Junior League gets behind the Orpheum
May 15th, 2008 by prissycook
The deeper I dive into the Junior League the more I appreciate the dueling facets of the membership. There are the traditional elite. The few who were raised in privilege and live lives that are tied into expectations. They have pedigrees that are stocked with trust funds and endowments.
Then theres the group within the League who are educated, self-made and polished. They come from families who put value in hard work, some come from homes where they didn’t struggle with life, but maybe they didn’t take family vacations to Hawaii either.
It’s these two backgrounds that help make the Junior League successful. The group who isn’t afraid to write big checks, think nothing of asking a benefactor for thousands and are glamorous enough to have people talking about them for weeks after an event.
Then theres the group who are willing to log volunteer hours cleaning rooms, planting shrubs and putting together projects with homeless children.
In my opinion that is what makes the Junior League a unique and high impact group. You’ll hear quite often the slogan around the League, “When the Junior League gets behind a project, Phoenix changes.” And that is so true. We are unique in that we have a group who can get out there and get the money to fund a project and we have a group who is willing to support a project with their sweat equity.
I went to a Junior League meeting this week at one of our past projects. One that was started and finished way before I moved to Phoenix. But one that,as a resident of Phoenix, I truly appreciate. It’s the Orpheum Theater in downtown Phoenix. I’d like the share this excerpt from the Orpheum’s website:
In the early 1980’s Nederlander decided to put the property on the market rather than renovate it for reuse. It shared the block with a drive-thru restaurant and a parking lot — an incompatible icon of a bygone era.
The theater’s location on the west side of Central Avenue may have had more to do with its survival than any other factor. Many older buildings fell victim to destruction by fire or were razed to accommodate high rise development in the 1970’s. But Second Avenue and Adams Street was not in the direction Phoenix’ downtown rebirth was headed.
Concurrent to the Orpheum’s near demise, the Junior League of Phoenix initiated a project to inventory historic buildings in the downtown area. Although the Orpheum was identified as a valuable historic property, some potential buyers considered razing the theater to put a new commercial building there.
Then-Mayor Terry Goddard and his newly formed historic preservation task force endorsed the idea of having the city buy the theater to ensure its long-term preservation. Shortly thereafter, the Junior League of Phoenix spearheaded a community effort to retain the architectural and historical integrity of Phoenix’ last historic theater and helped place the Orpheum on the National Register of Historic Places.
If you live in Phoenix and are interested in joining the Junior League, we’re accepting applications though the end of May 2008.
Keesha oversees recruiting and training programs for GoDaddy.com. She is responsible for building programs that attract and retain amazing employees. She attended Blinn College and Texas A&M University.
Keesha loves food and photography and is passionate about community volunteering. She sits on the board of directors for the Junior League of Phoenix and in her free time you will find her baking and working on her empire Cupcake Cabana. Her most private cupcake confession? She doesn't like frosting!
Great post Keesha! I found a similar experience with the JLP. When you look at the projects and good works that the League has accomplished over the last 73 years, it really puts perspective around the power of volunteers (regardless of demographics).