One of the key features that sets The Junior League apart from other volunteer organizations is its commitment to training and leadership development. In keeping with this long tradition of preparing volunteers with skills to help affect real change in their communities, the Junior League of Raleigh, North Carolina, decided to create the Center for Community Leadership. “The Junior League’s vision for the Center for Community Leadership is to create a place where Raleigh’s many nonprofit organizations can come to train volunteers, conduct strategic planning, present forums and workshops,” said League President Linda Brown Douglas.
Five years earlier, The Junior League of Raleigh decided to pursue the creation of a facility to offer greater meeting space, room for the League’s administrative offices and a location for training and meetings with community partners. The Junior League of Raleigh’s Building Without Boundaries fundraising campaign is helping to raise $4.2 million for the purchase of a 28,000 square foot 2-story building, which is shared by the local radio station WRAL 101.5.
“This building will become a landmark for this community. It will recognize the thousands – if not millions – of volunteer hours provided by our members, who have touched the lives of many, and just about every nonprofit in our area,” explains Julia Daniels, who co-chaired the fundraising project. “More than that, this building will most efficiently bring together our experiences and expertise in an environment that will ensure and stabilize the future of the nonprofit sector and the volunteer potential of our community.”
Having been a fixture in the Raleigh community for over 75 years, the Junior League of Raleigh understands the importance of a site for volunteer effort and collaboration. This is a monumental [step] for all our members,” said Douglas. “It is a gift to our nonprofit partners, but it is also our investment in the renaissance of downtown Raleigh.” The purchase of the center continues the League’s long-term commitment to the betterment of the Raleigh community, with its more than 1,700 members committing $4.29 million and over 1 million volunteer hours to the Raleigh community since its establishment.
The League hopes the center will serve as a crossroads where community members and leaders can come together to address community issues, collaborate, share ideas and together initiate change. As woman’s activist, Margaret Fuller said, “If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.” By carrying on a long tradition of volunteer education for the benefit of our communities, Raleigh’s Center for Community Leadership will do just that!
