As an active member of the Junior League of Atlanta, I am excited to join the 2024 Little Black Dress Initiative (LBDI) awareness and fundraising campaign, being held January 22-26, 2024, in partnership with Northside Hospital (Atlanta, GA), as an LBDI Advocate. My cohort of fellow LBDI Advocates is ready to positively impact the self-determination of women and children in the Metro-Atlanta area by amplifying and actively addressing the root causes of inequities experienced through our collective work as community leaders, active volunteers, advocates, and coalition builders and supporters. 

Through LBDI, I am not only raising awareness about the gross inequities impacting women and children in Atlanta, but I am also fundraising on behalf of the Junior League of Atlanta to raise funds to support its quest to be a catalyst for positive, meaningful change for women and children in Atlanta and to actively engage with our community partners to make a true impact.  Here are a few examples of JLA in Action:

• Providing books to underserved, school-aged children and families and facilitating weekly reading circles with children through our signature Journey to Literacy Program.
• Serving as homework buddies and providing dinner to underserved students at Agape Youth and Family Services.
• Developing and leading workforce readiness education, independent living skills, and personal development workshops for Georgia Child Center for Child Advocacy (GCCA) clients.
• Training our volunteers to effectively serve our community partners and fully understand the critical issues that face our community
• Developing the next generation of community leaders who will then make the most significant community impact
• Collaborate with agencies and partners on the ground to share our collective goal of empowering women and children to be self-determined, no matter their zip code.

This is a small sampling of the work the Junior League of Atlanta is currently doing in Atlanta, and this is why I choose to make an impact right now – right here in our community through my participation as a member of JLA and as an LBDI Advocate. While we know wearing a black dress (outfit) for five days is not a cure-all for the many challenges of life, we do know that when we raise our collective voices about issues that matter and roll up our sleeves in active and meaningful service, that we can create pathways to opportunity and success for women and children. 

Please join me and the Junior League of Atlanta in our quest to provide access to a positive future for women and children so they may realize their brilliance, resiliency, and capacity for self-determination, no matter their beginnings.  Make an impact by donating today!! 

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More About The Junior League of Atlanta & LBDI

Since its founding in 1916, the Junior League of Atlanta (JLA) and its members have served as a catalyst for positive, meaningful change for women and children in Atlanta as action-oriented servant leaders addressing issues such as education, literacy, human trafficking, food and housing insecurity, domestic violence and more through active volunteer service, coalition building, and legislative work. Additionally, the Junior League of Atlanta has been a leader in the Atlanta metropolitan area and has been instrumental in founding some of the most important non-profit and educational institutions in the city, including the Atlanta Speech School, the Atlanta Children’s Shelter, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Trees Atlanta, and CHRIS180.   

In 2015, the Junior League of Atlanta replicated an international signature program founded by the Junior League of London entitled the Little Black Dress Initiative (LBDI). LBDI is an awareness and fundraising campaign designed to harness the power of social media to illustrate the restrictions poverty places on choices, opportunities, and access to resources. Junior League members who participate take on the role of Advocates and wear one black dress (or outfit) for five consecutive days to spark conversations and awareness about poverty and related issues and to symbolize the lack of choices many women and children experience and in some instances, experience over many generations.