The Junior League places strong emphasis on community involvement. It is also important that we provide members with hands-on opportunities to more readily and directly impact the community. These short-term initiatives, called Done In a Days (DIADs), allow League members to put their diverse talents to work.

In the past few years, several agencies were the benefactors of DIADs. DIAD volunteers assisted the NorthSIDE Community Center with its annual Harvest party for neighborhood children. Members wrapped presents at Carousel Center to benefit Vera House and for Hope for Bereaved; volunteered to help the Food Bank of CNY’s Savor Syracuse event; and read to McKinley-Brighton students during Children's Book Week.

DIADs provide small volunteer opportunities that make a big impact. The lives of many are touched by these brief but meaningful deeds.

JLS Calendar of DIAD Opportunities

A Child's Voice, a community based child abuse and neglect awareness and prevention program, is presented by the Junior League of Syracuse in collaboration with the McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Site.

A Child's Voice will raise awareness of child abuse and neglect by providing trained speakers to present to community groups on the prevention and reporting of child abuse and neglect.

A Child's Voice will work directly with children and non-offending family members to deal with the consequences of child abuse and neglect. A Child's Voice will provide safe, fun, and educational events to help rebuild trust and relationships.

These connections can help to end the cycle of abuse.

The Advocacy Committee of the Junior League of Syracuse is one of the links between the Junior League and our surrounding community. The committee, besides being an active member of the statewide Junior Leagues' New York State Public Affairs committee (NYSPAC), at times may start a letter writing campaign, present a panel discussion or guest speaker at a GMM, encourage voter registration, and provide advocacy training. Local advocacy initiatives strengthen ties with our community partners and raise awareness of the Junior League of Syracuse in our community.

Being an advocate is an important role a league member should play in the public policy process at the local, state and federal levels of government. Junior League members make the perfect advocates: we are independent of political affiliation, we do not represent a particular special interest group, we have direct service projects to support our advocacy, and we are a well-educated, powerful statewide constituency recognized by our elected officials. Who better to present information on the realities of a problem and how it affects people in our communities?

The State Public Affairs Committee of the Junior Leagues of New York, better known as NYSPAC, represents the interests of its member Leagues on issues that affect our communities. NYSPAC advocates as a collective voice on behalf of over 7,500 women from twenty-one member leagues at the local, state, and federal levels of government. In accordance with the NYSPAC By-laws, the focus of our efforts is to take action on those issues that pertain to member projects and our shared mission statement and to provide training in advocacy skills.

The work of NYSPAC begins each Junior League (JL) year with a Fall Conference. The conference is a great opportunity to meet other JL members from around the state and to receive advocacy training. During this conference the delegates and task force chairs meet to choose bills to support at the Spring Conference held in Albany. Another important purpose of the Fall Conference is to provide a forum in which member delegates present ideas and receive feedback.

Senate Bill 4812, which amends existing law add domestic violence victim status to the list of factors that may not serve as a basis for denying an individual the right to purchase, rent, lease or inhabit housing accommodations. For complete text and history see http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=SO4812.
Assembly Bill 671, which amends the insurance law, requiring mandatory health insurance coverage for diagnostic testing for ovarian cancer, including a pelvic examination, a sonogram, a CA 125 blood test plus diagnostic services provided in connection with examining and evaluating such blood test for women forty and over with one or more female relatives with a history of ovarian cancer. For complete text and history see http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A00671.