A League of Their Own

If you still associate the Junior League with white gloves and pearl-clutching, it’s time to take a second look. The Junior League of Morristown (JLM) has evolved quite a bit since it was founded in 1936. While community activism remains a cornerstone—the JLM is involved with nonprofits across Morristown and Morris County—today’s version of the women’s organization is also sharply focused on supporting the career goals and leadership aspirations of its members.

In short, this is not your grandmother’s Junior League. “Things looked a bit different 90 years ago, when most of the members didn’t work outside of their home,” says Jamie Milano, the JLM President-Elect. “Now a lot of our members have full-time careers and families.”

Each chapter of the Junior League—there are about 300 around the world—operates with a slightly different focus, says Katherine Feoli, JLM President. “The Junior League of Morristown is a reflection of our members and their interests and strengths,” she says. “It’s also a reflection of the needs of the community.”

For instance, one of their members is a licensed nutritionist who teaches kids healthy eating habits at Interfaith Food Pantry, one of JLM’s partner organizations. “We have a lot of members with really cool careers in many different fields, and we try to use this to our advantage,” Milano says. “We really think about how our members’ talents can best serve our community and help our partners.”

Rising Tides Lift All Boats

“One of our missions in Morristown is to advance women’s leadership through community impact,” says Megan Brain, the JLM Strategic Planning Vice President and Immediate Past President.

JLM members attend regional and national conferences, learn from guest speakers at meetings, and participate in targeted training throughout the year. “We are very intentional about investing in our members’ growth,” Brain says. “We know that helping our members grow helps our community.” 

Milano says that as she’s grown as a leader within the Junior League, she has also grown as a leader at work. “I presented to about 100 people at work recently,” she says. “That’s something I would have found more daunting a few years ago. But I have had a lot of practice presenting and speaking to groups within the Junior League, and I’ve been able to transfer those skills to my career.”

This One’s for the Girls

A large part of the JLM’s current mission is addressing the unmet needs of teens and tweens in Morris County. “We found that this is one population that typically doesn’t have as many opportunities available to them,” Feoli says. “There was a gap that we thought we could help cover.” 

For the JLM, covering this gap means everything from ensuring teens and tweens have enough to eat to making sure young girls have access to period products. “Our research showed that there’s a lot of period poverty in our community, and no one talks about it,” Milano says. “One in five women in New Jersey can’t afford period products, and nationally one in four teens have to miss school because they don’t have access to products.”

This year JLM collected almost 10,000 period products and distributed them throughout the community. Additionally, they used a grant to establish a period pantry, full of products free to anyone who needs them, at Morristown High School. In April, members delivered a cart stocked with more than 5,100 items, including underwear, tampons, and pads.

But the JLM touches many other corners of the community, too. They work with Cornerstone Family Programs & Morristown Neighborhood House to teach teens public speaking skills, and recently donated more than 680 pounds of food—7,400 pounds over the last 10 years—to Interfaith Food Pantry. In 2026, they were honored as volunteer group of the year for their work with ARCMorris. 

“We’re always looking for new partners in the community and for new ways to help,” Brain says. 

By the Numbers

As of May 2025, the JLM has given out 165 scholarships totaling almost $300,000. This spring, they awarded two to graduating high school seniors who excelled at volunteering, one to a woman over 35 who is returning to school after a break, and a grant to help a teen afford a post-secondary education program.

They also award a huge number of grants to local organizations. “We’re currently giving out $20,000 annually to different nonprofit organizations,” Feoli says. Some of the recipients include Roots & Wings, a Denville organization that supports teens aging out of foster care, and Children on the Green, a Morristown preschool. 

They fund all this in many ways, but their biggest fundraiser is the annual Lunch with the Authors, held every May. “We usually have three authors come and speak about their writing process,” Brain says. “It’s a really lovely day.” Around 250 women attend the event, which also includes an auction. To date, it’s raised more than $60,000 for JLM scholarship programs. 

“We’re always evolving,” Feoli says. “As we celebrate our 90th year, we’re hoping to continue our work on a bigger scale. We’re very excited for the future.”