Welcome to the Junior League of Fort Myers website!
The Junior League of Fort Myers (JLFM) is an organization of women devoted to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Through our rich 45 year history in Southwest Florida, JLFM has tackled the issues affecting our area.
A sampling of our past projects include: founding of the Calusa Nature Center, founding of the Women’s Resource Center, support for the Ronald McDonald House, Burroughs Home, the Imaginarium and Teen Court, just to name a few.
How we make a difference:
In the past year we have...
- provided meals to nearly 250 students per week at Franklin Park Elementary school, adding up to more than 10,000 meals in one year.
- fought childhood obesity through our nationally recognized Kids in the Kitchen initiative. The goal of this program is to empower youth to make healthy lifestyle choices and help reverse the increased rate of childhood obesity and its associated health issues. This past year our event was held in the Harlem Heights community and nearly 300 kids and their families participated in our event.
- mentored young women at-risk. Through WISH (an acronym for “Women
Instilling Self-Worth and Hope”) provides programming to teach necessary life
skills to young girls in the Lee County Juvenile Detention Center. - create short-term, done-in-a-day, quick impact community service and
improvement projects through our Helping Hands program. - granted $15,000 in Mini-Grants to 5 local non-profits in our community.
In the 2012-2013 League year, we will carry forward our WISH, Helping Hands and Mini Grants program, while expanding our Kids in the Kitchen program to include a mobile food pantry, which will help needy families access healthy food.
Our service programs and projects are funded through the proceeds of donations, grants and our Taste of the Town music and food festival. Taste of the Town is held on the first Sunday of each November in Centennial Park, in downtown Fort Myers, and is one of the largest outdoor festivals in our area, staffed exclusively by volunteers. All proceeds directly support our mission.
While we focus on improving our communities, our organization is also a place where women learn to become civic leaders. Through our training programs, members of the League can develop financial, non-profit, communications and business skills that are being leveraged throughout our community as these women share their skills in both the public and private sectors.
I am extremely honored to be the President of such a dynamic organization that makes such a huge difference in our local community! Please consider the Junior League of Fort Myers for your next volunteer experience, charitable contribution or as a
partner in improving our community.
Women building better communities...that’s the Junior League.
Sincerely,
Nicole Brenner, President 2012-13
