The Junior League of McAllen, Inc.

HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE
JUNIOR LEAGUE OF M^cALLEN

     During its 70 year history, members of the Junior League of McAllen, Inc. have exemplified volunteerism.  In the 1940s, emphasis was placed on both children's health and children's literacy.  The 1950s saw art appreciation lectures and puppet shows in the schools.  In the 1960s, the community was treated to the founding of the International Museum of Art & Science and a Pops Concert which began a thirty-year-long tradition of public music festivals.  The 1970s brought scholarships for college-bound girls and Girls State delegates.  In the 1980s, a commitment to fighting drugs and alcohol was established with an anti drug puppet team, the Youth Crisis Center, and assistance for Women Together.  During the 1990s, the Junior League of McAllen's focus on children and youth yielded visits by Hallmarks' Kaleidoscope mobile creativity lab and the building of RioScape, a science play park.  Through all the years, dances and expositions as well as cookbooks and sponsorships have raised funds for many other worthy local organizations.
     The beginning of the twenty first century witnessed the Junior League of McAllen's multifaceted approach to improving the lives of children and youth in the local community.  Members volunteered in various hands-on opportunities addressing education and the arts as well as physical and mental health.  The new Children's Arts & Literacy Festival flourished in its home at the International Museum of Arts & Science.  Sponsorships, Dias Festivos, La Pinata and Some Like It Hot continued to provide funds that were reinvested in the community.  Significant monetary donations helped to build a poolhouse at the Girl Scout's Camp Bayview, an Arts in Medicine room at the Vannie E. Cook Jr. Children's Cancer and Hematology Clinic, the Children's Advocacy Center's new home, an environmental education building at Quinta Mazatlan, and the Ronald McDonald Rooms' kitchen at the Edinburg Children's Hospital.

Mrs. Robert J. Byrnes (President 1949-1950)
donates to the Food Drive

Whether dressing up (to present Follies '53) or dressing down (to paint the Women's Exchange), 
the Junior League of McAllen has been raising funds and donating time 
to improve its community for over 70 years!