The Junior League of Cincinnati, along with the Greater Cincinnati community, celebrated the inaugural “Find the Good Day” on Thursday, September 14th, 2023. Find the Good Day was created by the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) as an opportunity for individuals, families, and organizations to come together as changemakers and create a ripple effect of positivity throughout our community. It is a day to reflect on the goodness within ourselves and find inspiration in the acts of kindness we’ve witnessed and participated in throughout the year. Junior League members were invited to use this special day of unity and compassion to spread kindness, uplift others, and inspire positive change across the Greater Cincinnati region. Members of the League showed up in a BIG way to celebrate the occasion. 

JLC began its Find the Good Day celebration by making special deliveries of appreciation to ten of our key community partners to thank them and show them how we see the good in the work they do in our community.

1. Family Nurturing Center – community partner from 2021 – present
   Family Nurturing Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social service agency serving families in Northern Kentucky and Hamilton County, OH. For more than 40 years, Family Nurturing Center has been dedicated to ending the cycle of child abuse by promoting individual well-being and healthy family relationships. Services and programs focus on the education, prevention, and treatment of all forms of child abuse and neglect. Our partnership with Family Nurturing Center allows JLC to deliver an immediate impact felt by families who have experienced abuse or violence.
2. Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank – community partner from 2018 – 2021
   JLC’s  last program partnership, Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank partners with local social service agencies to provide free diapers to low-income families while raising awareness of the basic health need for diapers. Their vision is to eliminate the existence of diaper need in the Greater Cincinnati community so that ALL babies have a chance to be healthy, happy, and safe. Each child served receives 50 diapers every month and as a result, Sweet Cheeks distributed over 2 million diapers in 2022 alone.
3. RefugeeConnect – incubated non-profit organization created by the JLC (2013 – 2018)
   After two years of investigation, JLC identified more than 40 community partners working to empower refugees and began sharing resources and responsibilities regarding the success, integration, and care of refugees. In 2013, RefugeeConnect, an umbrella program to link the community, was born. In 2018, after five years of nonprofit incubation with the Junior League of Cincinnati, RefugeeConnect launched as an independent, nonprofit organization.
4. MindPeace – incubated non-profit organization created by the JLC (2002 – 2007)
   In 2002, the JLC initiated a project to answer a significant need for an improved system of mental health care for children in the Greater Cincinnati area. JLC launched MindPeace in 2007 as its own non-profit because no other mental health organization focused on systemic improvement to children’s mental health access and quality.
5. Fernside – incubated non-profit organization created by the JLC (1986 – 1990)
   Established in 1986, Fernside is the nation’s second oldest children’s grief center and remains a national leader in providing grief support services, outreach and education to families. It is now an affiliate of the Hospice of Cincinnati, addressing the unique needs of children.
6. ProKids – incubated non-profit organization created by the JLC (1981 – 1987)
   In the mid-1970s a movement began to create a program where trained community volunteers (CASAs) would serve as voices for children involved in abuse and neglect court actions. ProKids was founded in 1981, through the joint efforts of the Junior League of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Bar Association and Hamilton County Juvenile Court. There were 25 CASA programs nationwide and ProKids was the third in Ohio. In its first year, ProKids established a 12-member board and a staff of three. ProKids served over 100 children during its first year of existence.
7. The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati – incubated non-profit organization created by the JLC (1924 – 1925)
   Developed by the JLC in 1924 as the Junior League Players to introduce kids to the theater, it was later incorporated as The Children’s Theatre in 1947. TCT is the nation’s oldest children’s theatre (and is the only professional theater in the region that devotes its entire MainStage season to children). The program brings more than 97,000 people to its theatre annually, reaches over 68,000 students through touring productions, and TCT Academy offers arts training to children in a variety of disciplines. Our Community and Outreach Committee (CandO) continues to organize outreach events through our done-in-a day volunteer support.
8. Adopt-a-Class – an organization our JLC Sustainers have been volunteering with for a number of years
   Adopt-a-Class is celebrating 20 years in the Cincinnati community with a model of positively impacting schools through fostering a culture of teamwork and giving back in an authentic way. The Sustainer Council has shared as Mentors in the kindergarten class at Academy of World Language for years, bringing a monthly brigade of volunteers with unique curriculum and snacks, to teach and connect with the students.
9. Urban League – a community organization we respect and value as a partner
   Urban League of Cincinnati is committed to driving equity and financial empowerment for African Americans through advocacy, education and development. a community organization we respect and value as a partner. The Junior League has been building a relationship with them to cross-pollinate, as we enact our new diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging organizing plan.
10. YWCA – a community organization we respect and value as a partner
    YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Our missions align, and we see opportunities to strengthen our partnership, through resources and training, and as JLC members have been honored over the years as recipients of the YWCA Career Women of Achievement award.

We continued our celebration by hosting a League-wide volunteer event at the Columbia Center, headquarters of the JLC. To kick off the gathering,  League President René Robers read an official proclamation from the Mayor of Cincinnati, Aftab Pureval, in recognition of Find the Good Day. A special thank you to League member, Mollie Lair, for her help procuring this exciting recognition.

After the proclamation, members got to work providing support to two partner community organizations: Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen & Social Center and Survivor Cards. Our Daily Bread serves hundreds of meals a day, five days a week with the support of in-kind food donations. They distribute 600 sandwiches every single day in Cincinnati. During our Find the Good event, we created more than 200 sandwiches to be distributed. In a similar act of outreach, Survivor Cards sends anonymous, handwritten notes of hope, healing, and solidarity from someone who cares to survivors of domestic abuse and trauma. Along with the notes, Survivor Cards includes information about mental health resources, fun freebies, and the hope for a better day. JLC members wrote dozens of these letters. Both organizations are long-standing partners of the JLC and were chosen for the kindness and compassion they spread across our community on a daily basis. 

This day united volunteers, donors, and supporters in a beautiful chain of kindness, strengthening Cincinnati, and leaving a resonating impact on a global scale as 170 other Leagues around the world celebrated, too. Find the Good Day was created to serve as a reminder that acts of goodness can happen every day, and together, we can make a lasting impact on the lives of many. We are thankful to everyone who joined us on Thursday, September 14, 2023 to ignite a chain of positivity that will echo far beyond this special day.

Photos of the day’s activities can be found in the Find the Good Day album on our Facebook page.