The League Pulse Archives
The Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri: women building better communities.
Sustainer Perspectives | Looking back on Active years
By Kathi Knop, Sustaining Member
What a wonderful gift to be asked to reflect on my League experiences during my Active years. Because I can tell you that this is something I don’t do enough of. Day to day activities go on and on and to stop and evaluate those experiences definitely isn’t something that I normally do.
One of my best memories of meetings at League headquarters is of the lunches that were served with the famous Junior League toast! It is still my “go to” bread at a luncheon, and if you don’t own a copy of Company’s Coming, which contains the recipe, buy one at a used book store or sale! It’s a classic!
I always enjoyed working at the Thrift Shop, or the “Thrip shop” as my daughters called it. My youngest daughter, however, did not love it. “Thrip Shop Day” meant that she had to go to another day of Mother’s Day Out and can I just say that she hated it! But once I walked away from the stress of leaving her, I could look forward to working with my friends on the floor, pricing, and of course having lunch! While pricing the merchandise, we would always look for treasures of our own to purchase and I usually came away with something fun.
To this day, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired, or CCVI, which was my placement. This was definitely one of those times when I received much more than I gave. I volunteered one morning a week for six months and it still gives me a good feeling to think about. I remember, in particular, one little girl named Cindy who was the sweetest and most fun little girl. My own girls would always wait for me to come home from my mornings at CCVI to tell them stories about what I had done and “Cindy stories”. A typical morning would involve playing with the students, reading them stories, getting them snacks, and taking walks with them. Nothing makes you appreciate the sights of a fall day like taking a walk with a child who cannot see. How could you possibly take advantage of the colors of the day while being with little children who would never be able to see those same things? Everything I saw took on a different perspective while describing it to a sightless child. More than anything else, even the Junior League toast, my placement with CCVI was definitely the most meaningful and memorable of anything I did with the League. And it is my hope that when I am finished working full time, I can once again go back to CCVI and volunteer again.
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What a great idea to feature Sustainers on the blog! Thank you Kathi for sharing your JL experience with everyone!