Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Junior League of Greater Vancouver
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
On June 1, 1927 a Junior Service Club was formed in Vancouver with the objective of establishing a program of volunteer service based on standards which would qualify the club for membership in the Association of Junior Leagues of America. Four years later the club was elected to membership in the AJLA and Kathleen Farrell became the first president of the Junior League of Vancouver. The League was incorporated under the Societies Act of British Columbia in 1936. In 1948 the League set up an office and clubroom in the Ritz Apartment Hotel at 1040 West Georgia Street, remaining there until taking up new quarters in the early 1950s at the YWCA at 997 Dunsmuir Street. In addition to volunteer services in the fields of health and welfare and the arts, the League established community projects initiated after consultation with professional workers and other groups in the community. To finance both the volunteer program and projects, the League sponsored various fundraising activities, including cabarets or follies, fashion shows, designer home events and world affairs dinners. In 1985 the League became a tenant at Heritage Hall at 3102 Main Street, and on February 10, 1989 it officially changed its name to the Junior League of Greater Vancouver. Over the seven decades of community involvement the League received numerous citations and recognitions, most notably from the Government of Canada, Government of British Columbia, City of Vancouver and Simon Fraser University. On May 8, 2003 the League marked its closing after almost 75 years of service with a final celebraton. Its legacy of funding new and innovative projects continues through the League's endowment fund at the Vancouver Foundation.