New York Junior League

We provide a positive force for change through direct service, collaborations with other community organizations, and advocacy.

NYJL volunteers strengthen the health and well-being of children and families of the greater New York area. Volunteers serve on committees that meet regularly with over 20 community partners in New York City—schools, neighborhood centers, senior residences, hospitals, transitional housing, to name just a few. Our 30 community committees are organized into five distinct Councils that focus on specific community needs.

Community Councils

• Adult Education & Mentoring Council

  This area focuses on adult life skills training and support; self-esteem and self-advocacy; companionship and guidance; and tools and resources for success. NYJL volunteers counsel and advocate for domestic violence and sexual assault victims in New York City hospitals in partnership with New York Presbyterian Hospital’s Domestic & Other Violence Emergencies program; focus on goal-setting, housing, job/career search, and finances with the Women’s Prison Association, prepare recent immigrants for their job search at the English-Speaking Union, and develop friendships with the elderly at the Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged.

• Read more about our committees and partners

• Children’s Education Council

  Working with community partners such as Mott Haven Academy Charter School and Women in Need, the underlying goal of the Children’s Education Council is to empower parents, guardians and caregivers with the tools that will help them build a positive future for themselves and their families. For families who are homeless, headed by a single parent or experiencing other difficulties, the stress of daily life can be overwhelming. NYJL volunteers participate in programs intended to help alleviate some of the pressures faced by today’s families and enable their children to lead fuller, healthier, and more independent lives. NYJL volunteers work with many established community partners to provide educational support in a variety of disciplines including math, science, art, financial literacy, reading and writing. In conjunction with community partners through our Done in a Day program, the NYJL also completes episodic projects, such as emergency relief events, food pantry and clothing bank services, education, mentoring, and brick and mortar improvements. In addition to these time and talent contributions to the community, the Community Improvement Project establishes a one-year partnership with a selected facility to assist in increasing the facility’s community impact through a $50,000 capital donation, accompanied by hundreds of volunteer man-hours.

• Read more about our committees and partners

• Culture & the Arts Council

  To help bring arts education and appreciation to underserved New York children and teenagers, NYJL volunteers design interactive projects to encourage self-expression while building confidence and self-esteem. Research shows that exposure to art and music facilitates social and communicative development in children, and NYJL volunteers provide these opportunities via robust visual and performing arts curricula and supplemental trips to venues from The Met to Carnegie Hall. Other community partners in this area include P.S. 64, Grosvenor Neighborhood House YMCA,The Harbor for Boys and Girls and the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center.

  For more than 20 years, NYJL volunteers have designed, planned, funded and completed a playground renovation each spring in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

• Read more about our committees and partners

• Child Health & Welfare Council

  A mentor is a trusted adult with a long-term, consistent commitment to provide guidance and support to at-risk youth. NYJL volunteers work to teach these young people that challenging life circumstances provide opportunities to learn, grow, and persevere. The NYJL works with a variety of community partners, including the Supportive Children’s Advocacy Network, Mentoring USA, Andrew Glover, and Good Shepherd. Volunteers provide programming that uses a positive approach, harnessing individual strengths and aiming to foster responsibility, self-esteem, initiative, and development of life skills.

• Read more about our committees and partners

• City Impact Council

  The City Impact Council addresses the NYJL’s community projects partnering with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation for the Playground Improvement Project as well as other Manhattan-based organizations through our Community Improvement Project, Done in a Day, and Done in a Day on Demand committees.

• Read more about our committees and partners

How can I apply to be a Community Partner?

We are always looking for new community partners.

If you think your organization, project, or program would benefit from working with the NYJL and our team of trained volunteers, we encourage you to apply to become a community partner.

• Community Partners APPLY TO BE A COMMUNITY PARTNER

• Our community partners are NYC-based organizations that work hand-in-hand with an NYJL team of trained volunteers for one-off projects and ongoing programs. Aside from collaborating with community partners on their established programs and projects, the NYJL can also customize programs to fulfill service gaps and meet clients’ unique needs.
• Types of ongoing programs include life skills workshops for clients transitioning out of homelessness, the foster care system, or incarceration; health and leadership programs for adolescents; visual and performing arts for children; job readiness and career development; nutrition workshops; financial literacy; community space renovations; and academic support, among others.

• Community Improvement Project (CIP) APPLY FOR CIP

• Each year the NYJL creates a one-year partnership with a selected NYC community facility to increase our community impact. We provide a team of trained NYJL volunteers to help complete the project as well as funding support and in-kind services for capital improvements. Furthermore, the NYJL offers on-going enrichment services to our CIP clients, for example tutoring and workforce development at Hartley House. In addition to Hartley House, past CIP partners include Union Settlement, New York City Mission Society, and Urban Dove.

If you have any questions about how we work with community partners, or the application process, please email community@nyjl.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

Interested in learning more about the NYJL’s current programs and initiatives?

Join our Community Impact e-mail list!