INSIDEUnlock the Magic of Miami December 11......................................page 5JLM and Florida Breast Health Initiative........................................page 6You’re Inivted! Member Holiday Events ........................................page 9Teaching Our Children to Give Back ............................................page 14Community Projects in Need for the Holidays ............................page 15Sustainers Get Social....................................................................page 18Leaders Sought for Next Year ......................................................page 19

President’sMessage

The Junior League of Miami, Inc. Membership Newsletter Vol. XVIII No. 2 | Winter 2009

Junior League

JournalLeadership is Not ina Title

John Quincy Adams said, “If youractions inspire others to dream more,do more and become more, you are a

leader.” Leadership is not in a title. It is inyour actions.

The Junior League of Miami is a bigorganization. With over 400 active andprovisional members, there are timeswhen it is natural to feel like a small fishin a big pond. Despite that fact, I want toremind you that we could not accomplishall that you will read about in the com-ing pages without each member.

Our community impact is integratedthroughout all six councils. Without thePlanning Council, where would ourfuture be? Without the DevelopmentCouncil, how would we afford to give?Without the Membership Council, howwould we cultivate our women who areworking to build a united community?Without the Finance Council, howwould we analyze and maintain our

resources? Without theCommunications Coun-cil, how would we edu-cate our membership onLeague activities andhow would we educatethe community aboutour achievements?

continued onpage 4

continued on page 8

All over the country, nonprofit organizations have been struggling not only forfunding, but also for manpower. Many people are unable to volunteer their timeto help out organizations when they are feeling the weight of the economic

burden that has befallen our nation. Althoughthese are troubling times, you would not beable to see this by viewing the drive and ded-ication of our Provisional groups. Thesewomen are quickly revealing that they are justnot willing to sit back and learn about theLeague; they are ready to muscle up, get dirty,

and use every ounce of themselves to giveback to our community during these try-ing times.

Our Provisional groups, underexcellent guidance from their mentors,were quick to choose their ProvisionalProjects on Super Saturday. Withintwo weeks, they were fervently e-mailing one another, contacting theorganizations they had selected tohelp, and coordinating and delegating

tasks and responsibilities for each mem-ber of their groups.

Provisionals as PowerhousesBy Michelle Austero Vidal Provisional Co-Chair

Provisional Simone Vazquez with child at Commu-nity Partnership for the Homeless

thanks the

Junior League

for their ongoing

service and commitment

to our community.

305.798.8685www.ashleycusack.com

EWM Realtors®

Winter 2009 3

2009-10

Board of DirectorsErin Dolan Knight

President

Loretta NidoPresident Elect

Elizabeth Murray VargasVice President–Communications

Katie Lane-ArriolaVice President–Community

Kim SarkisianVice President–Development

Christine ConnorVice President–Finance

Bibi Cruz-Ledón SearsVice President–Membership

Alise Johnson HenryVice President–Planning

Marlene Fernandez-KaravetsosRecording Secretary

Maria Figueroa-ByrdTreasurer

Betsy Colross HarperAssistant to the President

Dana MartorellaBylaws/Parliamentarian

Jennifer Hartnett WilsonNominating Chair

Vicky Colross HucksPlacement Chair

Candace VassillionSustaining Liaison

Lindy ColsonSustaining Advisor

Community Advisory BoardLeona Ferguson CooperThomasina Turner Diggs

Dr. Pedro GreerDr. Nilza KallosAnn KashmerIsrael Kreps

David Lawrence, Jr.Judge Cindy LedermanDean Isaac Prilleltensky

Marjorie RainesJudge Deborah White-Labora

Junior League JOURNALJennifer Gillihan Herskowitz, EditorTracy Pottker-Fishel, Assistant Editor

and JLMAdvertising ManagerAndrea GrahamKendall PrylesAmy Stone

Shanna Nye, Sheri MazariegosContributing Photographers

To Contact UsThe Junior League of Miami Headquarters is located at 713 Biltmore Way,

Coral Gables, FL 33134. Sondra Space, Office Manager.

Tel (305) 443-0160 Fax (305) 443-3849 Email HQ@jlmiami.org

Junior League Journal is published quarterly and is posted on the Web at

www.jlmiami.org. The next deadline for submissions is February 1, 2010

Printed by Aquarius Press.

Mission The Junior League of Miami, Inc., is an organization ofwomen committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the poten-tial of women, and improving communities through the effectiveaction and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclu-sively educational and charitable.

Vision Our vision is to empower Miami’s women, children, and fami-lies to conquer tomorrow’s challenges and to build a united com-munity.

Reaching OutWe reach out to women of all races, religions andnational origins who demonstrate an interest in and commitment tovoluntarism.

Focus AreasWe concentrate on families at risk with projects andactivities involving homelessness, family violence, children’s andwomen’s health, early childhood development and foster care.

Wish For Our MembersWe hope every member derives fulfillment aswe focus the energy and volunteer resources of our diverse mem-bership to attain our vision.

JUN

IOR LEAGUE OF M

IAMI

4 JUNIOR LEAGUE Journal

And without the Community Council,how would we make an impact in theareas of homelessness, family violence,

foster care, early childhooddevelopment and women’s andchildren’s health? What does allthis mean? Simply, that there isno one placement that is morevaluable than another in thisLeague. Everyone has a place inour council system. The workthat has been done this yearalone inspires me every day.

I encourage you to use yourplacement to inspire others todream more, do more andbecome more...to be a leader.You have that opportunity every day. Ican assure you of two things. One, theJunior League of Miami sets out to makeevery community program, training,fundraiser, meeting and function as per-fect as possible – perfect for both thecommunity and our membership. Second,every community program, training,fundraiser, meeting and function does notturn out perfectly. Plans change, circum-stances arise that are out of our control,and personalities come into play. That is

where your leadership comes in. We are atraining organization. If something is notgoing exactly as planned, we can stillmake it work and find a way to make iteven better. Let’s communicate with eachother. Our words and actions are power-ful. Use them to support the womenaround us to achieve more. Thank you foryour leadership.

Erin Dolan Knight

President’s Message

Katie Lane-Arriola bagging groceries at WholeFoods Shoppng Day.

Done In a Day Committee and volunteers painting mural atLinda Ray Center October 3.

Winter 2009 5

Unlock the Magic of MiamiBy Monica Fernandez and Mari Novo Miami Magic Co-Chairs

We invite you to join us in cele-brating our beautiful city andthe people that make it magical

on December 11th at the Four SeasonsHotel. This fabulous event includes a wineand cheese cocktail, a delectable buffet-style dinner, and a tempting champagnedessert party. All of these can be attendedin a progressive way, or can be attendedindividually at varying ticket prices.

Bring your friends, co-workers andfamily to help raise funds for JLM’s com-munity projects. Fancy an earlier happyhour event? Attend the Wine & Cheese.Craving some sweet relaxation after a hardweek of work? Treat yourself to the luxuri-ous Dessert & Champagne party. For theultimate experience, purchase a VIP ticketand enjoy all portions of the event includ-ing an extraordinary buffet dinner at thebreath-taking outdoor Palm Grove poolarea. Any way you choose, you can meetwith all your friends on the Sky Bridge fora cocktail!

Try your luck at one of the amazingraffle items by “unlocking” the Magic withyour Miami Magic key. Raffle itemsinclude an extravagant Royal Caribbeancruise and the very popular A-Rod Experi-ence, among other fabulous prizes.

What better way to start off the holi-day season than to enjoy a spectacularnight featuring an exquisite progressivedinner with marvelous selections, fabulousraffle items, and awe-inspiring views of ourmagical city. This year JLM is thrilled to behonoring three important leaders and phi-lanthropists in our community, ChefMichelle Bernstein, Andrea Ivory, Founderof the Florida Breast Health Initiative andJamie Rosenberg, Founder of Adopt aClassroom....That’s Miami Magic.

Miami Magic 2009

Progressive VIP Dinner$250 per person (8:00-10:30 p.m.)

Wine & Cheese Cocktail$125 per person (7:00-9:30 p.m.)

Dessert & Champagne$75 per person (9:00-11:30 p.m.)

* Progressive VIP Ticket includes Wine & Cheese,Buffet Dinner and Champagne & Dessert

* All ticket prices include access to open bar inSky Bridge from 7:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight

Raffle Tickets$100 | 3 Tickets for $250

Join us as a table host and invite 10 of yourfabulous friends to celebrate the holiday

season with you. What better time of year tohelp raise funds for the Junior League of

Miami's signature community projects!

VIP Table Host$2,500 (Table seats 10)

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6 JUNIOR LEAGUE Journal

OnOctober 16th, several JLM vol-unteers, along with PresidentErin Knight and her son, visited

the Ronald McDonald House, located onthe campus of the University ofMiami/JacksonMemorial Medical Center.The morning was spent raising the spiritsof 6 special kids.

The Ronald McDonald House Char-ities of South Florida is a not-for profitorganization dedicated to helping localchildren live happier, healthier and moreproductive lives by supporting healthcareand medical research programs, educationand the arts, and civic and social programs.Their houses are set up to be a temporary“home” for families to receive support andrefuge from the daily realities of hospitalprocedures and routine appointments in allMiami-Dade and Broward County pedi-atric medical facilities.

The JLM volunteers decorated theroom before the kids arrived with all typesof fun Halloween items, as well as tablescovered with Halloween-themed table-cloths (all of whichwere left for the kids andtheir parents to enjoy throughHalloween).Volunteer Ana Grill baked delicious cup-cakes that everyone was able to join in todecorate. Ana also created some adorable

pumpkin faced goody bags filled with alltypes of sweets and chocolates for the kids.

In the craft/living room at the RonaldMcDonald House DIADCo-Chairs SarahKnight & Elvira Larrain, as well as volun-teers Kathryn Tappert and Ana Grill, werein charge of the arts and crafts projects forthe day. Sarah Knight, using her knowl-edge as a teacher, planned some excitingcrafts for the children, including decorat-ing Halloween masks and painting Hal-loween themed pictures. The children,most between the ages of 3 and 8, partic-ipated in the planned activities, but thekids were also determined to use theirimagination and did so by creating theirvery own personal masks and master-pieces. All of the JLM volunteers werehands-on working alongside the children,talking to them, and ensuring them thatthey were just like any other healthy child.

DIAD Co-chair Elvira Larrain wasable to speak to many of the parents, andone particular mother explained to Elvirathat her daughter had just undergoneopen-heart surgery and had not been feel-ing well due to issues with her lungs, andwas unable to participate in the fun event.The mother was happy to take two masksfor her daughter to the hospital to put a

smile on her face and cheer her up.JLM is excited to have the Ronald

McDonald house as a DIAD project thisyear. The DIAD committee will be return-ing to the Ronald McDonald House inthe Spring, so please check the calendarlistings so that you too can brighten theday of a child. If you want to get involvedbefore the Spring, the Ronald McDonaldHouse is in desperate need of cannedgoods. Please visit the Ronald McDonaldHouse charities website atwww.rmhcsouthflorida.org to find outhow to donate.

Done In A Day visits the Ronald McDonald Housewith Halloween TreatsBy Sarah Knight and Elvira Larrain DIAD Co-Chairs

Kathryn Tappert with Ronald McDonald House resident.

Sarah Knight with Ronald McDonald Houseresident

Winter 2009 7

On September 26, the LotusHouse Thrift Shop celebrated itsgrand opening in the new

Design District/MidtownMiami location,at 203 NW 36th Street.

By noon on opening day, the pink-themed shop felt a bit like Filene’s Base-ment – shoppers bunched up at thecheckout counter, clamoring to buydesigner shoes, Armani suits, vintage jew-elry and the other specialty treasures atbargain prices – all for a good cause – tobenefit the Lotus House Shelter in Over-

town. Shelter residents and alumni workthe shop as part of an effort to create realworld job training and hands-on workexperience. On opening day, some of theresidents even entertained shoppers witha beautiful rendition of “Lean on Me.”

The buzz about town over LotusHouse Thrift is impressive. “It’s Zen andthe art of wardrobe maintenance,” saysDailyCandy, Miami Editionwww.dailycandy.com Lotus Thrift Shopis “guilt free retail therapy,” says Liz Tracyof www.abcmiami.com.

Lotus House Thrift Shop hours areTuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm.Donations are tax deductible. Pick-up ofselected items is also available; contactthrift@lotushouseshelter.orgor(305)576-4112.

Before you leave the house for ourGeneral Membership Meetings, pleaseremember to clean out your closets andgather your clothing donations. TheLeague is collecting women’s, men’s andchildren’s clothing donations at all Gen-eral Membership Meetings for the LotusHouse Thrift Shop.

Lotus House Thrift Shop OpeningBy Susan Lerner Sustaining Member

On Saturday, October 10th, theDone-In-A-Day committee,along with other Junior League

members, worked with the Florida BreastHealth Initiative. The Florida BreastHealth Initiative is an outreach organi-zation dedicated to educating womenabout the importance of breast healthand providing them with the resourcesto beat the disease. The Initiative pro-vides free breast health awareness, edu-cation, screening and referrals throughneighborhood door-to-door outreachtargeting underserved women. Theirmission is fight breast cancer as a lifethreatening disease, one household at atime.

Andrea Ivory started the FloridaBreast Health Initiative five years ago

while recovering from breast cancer.This nonprofit organization raises fundsto pay 100% of the cost of these poten-tially life-saving mammograms and edu-cational programs. (Andrea is a MagicCity Honoree and CNN Top 10 Hero ofthe Year.)

The JLM volunteers distributedinformation door-to-door in SouthMiami about breast health and how to

schedule appointments for mammo-grams. The event was powerful and as wewent door to door, we heard many sto-ries about cancer. The most touchingwere the ones of survival through earlydetection. The volunteer event raisedawareness about breast health, the differ-ent programs offered by the Initiative,and most of all, it raised hope.

JLM and the Florida Breast Health InitiativeBy Beth Halm DIAD Member and Sarah Knight DIAD Co-Chair

RRAAYYMMOONNDD JJ.. RRAAFFOOOOLLAAttttoorrnneeyy AAnndd CCoouunnsseelloorr AAtt LLaaww

95 Merrick Way • Suite 610

Coral Gables, Florida 33134

Telephone: (305) 567-9400

Facsimile: (305) 567-9401

Raymond@Rafool.com

www.Rafool.com

This nonprofit organization raises

funds to pay 100% of the cost of these

potentially life-saving mammograms

and educational programs.

8 JUNIOR LEAGUE Journal

Provisionals

One of the Provisional groups, men-tored by Cynthia Gay, finished their Pro-visional Project on October 16th.Cynthia’s group hosted a Halloween-themed movie night at Inn TransitionNorth (ITN). Eighteen children at ITNwere treated to pizza and “a lot of candy”while they watched the film Hocus Pocus.Quoted from an e-mail the very next day,Provisional Cindy Costa said, “I found itremarkable that in the midst of so muchnegativity in their lives, you would neverknow it from their attitudes. It was a veryrewarding experience, and I look forwardto future events with ITN.”

The Provisional group mentored byShawn Libman was able to complete theirproject on October 17th. This grouphelped a Girl Scout troop earn theirmuseum badge by taking them to theMuseum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)in North Miami. The Provisional grouppacked healthy lunches (chosen by eachgirl via RSVP from invitations that thegroup sent out) and brought them to themuseum the next day. After a guided tourof the museum, in which the tour guidessat the girls down and explained the dif-ferent art pieces, the girls were able tocreate their own art and mail it to anyonethey would like. The museum was kindenough to offer the girls free passes toreturn, since they lived in the area. Provi-sional Lia Dominique Andress said of hergroup, “I had a great time working on thisproject. I (kind of) wish we had another…Between the planning and actually gettingtogether on Saturday, it was great.”

Ashley Thornburg’s group hosted astory-telling at the Barnyard Library onOctober 22nd. The women amassed acollection of children’s books to donate tothe library and also provided healthysnacks for the children to enjoy duringthe story-telling.

Tracy Pottker-Fishel’s group held aHalloween Party on October 24th withthe Community Partnership for theHomeless. Approximately 100 homelesschildren and their parents attended thefestivities. The Provisionals decorated theshelter and set-up various stations for dif-ferent activities with the children. Thestations included; face painting, spookycookie decorating, Halloween mask mak-

ing, story-telling, coloring, Halloweengames and dancing. At the end of theparty each child received a goody bag fullof candy and items such as toothbrushes,healthy eating books and calendars, all ofwhich were from donations the groupworked hard to collect.

Maggie Atkins’s group conducted abook drive for the South Florida UrbanMinistries (SFUM). They set up a boothduring one of the UM Soccer games andcollected books from the attendees. Theyalso teamed up with a local Girl Scouttroop to collect board games to donate tothe SFUM.

Lee Crabtree’s group assembled eightgift baskets for the women of Lotus House.They collected eight laundry baskets andfilled them with necessities such as towels,toiletries and kitchen accessories. Theyconducted a tour of Lotus House inNovember and donated the baskets at thattime. The group also helped one of thewomen move into her new home.

Lorrie Martin’s group coordinatedwith Inn Transition South (ITS) to createa healthy Thanksgiving Day meal. TheProvisionals provided cooking demon-strations on how to cook a healthy stuffedturkey as well as healthy side options. Thewomen of ITS were provided a Thanks-giving Day Gift Bag (including cannedpumpkins and roasting pans) as well asrecipes so that they may recreate thisThanksgiving feast.

Erin Blumer’s group will be aiding oneof AlonzoMourning’s Charities by assem-bling gift bags for children who will beattending “Zo’s Holiday Party.” Thisgroup will be assembling the bags for 450children and handing them out during theholiday party.

Anika Allen’s group will be workingwith W.I.N.G.S. by donating a much-needed library to the W.I.N.G.S. facility.The women will be donating some parent-ing books as well as teen-interest novels.The ladies will help to organize the libraryas well as aiding the W.I.N.G.S. commit-tee with a holiday party for the teens.

Kelli Blake’s provisionals will be help-ing the First United Methodist ChurchSouth Florida Urban Ministries After-School Program. Kelli’s group will bedonating board games for the children.They will also be attending a holidayparty where the Provisionals will be ableto socialize with the kids and play thegames with them.

The Provisionals have proven to bequite capable of leading, communicatingand delegating projects. As an Active, wecan forget what it is like to feel so excitedabout a project. Just take a look at thisyear’s Provisional class. Talk to them andask them about their projects. The excite-ment they feel is contagious, and this isthe attitude that we should all have –especially when our community needs usthe most.

I found it remarkable

that in the midst of so

much negativity in their

lives, you would never

know it from their atti-

tudes. It was a very

rewarding experience,

and I look forward to

future events with ITN. ”

“

Winter 2009 9

Holiday EventsRundown of

SustainerMiami Magic is the premier

holiday party for the Sustainers

to be held Friday, December 11

at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Contact Holly Troup

for additional details

troupholly@yahoo.com

ProvisionalHoliday Party will take place on

Tuesday, December 8th

at JLM HQ from 6:30pm-8:30pm.

Contact Alexandra Page

or Michelle Austero Vidal

jlmprovisionals@gmail.com

ActivesActive JLM are encouraged to

attend Miami Magic as the ideal

way to connect and celebrate

with fellow Junior Leaguers.

Contact Monica Fernandez

mbfdez@aol.com or Mari Novo

mari_novo@yahoo.com

to reserve your tickets!

10 JUNIOR LEAGUE Journal

Once again, League members,sponsors and friends showed upto participate in the 6th Annual

Junior League of Miami Golf Tournament.This year’s tournament was held at thefamed “Blue Monster” golf course at DoralGolf Resort & Spa, which has played hostto prestigious PGA Tour events for thepast forty-five years.

The golfers teed off at 1:00 p.m. afterenjoying a delicious lunch provided bythe Doral Golf Resort and perusing thesilent auction tables, containing notablegolf and other sports memorabilia, travelexcursions, photography packages andmore. Following play, players and guestswere treated to a cocktail reception at

Doral’s Champions Pavilion from 5:30 p.m.to 8:00 p.m. hosted by Rums of PuertoRico along with beer and wine courtesyof Republic National Distributing Com-pany.

The players took aim at the hole-in-one contest to win a Williamson CadillacSRS, but unfortunately, none were suc-cessful. The winning foursomes of the“longest drive” contest and “closest to thepin” contest were treated to generousprizes donated by the Doral, CallawayGolf and Alf’s Golf Shop, among others.

The golfers, guests and friends alsotried their luck at winning fabulous raffleprizes such as a one-week stay at BiminiBay Resort & Casino, including round trip

charter flight provided by Noble Air.Other raffle prizes included a one-weekstay at an Interval International Resort inCentral Florida and a 3 day/2 night golfand hotel package from PGA NationalResort & Spa. All golfers received a com-plimentary Bullet Line gift bag filled withgolf towels donated by Group Ivy, golfballs donated by Costco, hand treatmentsdonated by Crabtree & Evelyn and myr-iad other golf and sports related treats.

The tournament was an overwhelmingsuccess for the players, sponsors andLeague alike. The small, yet tremendous,Golf Tournament Committee of eithgraised more than $35,000 to benefit JuniorLeague of Miami’s community projects.

Aiming High: Junior League of Miami’s AnnualGolf TournamentBy Lauren Hunt and Jane Bhatt Golf Tournament Co-Chairs

2009 Golf Committee - Jamie Tompkins, Gloria Lerma Lopez, Lauren Hunt,AmyRobles, Raymie Walsh, Tracy Friedlander, Kadisha Phelps, and Jane Bhatt.

Golf Committee Treasurer Gloria Lerma Lopez sell-ing raffle tickets and mulligans

Special thanks to our generousTournament Sponsors*

Florida City GasWorldwide Flight Services

White & Case LLPWhite Star Farms

Truly Tasteful EventsRyder Charitable Foundation

Group IVYRums of Puerto Rico

Republic National Distributing Co.Bimini Bay Resort & CasinoPGA National Resort & Spa

Interval InternationalThe Collection

Noble Air CharterBullet LineTUUCICostco

Williamson Cadillac HummerLa Gorce Country Club

Canyon Ranch Miami BeachCruz Country

Doral Golf Resort & Spa

These sustainers retained their 2008 title as “Best Sustainer Foursome” again thisyear: Natalie Brown, Meredith Mills, Peggy Hudson and Sheri Shoup. Peggy alsowon the Women’s Longest Drive contest.

Stephanie Fink, Stephanie O'Day, Mary Allraum and Mari Novo.

Tracy Friedlander and Catherine Veinovic

*$1,000 and above are included in this list.

12 JUNIOR LEAGUE Journal

The Junior League of Miami pre-sented its second annual ShoppingCard for a Cause fundraiser with a

kick-off party at the JCrew store in Aven-tura Mall on October 22, 2009. TheShopping Card committee membersstarted working in the Spring to plan andsolicit participants for this wonderful two-week long event.

The idea behind the Shopping CardFor A Cause came from the Junior Leaguein Dallas, Texas, who came up with theconcept of their “Partner’s Card”, a pro-gram which is now in its seventeenth year.The concept is simple. Shoppers purchasea Shopping Card for $50, and 100% of thecard’s sale proceeds go directly to theLeague. The card entitled shoppers to a20% discount at participating retailers andrestaurants around Miami-Dade Countyfrom October 24 to November 8.

The kick-off party at JCrew was ahuge success. Attendees enjoyed cocktailsand hors ‘d oeuvres while shopping andmingling at this private event, as well asenjoying dessert and cocktails at the Stu-

art Weitzman and Theory stores nearby.Tory Burch also hosted a shopping andcocktail event to promote JLM’s ShoppingCard for a Cause on November 5, whichwas a great success and attended by sev-eral members.

Participating retailers and restaurantsincluded Saks Fifth Avenue, The Con-

tainer Store, Tory Burch, Banana Repub-lic, Lily Pulitzer, the Ritz Carlton Hotel,Spa Key Biscayne, and many more.

We thank all of our members formaking this fundraiser a success and welook forward to making the ShoppingCard for a Cause a tradition in our com-munity, one year at a time!

Shopping Card for a Cause 2009By Amber Seidle-Lazo and Luly Sixto-Yero Shopping Card Co-Chairs

OnOctober 17, many members ofthe Junior League of Miami andapproximately 16,000 others

participated in the Susan G. Komen Racefor the Cure in Bayfront Park. The three-mile course was conquered by all in aneffort to raise funds for the Komen orga-nization’s fight against breast cancer.

This year, Race for the Cure raisedover half a million dollars and as a team,JLM raised more than $1,500 for thisevent. The top JLM fundraisers for Racefor the Cure were Meghan Clark, TaraMathena, and Isabel Zarama. 75% of theRace’s net proceeds are used in SouthFlorida to support local breast cancer pro-grams, and the remainder of the fundsraised in Miami will support theKomen Research Grant Program, which

is one of the country’s most inno-vative & responsive breast cancergrant programs.

Just a few statistics:• There is no known cure foradvanced breast cancer.

• Detection of breast cancer at an earlystage provides a greater chance for acure and more treatment options.

• When the disease is confined to thebreast, the 5-year survival rate is morethan 95%.

• More Caucasian women than AfricanAmerican women develop breast can-cer, but more African American womendie of the disease.

• Approximately 80% of breast cancersoccur in women 50 years and older. The

mortality rate would decrease by 30% ifevery woman over 50 was informed andfollowed the early screening guidelines.

• Breast cancer is the leading cause ofcancer deaths for women between theages of 40 and 59.

• The majority of all breast cancers occurin women with no known risk factors.

• 6.5% of new cases are found in Florida,while only 5.2% of the U.S. populationlives in the state.

• Miami-Dade County has the highestrate of late-stage breast cancer in His-panic women in the United States. •

Race for the Cure 2009By Alise Johnson VP Planning

Winter 2009 13

Fundraiser Proposal Application ProcessBy Samantha Murphy Fund Development Chair

Each year, the Junior League ofMiami, Inc. reviews Fundraiser Pro-posal Applications and selects

fundraisers for the upcoming two years,enabling the League to fund communityprojects and provide community grants.It is the membership’s responsibility tosubmit ideas for future fundraisers, andsuccessful fundraisers are crucial to ourability to fulfill community needs.Please contribute your fundraising ideasfor the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 Fis-cal Years by submitting a FundraiserProposal Application by December 18,2009. Only with your active participa-tion will we have successful events andthe necessary funding for our projects.

Selection ProcessCompleted fundraiser proposal

applications are due no later than 5:00

p.m. on Friday, December 18, 2009. Formore information or to obtain an appli-cation, please visit www.jlmiami.org orcontact Cia Mackle at (310) 270-5123or via email, ciahmackle@gmail.com.

The League’s Fund DevelopmentCommittee will conduct an initialreview of all proposals to ensure appli-cations are complete. Proposedfundraisers will be presented to themembership at the February 9, 2010General Membership Meeting, andmembers will have the opportunity togive feedback on the proposals andrank them in their order of preference.If it is necessary for a proposer to givea presentation at the GMM, the FundDevelopment Committee will contactthe respective proposer.

Following the GMM, the Fund

Development Committee will thor-oughly review all applications, takinginto account membership feedback andpreferences, and will make their recom-mendations to the Junior League ofMiami, Inc. Board of Directors. If apresentation by the proposer of afundraiser is needed for the Board ofDirectors meeting, the Fund Develop-ment Committee will contact therespective proposer.

On March 2, 2010, the Board ofDirectors will review the proposals andrecommendations of the Fund Develop-ment Committee. Applicants will be noti-fied by March 27, 2010 if their fundraiserhas been approved.

We welcome and encourage yourparticipation in this important process.

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Junior League Members are invited to save 10% with this advertisement. Not applicable to sale merchandise.

14 JUNIOR LEAGUE Journal

Passing the Torch: Teaching our Children to Give BackBy Jennifer Herskowitz Journal Editor

Aside from my family and mycareer, the volunteer work that Ido in my community is the most

rewarding part of my life. I often findmyself running out the door to a “meeting”,and kissing my kids goodbye, without giv-ing them any real explanation of where I’mgoing and why. Sometimes my childrenand I talk about why we are so fortunate tohave the things we have and I explain tothem that many, many people do not haveeven the most basic things they need:food, clothing, a place to call home.

Recently, our JLM President, ErinKnight, gave me an article about teaching

children the importance of philanthropy,and it really opened my eyes. After doingsome research on the history and mean-ing of “philanthropy”, I discovered some-thing that really resonated with me:philanthropy is essentially born out of a“love of humanity”. Over two thousandyears ago, the Greeks adopted this “loveof humanity” as an educational ideal,whose goal was excellence – the fullestdevelopment of body, mind and spirit.(Wikipedia, Philanthropy). When I readof its origins, I realized that this “love ofhumanity” is exactly what drives me togive my time and resources to helpingothers, with no financial gain in return.And if this “love of humanity” is, andshould be, an educational ideal, then whyaren’t we doing more to teach the nextgeneration – our children – the impor-tance of philanthropy? As members ofthe Junior League, we are certainly pro-moting philanthropy, but it is equallyimportant to make sure that legacy con-tinues in the future.

So how do we go about teaching chil-

dren to love humankind? The first thingwe can do is to talk to our own children, orto other children, about what we ourselvesare doing to help others. Instead of tellingmy children that I am going to “a meet-ing”, I nowmake it a habit to tell them that“mommy is going to figure out how wecan help other people who don’t have asafe place to live, or enough food to eat, orshoes to wear to school.” Of course, mychildren are very young, and their level ofunderstanding is limited. But, as they getolder, I can be more specific about what Iwill do at each outing. When children seeparents and other significant adults help-

ing others, it will become a naturallylearned skill for them.

In addition, we can find ways toincorporate our children into the work weourselves are doing. Last year, I took mytwo older children to a Junior Leagueevent atWhole Foods to shop for Thanks-giving dinner for needy families. Not onlywas it a fun activity for them to find all theitems on our list for an appropriate meal,but they also learned why we were nottaking the food home ourselves. The kidsgot to meet some of my JLM friends, andgot a more tangible understanding of whatit is that I do with the League.

Another important way to teach ourchildren is by letting them be involved intheir own philanthropic activities. Thereare plenty of age-appropriate ways thatany child can learn the importance of giv-ing to others. For example, in October, mythree children, ages 6, 4, and 2, helped meclean out canned goods from our cup-board. We packed the cans into paperbags and they came with me to drop themoff at their school for a food drive. Iexplained to them that there were lots of

people who didn’t have food to eat, andthat we are very lucky to have so manycans of food at our house. I told them thatthe cans we put in the bag were going tofeed a lot of people who would otherwisebe very hungry. Even my 2-year-olddaughter picked out her favorite can ofbeans to give away, explaining that thehungry people would “love these beans”!

On an annual basis, we also make it ahabit to sit down with our kids and sortthrough their toys, books and games, todetermine what we can give away to chil-dren who don’t have such things of theirown. Even at the age of six, my son feelsreally good about himself when he is ableto give away the things he no longer playswith to someone who will enjoy them.

Finally, every Friday my children takeall of my spare change and some dollarbills, and they put it in the “tzedakah” boxin their classrooms at school. Tzedakah isthe Hebrew word for the acts we call“charity” in English. However, the natureof tzedakah is not exactly the same ascharity, which suggests a magnanimousact by the wealthy and powerful for thebenefit of the poor and needy. In Judaism,giving to the poor is not viewed as a gen-erous, magnanimous act; it is simply anact of justice and righteousness, the per-formance of a duty, giving the poor theirdue. (www.jewfaq.org/tzedakah.htm)

In short, there are many ways to helpour children understand philanthropy andto make it a part of their own lives. Andisn’t it our responsibility to teach kids thatgiving is better than getting? Surely, asthe ancient Greeks believed, these valu-able lessons will promote “the fullestdevelopment of [our children’s] body,mind and spirit”, and by passing this torchwe will at least be able to contribute tomaking our world a better place for othersin the future when we are no longer hereto see to it ourselves.

For additional resources on teachingchildren about philanthropy please visitwebsites such as 4-H.org; scouting.org;girlscouts.org; and idealist.org. A greatchildren’s book is Quarters & Dimes & Nickels& Pennies by Baila Olidort.

So how do we go about teaching children to love

humankind? The first thing we can do is to talk to our

own children, or to other children, about what we

ourselves are doing to help others.

Winter 2009 15

Community Projects in Need this Holiday Season

complimentary consultation | 305.623.8282 | californiaclosets.com | 3301 NW 168th Street, Miami Gardens, FL 33056

The Community Council is in fullswing with its Annual HolidayGift Drive for the many women

and children participating in JLM proj-ects. We need your help in making theholidays brighter for these deserving fam-ilies.

Now underway, the Holiday GiftDrive enables League members to reachout to the help families involved in JLMcommunity projects. Your participationduring these trying times will enable theJLM to give a gift to every women andchild in our community projects. Formany of them, we are the ONLY sourceof gifts for the holidays.

Registries are set up for:• Inn Transition North - complete!• Inn Transition South• Lotus House (Project Lift)Please visit: www.target.com/lists/findSearch by Organization: Junior

League of Miami, State: FloridaThree registries should appear!

Happy Shopping!

Inn Transition South is requestingtoys, games, gift cards, and clothing forthe children. Gift registry available onlineat Target (gift will be sebt automaticallyto JLMHQ) or in store. Registered underfirst name: ITS and last name: JLM (ListID: 012399301784349). Contact HelenPicard.

Project Lift – Lotus House isrequesting small household items such asfull size bed sheets, pillows, pots andpans, or bath towels. Contact MarciaMonserrat.

Inn Transition North has a specialappeal as it is in need of sig-nificant repairs. Do youknow of a kind-heartedcontractor? If so, pleasecontact Erin Knightat erin.knight@regions.com. •

16 JUNIOR LEAGUE Journal

The Inn Transition South (ITS)committee kicked off a productiveprogram year, starting with pro-

grams focused on Healthy Eating andClean Living.

In September, the moms at ITS weretreated to a session on “Healthy Cookingon a Budget”. The moms were trained onfood budgeting, meal planning, groceryshopping, and meal preparation,all with an emphasis on the foodpyramid. At the completion ofthe training, each of the momsreceived a grocery bag filled withessential food staples to add to theirpantries.

While the moms focused onhealthy eating, the children wereengaged with an informative sessionand activity on “Personal Hygiene”.Each of the children decorated a basketto house their personal care productsand received an assortment of basichygiene products including shampoo,body wash, tooth brush, tooth paste,and deodorant.

In October, the moms focused onclean living with a Speed Cleaning sem-inar conducted inside one of the apart-ments at ITS. The sessions werebroken down into 10-minute cleaning

of the bathroom, kitchen, living room,and bedrooms. Each of the momsreceived a cleaning bucket stocked full ofcleaning supplies for their homes. Thechildren participated in Fall arts and craftsactivities. The older children decoratedtrick-or-treat bags for Halloween whilethe younger children

created lovely Fall trees using their ownfoot print as the tree trunk and their handprints and the branches and leaves.

And this is only the beginning. InNovember, the level of activity increasedas the committee launched its annual toydrive for the children. With over 150 chil-

dren in residence and a goal of morethan 450 total gifts, this was not asmall task. By Christmas, all thedonated gifts will be sorted,

wrapped, and delivered to the indi-vidual apartments. In order to accom-

plish this, the Committee is requestingdonations from all JLM members. Thedonations make a big difference to thechildren at ITS, because for many ofthem, the gifts they receive from JLM willbe the only Christmas presents they willget.

Donating is easy and you can do itonline through the Target online gift reg-istry. All purchases will be sent directly toHeadquarters where volunteers will sort,wrap, and label all the gifts. The deadlineto donate through the registry is Decem-ber 12, and the sooner the committeereceives the donation, the better. The reg-istry is listed under first name: ITS and lastname: JLM (List ID: 012399301784349).

Healthy Meals and Clean Living at Inn TransitionSouth By Helen Picard Inn Transition South Co-Chair

Clean & Healthy: Moms were trained on food budgeting, meal planning, grocery

shopping, and meal preparation, all with an emphasis on the food pyramid. Children

were engaged in personal hygiene activities.

Winter 2009 17

JLM’s first General Membership Meet-ing (GMM) was held on September8, 2009 and for the first time, it was

held at Temple Judea in Coral Gables.Thanks to the Meetings and Hospitalitycommittee, co-chaired by Bonita Whyte-head and Sandy Nojaim, the transition toour new venue was seamless. It was a very

exciting evening, with our new JLM Pres-ident, Erin Knight, welcoming members,sustainers and provisionals alike. The FallJournal and the 2009-2010 MemberDirectory were handed out, and MaryLouise Designs sponsored the meeting. Inaddition to Temple Judea being a morecost-effective meeting place for ourGMMs, we were also able to bargain withJohanna’s Marketplace for them to providefood for our meetings in exchange foradvertising in JLM publications.

The buzz word of the evening was“impact”. Erin Knight stressed to themembers how important it is to knowwhat JLM’s impact is in our communityand to be able to tell others about theimpact JLM makes as a group.

Debbie Korge spoke about InformedFamilies and Family Day. The purpose ofFamily Day is to encourage parent-childcommunication. It is also encourages par-ents to make meal-time a real part of theirlives. Parent-child communication pro-motes adversity to risk taking behavior.Mrs. Korge provided certain statistics andcorrelation to how many nights a week afamily has dinner together.

There were brief presentationsby Samantha Murphy on Fund Develop-ment, Shopping Card for a Cause by LulySixto-Yero and Amber Seidle-Lazo, andthe Golf Tournament by Lauren Hunt andJane Bhatt.

Super Leaguer awards were presentedto Lauren Hunt for the month of June,Michelle Austero Vidal and Alex Page forthe month of July, and Vivian Rodriguezfor the month of August. A Leadershipaward was given to Shawn Libman for themonth of August.

General Membership Meetings get off to a greatstart in 2009-2010By Jennifer Herskowitz Journal Editor

Michelle Austero Vidal, Shawn Libman and AlexPage

Mary Snow and Lucienne DeNunzio Emilie Goldman, Marlene Fernandez-Karavetsos, Bibi Cruz-Ledon Sears

Amber Seidle-Lazo, Shopping Card for a CauseCo-Chair

18 JUNIOR LEAGUE Journal

OnSeptember 16th, Amy Sussmanhosted our first sustainer gather-ing, which was a fabulous wine

and cheese party at her lovely home onSanta Maria Street. There were over 50ladies in attendance, and everyone wasexcited to get the Junior League yearstarted. Tasty wine coupled with delicioushors d’oeuvres flowed throughout theevening, and Amy was a fantastic hostess.

Sustaining Co-Chairs Gail Scott andHolly Troup were excited to greet theguests and discuss the upcoming calendarof events for our members to attend. Theevent also served as a perfect venue for ourPresident, Erin Knight, to voice a few ofher goals for the Junior League. One ofher goals is to educate our community onour projects and grants and the impactthat each has on the lives we touch. A sec-ond goal is to re-engage our sustainingmembers so that each is excited to beinvolved and feels a strong connection toour mission and collective goals andevents. Erin discussed several of our exist-ing and new projects for this year.

In addition, the Golf, Shopping CardandMiami Magic Fundraising Chairs wel-comed the sustainers to JLM’s upcomingfundraising events. President Erin Knightalso pointed out that our fundraisingchairs and their respective committeemembers play an important role as seriousnegotiators when requesting donationsand sponsorships, because each dollarsaved has a direct impact to our programs.

The night was a huge success and wethank Amy for, once again, being such agracious hostess and we also thank oursustaining members for attending.

We look forward to a full Sustainercalendar this year. All future events will beposted to the Junior League calendar andwill be communicated through the on-linecalendar.We hope to see you there! Pleasefeel free to contact Candace Vassillionwith any questions at cdv2@ntrs.com..

Sumptuous Sustainer SocialBy Candace Vassillion Sustainer Liaison

Sandra Fairman, Betty Wohland Amy Sussman

Anna Elhert, Betty Brody and Jeannett Slesnick

Claudia Kitchens

Maria Figueroa Byrd,Lauren Harrison-Genovese

and Betsy Harper

Katie Lane-Arriola andSusan Adams

Christine Connor and BetsyHoover

Winter 2009 19

It is hard to believe, but now is the timeto evaluate your interest, your avail-ability, and your realistic level of com-

mitment to League leadership for the2010-2011 League year.

Do you enjoy your current placement somuch that you feel you are prepared to lead thecommittee as its chair, co-chair or chair-elect?

Do you wish to learn more about certainaspects of League operations?

Do you have (or wish to sharpen) the leader-ship skills to support and develop a member’sstrengths, to encourage members to develop theirown qualities of leadership and to invest positiveenergy into a collective effort?

Once the nominating committee hascompleted its job of slating the top posi-tions, we begin the process of selectingthe chairs and non-slated leaders for the

next League year. Now is the time to dis-cuss your position of interest with the cur-rent chair and/or the VP of the Councilunder which the committee or positionfalls. You will find a list of current com-mittee chairs and leaders and their con-tact data on the website. You may alsofind the Leadership grid in the member-ship directory to be a helpful tool toassess the overall organization of JLM.Feel free to contact me also with yourinterests and questions (lcnido@aol.comor 305-215-4064). The selection processbegins in late January 2010, and contin-ues until all leadership positions are filled.

As League Leaders, you will be askedto attend a Leadership Training on a Sat-urday in early May 2010. You will workin May and June 2010 with the Vice Pres-

ident of your Council to transition withthe 2009-10 committee chair and herCouncil VP. You will also be asked toattend a Mid-Year Leadership Training ona Saturday in mid-January 2011.

Look for the “Willingness to Serve”form on the JLM website and in hardcopy at the January and February 2010General Membership Meetings.

My goal is to assemble a team whichis prepared to address complex presentday situations, honor the contribution ofour predecessors, and make a strongimpact on the community we serve, allwhile supporting the mission and visionof the Junior League of Miami. The 2010- 2011 League year promises to be a trueteam experience. Join us!

Join the 2010-2011 Leadership TeamBy Loretta Nido President Elect

Do you have pictures of a JLM event that you would like to sharewith others? Our new Smugmug account allows members to uploadphotos at high resolutions for proper photo sharing. Simply go tosmugmug.com. The email address is photos@jlmiami.org and thepassword is juniorleague.

Upload and Enjoy yourFavorite JLM Photos on

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