 Hi, and welcome to Think Tech Hawaii. My name is Kim Lau and this show is called Hawaii Rising. The focus of this show is on people helping people to develop the economy as well as the community because that's the only way we'll be able to create a sustainable future for Hawaii. So, some people make the common mistake of thinking that volunteerism is just something nice that people can do and it makes them feel good in the end. But what impact does volunteering really have? Actually it has a huge impact. Volunteering impacts the health as well as the well-being of communities worldwide. For example, some volunteers deliver critical services, they help to keep our neighborhoods safe and clean, they tutor, teach, mentor, coach, and support others, they educate the public on health and safety and they even build houses, schools, dig wells, and provide infrastructure for communities. So according to the numbers, the Corporation for National and Community Service, there are 61.8 million individuals in the United States that contributed to 8 billion hours of volunteerism in 2008 alone. And the economic value of this was 162 billion dollars in the US. So how can you become more involved? Today we have Jen Dodson and Erica Major from the Junior League of Hawaii to talk about just that how can people in the community come out and get involved. So welcome to the show today, thank you so much for being here. Thanks for having us Kim, we really appreciate the opportunity. And you guys are the co-chairs of which committee in the Junior League? So we are the co-chairs of the new member committee of the Junior League of Honolulu. And so we're getting to talking about the Junior League more, but for yourself, Jen, I know that Junior League is not your jobs for both of you, it's not your professional career, it's a volunteer thing that you guys do, but for your job Jennifer, you actually work at a nonprofit. That's correct. Sometimes Junior League does feel like a job, but my real job, the paid job is with the American Red Cross and I am the chief development officer there. And your job, Erica, is United Health Care and I am their senior operational trainer. And so why do you both take the time out of your busy schedules to not just work in a nonprofit industry, but also volunteer in a nonprofit for a nonprofit? Erica, do you want to go for it? I think it's super important that we consistently give back to our communities and when we have such a need out here in Hawaii, it's important that we take the time and really learn about what we need to do as an organization and how we can help in those areas. I agree. And for me, Kim, it's a more personal story. I was made in Vietnam and then I was board here in Hawaii and my family when we came to Hawaii, it was during a very war time situation and we were very blessed to come to Hawaii and have countless number of faces and people just helping us. And I believe a lot of them were volunteers. I don't know who they were or what organization they worked for. But we had people helping us with finding a home, teaching us English, finding clothes for a little baby like myself. And so from a very young age, I was taught to give back. And to this day and age, I'm now a mother with two children and I try to teach my children the value of giving back and volunteering. So it's a very personal situation for me. And a love that I have. And that's such a strong value that people everywhere can go back and teach to their families, teach to not only their children, but other people in the community as well. Absolutely. And you've been involved with Junior League for quite a while now, right? That's right. You have a history with the league. Yes, actually, that's another funny story, Kim. I moved back to Hawaii at 9-11. So again, during a very tumultuous time in the world, and when I moved back to Hawaii, I had a long career in the federal government, living abroad, living internationally, and I found myself back here in Hawaii, needing to reconnect. And one of the ways that I reconnected with my community here in Hawaii was through the Junior League of Honolulu, but it took me four years of saying, no, I'm not going to join that organization. What is that organization? There's a lot of misconceptions, misperceptions about the Junior League, but I ended up joining after four years and I've been a member now for 14. And you were actually the past president a couple of years ago. Yes, I was. I was Junior League of Honolulu past president in 2012. And how long have you been with the Junior League, Erica? I'm going on my second year. And why did you decide to join? I really connected to one of our missions. So I wanted to get involved in the community. And at the time we were focusing on sex trafficking. And for me, that was such an unknown area. So I really wanted to dig my hands in and see really what that was about and how we can help. And that Hawaii is such a big hub for it. So I really wanted to know what the ins and outs of that was. So that's the great thing we can segue into what is Junior League? Like what are the mission, the value that the Junior League is representing here in Honolulu? Yeah, I think we just mentioned that a lot of people don't know what is the Junior League of Honolulu. So maybe I'm going to turn it over to my co-chair over here. When you first joined, what was the mission and the vision that you fell in love with? So I really fell in love with the fact that we were a training organization that focused on teaching women how to be better leaders. And through that, they would teach you how to become a leader and be a figure in the community. So then we really focused on volunteering as well. And that's pretty much why I wound up joining in the first place. And so the official mission for the Junior League of Honolulu is to promote volunteerism, develop the potential of our women leaders and improve our communities. So in a nutshell, like Erica said, it's an all volunteer female organization that aims to train better leaders for our community. And I love that. Right, who wouldn't? It's not just one day where you go out and do something good. It's training people to live that value and project it throughout their lives and teach other people in their communities to do the same thing. Absolutely. And I get to meet fabulous women like you, because I met you through the Junior League of Honolulu. And about how many other women are in the Junior League and what's their age range? That's such a great question. Erica, do you want to answer that? So our age range is quite growing. Previously, it was mid-age to older women. And then in the past, I would say five years or so, we've gotten a lot more like myself in the early 20s, rearing to go in. So the age range now is very drastic, I'd say. Yeah, and it makes us even more diverse. So officially, you have to be 18 to join the Junior League of Honolulu. And that's the age range for all Junior Leagues across the nation because the Junior League itself is a national and international organization. So there's the Junior League of New York where the headquarters are. And there's the Junior League of California, but Junior League of Honolulu and all Junior Leagues. The minimum age is 18, and the maximum age is... None. No maximum. So we actually have, we have 100-year-old members. And it's amazing. That's, again, the one thing that I love about the Junior League is that it is a diverse, diverse female population. And about how many women are there right now? We have about 400 members. And that includes active membership, which are the volunteers that are rolling up their sleeves every day and doing the committee work and doing the volunteer work. And then there's also the sustainers, which after five to seven years of being a member in the Junior League, you can go into a less active phase, but still be a supporting member of the Junior League. And a lot of these women have gone on to be on the boards of other nonprofit organizations and continue to still be involved with the Junior League, lending their knowledge, lending their resources, lending their connections. So, including sustainers and actives, it's a big group. It's about 400 women. And you hear about us all over the place, because Hawaii, as we know, is one degree of separation. Right. That's for sure. Can we, I guess, talk about some of the activities that Junior League does? Like, what exactly do we go out and volunteer to do, or things like that? Sure, sure. Erica, do you want to share some? Sure. Do you want me to talk about the new member project? Sure, why not? Okay, why not? Because that's now official, right? Yeah. So we're doing our new, each time that we have a new member orientation, part of their process is to do a new member project. So this project is something that we decide in the community that is focused on an area that we can help with. And we pretty much do a done in a day project where we have all of the new member trainees pretty much go and organize it from start to finish. And their project is to pretty much learn about what the Junior League does, learn about our mission, learn about the training opportunities within it, and once that's complete, they're pretty much into our organization. So I really like that project. And we're working with YO Youth Outreach. And so it's really touching to me because we're working with homeless kids within Honolulu, and we're going to pretty much help revamp their place, make it nice and new, and give them the things that they need. So. Yeah. Like Erica mentioned, the Junior League of Honolulu does many different volunteer projects. Why is that? It's because it's an organization that is aims to meet the needs of the community at that point in time. And so there's a whole organization, a whole process in which we identify through the work that we do, what is the current community need? And like Erica mentioned, the new member project is to work with a subsidiary of the Waikiki Health, which is Youth Outreach. But in the past, through 93 years of with the Junior League of Honolulu being started in 1923, it's amazing. We've had projects that have started, Hale Kippa, that have renovated Iolani Palace, which is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, that we've worked with the Children's Discovery Center. We've worked with so many different organizations ranging from the rehabilitation hospital to parents and children together. Every single nonprofit that you mentioned in Hawaii has somehow been touched or been involved with the Junior League of Honolulu and vice versa. It's amazing. For our new member class, I remember we worked with hugs. Right. Well, why don't you tell us a little bit about your new member project? Because that was an amazing one. So that was pretty awesome. We knew that there was limitations trying to work individually with the families themselves or the children themselves. But we were able to gather the kits. And we made kits for like a toiletry kit and things like that, stuffed animals and packages. So we could give each family some kind of kit that they could be more comfortable at home or at the hospital with. And then we delivered them to the hugs organization. I remember the pictures of your new member class lined up with all the kits that we were able to make. And that was with hugs. Do you remember that acronym for which hugs stands for? Can you tell me? It's help, understanding, group support. So that's another nonprofit organization that has been touched by the Junior League of Honolulu. Right. Very deserving organizations across the board. And it's not just women-oriented or children. It's whatever the need in the community is. That's correct. So when we come back, we're going to take a quick break right now, but when we come back, we're going to talk about how people out there can specifically get involved and become one of the new members in this year's new member class. Great. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you for listening. Hi, I'm Steven Phillip Katz. I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist here in Hawaii. And I'm the host of Shrink Wrap Hawaii, which is on Tuesdays at three o'clock. Have a great summit. Take care of your mental health. Aloha. We invite you to join us on our Keys to Success show, which is live on the Think Tech Live Streaming Network series weekly on Thursdays at 11 a.m. My name is Danilia, D-A-N-E-L-I-A. And I'm the other half of the duo, John Newman. Our goal for Keys to Success is to provide a platform for professional and personal development tools and profound insights on how to achieve success in life, career, and or business. We have incredible guests from all walks of life, including politicians, successful business owners, leaders, entrepreneurs, and authors. As this is a live show, there are live mess ups as well, which are fun to watch. Aloha, and we'll see you on Thursday. Hi, and welcome back to Hawaii Rising. My name is Kim Lau, and today we have the co-chairs of the new membership committee of the Junior League of Honolulu, Jen Dotson, and Erica Meijer. Thank you so much for being here. So let's, before we go into talking about new membership and how people out there can join the league, let's go back and talk about what Junior League stands for. Like, where does that name come from? So it's a funny story. Back 100 years ago when the Junior League first started, it was in New York of all places, and it was supposed to be for these young women who wanted to volunteer but didn't know how. And so 100 years ago, that was probably, you know, a pretty valid question. And so it was supposed to be for young women, and hence the name, Junior League of Honolulu. But I know there are people that ask me all the time, Junior League of Honolulu, is that a softball team or something? Or is it a bowling, like a bowling league? And I'm like, no, no, it's an all women volunteer organization that's been around for 93 years. So I'm glad you asked. So, okay, not just for young people or juniors, it's for all women. Yeah, yeah. Okay, and so for the women out there, how can they go about joining? Like, is it, can you sign up any time or is there like an enrollment period? Great question, and Erica has the answer. Yeah. So we have two sessions, both are new member orientations. So you go through an orientation process and then you're with us for, is it three, four weeks until your new member project happens. So our orientation happens on two different dates. You can choose which one is more feasible for your schedule. And the first one is on the 21st of August and the second one is on August 23rd. So if anyone is interested, they just show up to where or they have to sign up first? Yes, they need to sign up. So it's so great that you have us on your show today because today is August 8th and they have just a few weeks before they can sign then with our new member orientation coming up. Again, it's Sunday, August 21st at 2pm and Tuesday, August 23rd at 6pm. Depending on which fits your schedule best, please RSVP, you can either RSVP via our website which is www.juniorleagueofhonolulu.org or you can send an email to info at juniorleagueofhonolulu.org. Either way would be great. All right, so once people sign up for the orientation on either of those two days, then what happens? So once they do the orientation, you would sign up and register with us. And from that point, we have certain dates that we meet every couple of weeks to pretty much work on your project. We target a couple of different trainings to learn more about our organization and really get you familiar with what and how our organization operates. So it is really like a curriculum and this curriculum is tried and true. It's topics that we've identified through, again, 93 years of being in existence and it ranges from finance and fundraising to membership and leadership development as well as community and community projects. And so through this training curriculum, which sounds so official and it sounds so like I got to sit in a classroom, it actually is something that's attracted me because I'm the type of person, I'm a lifelong learner. I'm always looking up, you know, e-learning classes on the internet. I'm looking up in the community colleges, what are some classes that I can take in the evening? But this is an opportunity that is being offered now to any woman over the age of 18 to join us and have an amazing experience making an impact in our community. I love the fact that we do this and I love the fact that I get to work with this woman right here and we have a fabulous time doing it. And we're really proud of the program we've put together. And the training that you've talked about, like fundraising, fund development, I mean, that's training that you can go and take into any nonprofit. If you're interested in joining a board, if you're interested in helping out in the nonprofit sector anywhere, you can take this training and apply it elsewhere. Absolutely. And also you're talking about leadership development, like that's not just for nonprofits. You can take that and apply that at your work in your relationships and whatnot, you know? So it's not just going out there and planning a project or doing community service. It's learning these lifelong skills that are applicable to any facet of your life. Right, that's right. And we've debated that a lot. So do you wanna share some of our conversation? Yeah, so part of it was when do you know if it's a right fit for you? And a lot of it is we, all of the women in our organization has a very common interest, which is obviously helping the community, but we're also learning and promoting volunteering as that happens. So even the array of different people that are with us have such drastic parts of their work that come to us. So any given time you're consistently learning from somebody and something. I learn a ton from you all the time. So it's just working. It's working with a lot of people who have a ton more experience than I do. And that's pretty much how I can take, I can take that anywhere else to my job, to my Penn State stuff or anything like that. So it's really applicable throughout a lot of different channels of my life. Yeah, and like you're saying this is amazing network or amazing opportunity, network with women that you would never otherwise meet in other like professions or industries that usually like accountants don't talk to nonprofits or something like that, you know like. Unless I wanna check from you. Right, so I mean like continuous learning and continuous improvement, you know that's, and the women in the organization are all interested in the same thing, even though they have varying backgrounds and interests. That's right. Just on our new member committee, let's name some of the professions and background that we have. We have a dance instructor. We have a project manager for a water treatment company. We have a corporate trainer over here. We have a fundraiser over here. We have a social worker and we have a PhD student. I mean it's pretty much across the board and in varying different parts of their lives. Some are married with children. Some are single, not married. Some are just recently moved here to Hawaii. Some have grown up here all their lives. It's a diverse, wonderful organization and if there's a woman out there that is interested in improving our community, this is the organization for you and I really encourage you to sign up. And it's a great way to make friends too. Yes, yeah, absolutely. Yes, we've become pretty good friends for not knowing each other previously and now we've pretty much emailed in text every day. So after the new membership class, there's a graduation and then what do new members do or become part of? Well, it's a new experience for you, so why don't you share? So then you're part of the bigger organization and then you work in clusters. So depending on what your cluster is, whether it's say it's part of the social committee, you would work with everyone else who's in the social committee and you would do all of the outreach. So you would do our New Valley note, you would do our Facebook and really zone in on what that is. So you would be working with a different cluster of women to produce that part of our org. Like you were part of the communications cluster. And so she got thrown right into writing newsletters and different communication vehicles on behalf of the Junior League. So yeah, so it's a pretty quick process. It's a process that used to be one year long that now because of women's busy lives, we recognize that we had to change with the times. And so we've truncated it now to five sessions over the course of several months. So we start August 21st and 23rd with orientation. We jump right into the first training session immediately the next week and everyone pretty much graduates by the time the holiday season hits. So by November, December, everyone is graduated because we know we're so busy during the holidays. We want people active and part of the larger organization before the holidays hit. So it's a quick process. And that's quite doable, like one meeting a month or so. Right, exactly. I mean that's doable for anybody's busy life. Exactly, we hope so. Again, there's been a lot of changes and improvements to the curriculum. It sounds so official, but it's not. We really make it fun. Do you want to share some of the themes that we have for the meeting? We're bringing to fun. I mean, we work hard, but we play hard too. Share some of the themes that we have going on. So each meeting has a different theme. Right, so our orientation, we're doing a Southern-style theme, which is totally not anything that I would normally participate in, period. But we're dressing in our big hats and having a tea party and... Wearing our white pearl. Yeah, yeah. We're poking fun a little bit at the history of what Junior League used to be, but that's on us anymore. But we like to have a little bit of fun. We're doing an Olympic theme and whatever that means to you, right? It's a summer games. And so for the first session, our first meeting, it's the opening ceremonies, right? So we're gonna have the Olympic theme. What other themes do you have? We're doing the tacky tourist. Yes. You see walking around in Waikiki with our umbrellas and their... Loud, loud shirts, right? For Halloween, we have a hideous Halloween theme going on. So yeah, it's pretty fun. It's fun and educational. And you're helping the community. Absolutely. What a better way to spend, you know, whatever time you have. Exactly. What's not to love. Sign up now. Go to that website, juniorleagueofonolulu.org. And so after the new members become part of the larger organization, then you have monthly meetings. Right. As an active, there are general membership meetings that are the third Wednesday of every month. So for those Uber-organized women that have to calendar everything, go ahead and plug that in as a recurring event. Third Wednesday of every month, we have a general membership meeting. And then we have also other volunteer events that happen, like My Story, which is during the week. We also have weekend events if you can't make during the week. And so basically you see what fits your schedule and what works with you. And of course we want you to volunteer to everything, but whatever you can make it. It's not mandatory. It's not mandatory now. But if you're like Erica, you pretty much volunteer for everything. It's fun. It's absolutely so fun. Yes, it is. Then you feel great about improving this community right here. It's really being part of the fabric of the community and being part of something that actually changes the world. And what is it that, how does that say and go? It's a committed group of women, volunteers that can change in the world. And indeed we have, haven't we? Right, definitely. So before we leave today, can you give us those dates one more time for any of those interested women out there? Sure, sure. So it is Sunday, August 21st at two p.m. to four. And then the second one is August 23rd and that is from six p.m. to eight. So thank you guys so much for being here today. And all the women out there, if you're interested, please check out the Junior League of Honolulu. Thank you for watching. This is Kim Lau with Hawaii Rising.