Casino Royale is the theme of the 2011 Charity Ball - Betting on the Community

January 2011


Emily Attwell Crosswell Receives Prestigious Adelaide Lovett Baker Award

The Junior League of Houston, Inc. has awarded Emily Attwell Crosswell the Adelaide Lovett Baker award in honor of her outstanding community involvement and continued volunteerism even after her years of active service to the Junior League ended. The award was presented to Emily at the annual Sustaining Members luncheon at the Junior League on October 19, 2009, with her family, friends and community supporters in attendance. Chosen for her dedicated support in the Houston community, Emily has held leadership roles with many organizations as a past or present board member including: The Methodist Hospital System (board member for over 20 years); Texas Children’s Hospital Cancer Clinic (Chairman of the successful “CowParade” 2000 - 2002); Denver Harbor Health Clinic; Houston's Ronald McDonald House (President, Capital Campaign for the New Ronald McDonald House 1994 - 1997, Long Range Planning Chairman, Executive Committee of the Board); Houston Museum of Natural Science (1981 - 2005); DePelchin Children’s Center (1980 - 1997, 2001 - present); The Women’s Fund; Bo’s Place (2001- present); “100 Club” of Houston; Greater Houston Community  Foundation. Additional organizations she dedicates her time to include: Discovery Green Park, Harris County Hospital District, Houston Police Foundation, River Oaks Elementary School, SPCA, Kappa Alpha Theta Alumnae, American Leadership Forum, The Kinkaid School, Project Apple, River Oaks Garden Club, and Houston Country Club. Emily Crosswell was President of the Junior League from 1979 - 1980, chaired the Major Gifts Division for a new League building in 1984 - 1986, Co-Chaired the Community Endowment Campaign from 1998 - 2001, was on the 75th Anniversary Gift Committee in 1999 and the Endowment Committee in 2004.

"She is one of The Methodist Hospital’s biggest champions and dedicated supporters," said Ron Girotto, President and CEO of The Methodist Hospital System. "What is amazing about Emily is that so many other organizations in this city feel the same way about her. We are fortunate to benefit from her generosity of time, her can-do spirit and her uncompromising attitude. Her demonstrated commitment to improving this city through volunteerism makes Emily one of the finest examples of leadership and philanthropy.”

Celebrating 85 Years of "Building A Better Community" – The Junior League of Houston, Inc. Community Assistance Grants Presentation

January 2010

Celebrating 85 years of “Building A Better Community,” the Junior League of Houston, Inc. is thrilled to announce that they will be hosting their 85th Anniversary Celebration and Community Assistance Grant Presentation on January 21, 2010.  Each year, The Junior League of Houston, Inc. seeks to broaden its impact in the community by providing Community Assistance Grants to worthwhile organizations that do not receive volunteer support or financial assistance through the League’s community projects. The League’s Community Assistance Committee reviews the grant requests, prioritizes them based on their alignment with the League’s Board identified focus areas, and makes site visits before determining which organizations will receive funding. This year, the League will be awarding approximately $95,000 to the following agencies:

Communities In Schools Houston
Cristo Rey Jesuit School
San José Clinic
Small Steps Nuturing Center
The Way Station at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church  

Since the creation of the Community Assistance Grant Program in 1955 – 1956, the program has directed $3.5 million in financial support to a variety of agencies benefiting the Houston community and surrounding areas. This program is an integral component of the League’s collaborative efforts and a formulated component of its annual Community Budget.  The Community Assistance Committee looks at programs that address a critical or basic need, fund pilot programs, or expand a significant service.


March 2009

HOUSTON, TX – Dr. Bryan C. Cannon, Associate, Pediatric Cardiology at Texas Children’s Hospital; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine; Director, Arrhythmia and Pacing Service (Electrophysiology) and Associate Director, Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program, has been awarded the first ever Everyday Hero Award by the Community Collaborations Council. He was nominated by Tahra Peterson of The Periwinkle Foundation, where he works tirelessly on behalf of children with cancer. Dr. Cannon will be honored at the Community Collaborations Council’s ninth annual luncheon on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 11:30 a.m. at The Junior League of Houston, Inc. located at 1811 Briar Oaks Lane. The Community Collaborations Council has long desired to honor a worthy individual notable for their efforts to affect change in the lives of children and families through dedication and acts of kindness and compassion. This year, the Council formalized that desire with the creation of the Everyday Hero Award, and nominations were accepted through December 15, 2008. Dr. Cannon’s selection as the 2009 Everyday Hero Award recipient is a testimony both to his credentials and his many contributions to the Houston community. After completing his residency and fellowship through Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Cannon put his expertise to use benefiting patients at Texas Children’s Hospital. A major focus of his work is the education of residents and cardiology fellows. Dr. Cannon is the education director for the pediatric cardiology fellowship at Texas Children's Hospital and the coordinator of the introduction to reading an electrocardiogram and basic principles of congenital heart disease lectures at Ben Taub Hospital.  He has won the Dan McNamara award for outstanding teaching.  At Texas Children’s Hospital, he helped to start Camp Pump It Up, a camp for pediatric cardiology patients.

Since 1997, Dr. Cannon has reserved one week of every summer to volunteer as a counselor at Camp Periwinkle, a children’s oncology camp. For the past 10 years, he also has served as head counselor and camp doctor for The Periwinkle Foundation’s Camp YOLO (You Only Live Once), a weekend camp for children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. As a member of the board of directors of The Periwinkle Foundation, he helped spearhead a Family Camp that will occur in February 2009 and a long-term survivor camp that occurred in October 2008. As Tahra Peterson of The Periwinkle Foundation puts it – “If an everyday hero is to be measured by integrity, character, selfless service and by who he or she encourages others to be, Dr. Bryan Cannon meets and exceeds that measure. He truly is an everyday hero to thousands of children challenged by cancer and other life threatening illnesses.” The Community Collaborations Council is comprised of 10 community organizations that share a commitment to improving the lives of children and families in Houston. The mission of the Community Collaborations Council is to inspire and educate the greater Houston community about issues that impact the lives of children and families. The 2008 – 2009 member organizations include: ·       
  ·       The Children's Museum of Houston
          Collaborative for Children
·         Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council
·         Healthy Family Initiatives
·         The Houston Area Association for the Education of Young Children
·         The Children’s Mental Health Action Network
·         The Junior League of Houston, Inc.
·         Neighborhood Centers, Inc.
·         Reach Out and Read Texas
·         United Way of Greater Houston In addition to the presentation of the 2009 Houston Hero award, the Community Collaborations luncheon will include a forum, “Healthy Kids, Healthy Houston,”featuring a speaker’s panel addressing childhood obesity and ways to prevent it. The speaker’s panel will include: Nancy Correa, MPH, director of CAN DO Houston Initiative; Nancy Moreno, PhD., Professor of Allied Health Sciences and Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and Barbara Tharp, MS, assistant professor of Allied Health Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. The public is invited to attend the luncheon and can sign up on the Junior League of Houston web site at www.juniorleaguehouston.org.

The Junior League of Houston, Inc. Announces Prestigious Adelaide Lovett Baker Award to go to Terese "Terry" Tarlton Hershey 

January 2009

HOUSTON, TEXAS – Every year since 2002 , the Junior League of Houston, Inc., presents the Adelaide Lovett Baker Award in honor of the founding League President.  This year the League will be honoring Terese “Terry” Tarlton Hershey for her outstanding commitment to “Building a Better Community” even after her years of active service to the League have ended.  The prestigious award will be presented at a luncheon to be held on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at the Junior League of Houston at 1811 Briar Oaks Lane.  Past recipients of this distinguished award are Virginia Holt McFarland, Sara Houstoun Lindsey, Mary Frances Bowles Couper, Sadie Gwin Allen Blackburn, Carolyn Monteith Clarke and Wilhelmina Cullen Robertson Smith.  Chosen for her profound effect on the Houston community as an environmentalist and conservationist, Terry has been a founding member and board member of numerous boards : Houston Audubon Society, Urban Harvest, Memorial Park Conservancy, Trees for Houston, San Jacinto Lung Association Air Conservation Committee, Citizens Who Care, and the Citizens Environmental Coalition, Houston League of Women Voters (she was the first chair of the present Environmental Resource Committee), Museum of Natural Science, Green Ribbon Executive Committee (city, county, state, and promote park and open space in Houston and Harris County, Buffalo Bayou Coalition, Legacy Land Trust, Houston Zoo Advisory board, Billboards Ltd., Trust for Public Lands, and the National Parks and Recreation Association. Terry served on Lady Bird Johnson's Highway Beautification Award Selection Committee from 1976 to 1991 and in 1985, at Mrs. Johnson's invitation, became a founding board member of the National Wildflower Research Center.  Mayor Kathy Whitmire appointed her to the Houston Parks Board in 1990, and she was reappointed by both Mayor Bob Lanier and Mayor Lee Brown. In 1991, Buffalo Bayou Park was renamed Terry Hershey Park and in 1995, Championship Park was dedicated in her honor with the inscription, "A champion of Environmental causes, ecology and nature."The Junior League of Houston, Inc. is an organization of more than 5,000 members committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.  Founded in 1925, this year the League will donate more than $1.9 million in volunteer time and direct financial support to the Houston community.  The League also serves more than 34 community projects, which address a variety of vital concerns including basic needs, abuse/neglect of women and children, healthcare, literacy, cultural exposure for children, and issues impacting the elderly.  For more information about the Junior League, visit the website at http://www.juniorleaguehouston.org/   

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