Junior League Weekend - April 2nd

On Saturday April 2nd, I had my first Junior League event.  I joined the Junior League of Bergen County a few months after we moved here so that I could meet some more people and get involved with something outside of work.  For those of you that may not be familiar, the Junior League is a national volunteer organization for women.  It is similar to a sorority in terms of the first year you join, you are considered a "provisional" member (aka pledge) and work on a project with your provisional class members.   The Junior League of Bergen County is relatively small, my provisional class has 9 members whereas some leagues across the country have around 50 new members.  It was nice to have a small class though because we all got to know each other quite well.  The provisional class project is called "Kids in the Kitchen" which is a national event for all Junior Leagues to promote healthy eating and lifestyles to kids.  We were given guidance by the League but we have the opportunity to make the event whatever we choose.  My self and one other provisional member were elected co-chairs of the event.  This was quite a daunting task for myself because it was the first time I had ever chaired an event and it was difficult to devote a lot of time due to all the late nights at my financial reporting job; however we pulled it off and it was quite rewarding.

For the event, we planned a hands-on food demonstration by a celebrity chef, Angie Shaghaghi, at the Ridgewood, New Jersey YMCA.  We partnered with the Ridgewood YMCA and held the Kids in the Kitchen event on the YMCA's Healthy Kids Day.  Angie specializes in educating children about healthy foods and has a very entertaining way to teach kids how to make heathly choices.  

On the day of the event, my provisional class members and I met at one of our advisor's houses to stuff 100 goodie bags with fruit and water bottles and jump ropes and healthy snacks, all of which we had received donations from local businesses.  Once we arrived at the YMCA, we had 2 sessions of the food demonstration with Angie Shaghaghi and both sessions were packed full with kids eager to learn how to make an easy veggie roll-up wrap.  Angie truly lived up to her resume and everyone really enjoyed her.  

All in all, it was a great experience and I have met some great women from Junior League.  

Katie