Junior League of Chicago, 1932

Over the years and despite initial parental concerns about late hours and exposure to germs, the JLC created a large variety of programs to benefit immigrants, working mothers, sick and crippled children, battered wives, the military, seniors, crime victims, broken families, and drug abusers. Funds were often donated outright to benevolent institutions. The organization has also advanced the cultural climate of Chicago, providing music and art scholarships, initiating the Art Institute's Junior Museum and Docent Program, and creating the Express-Ways Children's Museum (renamed the Chicago Children's Museum).

At the opening of the twenty-first century, the JLC remained focused on developing the potential of women as trained volunteers, overseeing a multimillion-dollar budget and 2,100 members. Two other Junior Leagues in the metropolitan area (Evanston–North Shore and DuKane) operate independently.

Celia Hilliard