried:$100 to Cheerfield Farm; $25 to the blind; $15 to a local orphanage. The commitment to the community and women as catalysts for change continues with nearly 1,300 members, representing one of the largest groups of volunteers in our city and Junior Leagues in the world.

Since that eventful day, the Junior League of Memphis has started, coordinated, or contributed to many of Memphis’ most worthwhile organizations. These include Volunteer Mid-South, WKNO, Memphis in May, Church Health Center, Hope House, Children’s Museum of Memphis, The Salvation Army, Memphis Pink Palace Museum, Memphis Arts Council, The Memphis Symphony, Friends of the Orpheum, Emmanuel Episcopal Center, the Memphis Alcohol and Drug Council, and the list goes on.

As our past is rich with devotion and commitment, our future will be even richer with our continued focus to benefit and serve organizations and individuals throughout the greater Memphis area. The sheer number of community projects the Junior League of Memphis has been involved in over the years totals in the hundreds. We support a variety of needs, primarily those that benefit women and children.

In celebration of our Centennial, we held many thoughtful conversations with community leaders in the neighborhoods of Binghampton, Berclair, and The Heights to learn what were the crucial issues and where they needed the most support. The Junior League of Memphis made large-scale investments in mission-driven projects.

The JLM partnered with Yellow House, a non-profit organization started by Believing Church working to provide more housing stability for single mothers and their children in the Berclair neighborhood. Our organization provided the grant dollars to purchase the very first house where a single mother and her two children now live. We held the ribbon cutting for the first Yellow House on AJLI’s first Find the Good Day on September 14, 2023.

The JLM also invested in the Heights Line, a neighborhood-led initiative to create the longest linear park in Memphis on National Avenue where neighbors can play, shop, and engage in recreation. The central JLM pavilion will serve as a gathering place for families and friends. The ribbon-tying celebration for the new Heights Line was held in April 2024.