1920

Junior League of Knoxville held their first official meeting on June 7th, 1921.  We were the third League in the South and both the Baltimore League and the Chattanooga League sponsored our membership application into the National organization.  Prior to becoming the Junior League of Knoxville, we were the Girls’ Relief Corps, founded October 10, 1917.  Throughout the 1920’s our League sponsored many different children’s programs and took over financial support and administrative control of the Dale Avenue Settlement House.  Many hours were spent at the Dale Avenue house teaching sewing and cooking classes, which also offered a day nursery.

1930

In response to the Great Depression, the League turned its focus towards the arts.  The Children’s Theatre committee was a group that performed players and marionette shows throughout the community.  The League also continued to volunteer at the Dale Avenue house, accruing over 5,600 hours in just one year.  In 1936, due to a fund shortage, four branch libraries were set to be closed because of the city’s inability to hire enough librarians for each branch.  The League offered to staff each of these branches until the city could come up with funds to hire a permanent librarian for each.  In 1938, the League was able to turn the Dale Avenue Settlement House over to the community at-large, thus being relieved of the responsibility of much of its overhead.  This enabled the League to find both a professional caseworker and a preschool director to help serve the Settlement House’s population.

1940

In the early 1940’s, in addition to participating in War Bond drives in support of America’s role in World War II, the League also focused their efforts on working with the Red Cross and the Office of Civilian Defense.  In 1942, the League opened and staffed the Knoxville’s Volunteer Office of Civilian Defense, which supported the medical and recycling campaigns of the Red Cross and served as the administrative headquarters for volunteers in the war effort.  Jesse Burks Johnson, the coordinator of the Office of Civilian Defense, ensured that every member of the League between 1942 to 1944 was registered with them, which grew from 228 to 262 women in the League.  Mrs. Johnson was also appointed as the sponsor to christen the frigate USS Knoxville in front of 5,000 people in 1943.  The first edition of the Tenn Minutes, which provided updates on the League and our community, was published in 1946 and mailed to each member monthly.

1950

With telecommunications bursting onto the scene in the 1950’s, the League had to find more sophisticated ways to fundraise in the Greater Knoxville community.  In 1952, the League established Bargain Box which, in 1986, would later evolve into Bag-A-Bargain.  In April of 1950, Dr. Soper, approached the League asking for support of the UT Playhouse.  What followed was a performance of The Women in 1951, in which the League performed alongside students from the University of Tennessee.  In May, the response of the community to the play’s performance was so strong, it became the cornerstone in the starting of our community theatre.  In 1952, the UT Playhouse became a permanent structure on campus, now known as the Carousel Theatre.  

The League also continued serving the community in the follow up of the war efforts.  In 1955, provisional League member Sue Walker was placed with the Ground Observer Corps.  The placement entailed staffing the Gay street watch post and watching for incoming aircraft.  The League also offered placements in the Civil Air Patrol, which assisted with the administrative work involving the search for missing planes.  By the end of the 1950’s, the League’s long time association with the Dale Avenue Settlement House came to a close, when some of the property was sold to the city of Knoxville for the right of way to a highway that was never built.  

1960

In September of 1960, Mrs. Timberlake, a member of the Planning committee, presented the League board with the idea for the Dogwood Arts Festival.  After a League-wide vote, the festival was accepted as a new project; In 1961, in conjunction with the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, the first annual Dogwood Arts Festival was held.  The League continued to provide monetary and volunteer support until 1975, when the Dogwood Arts Festival Board was established to take over financial and administrative control of the Festival.  

In 1964, community leaders began planning the development of the Florence Crittenton Agency, which was meant to serve as a maternity home for pregnant teenage women. When brought to the League’s attention by a member, the League stepped up and offered not only financial support, but also volunteer support to make the Agency a reality for our community.  In April of 1965, the doors opened with 30 rooms for young women in need, a number which would grow to 35 by the end of 1968.

1970

In 1971, the League celebrated its 50th anniversary!  In commemoration of this event, a special Medical Reference Library was established at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, for which we also gave financial and volunteer support. Additional support was also given to the Sunshine Center for Handicapped Children and Drug Education Films.  As the 1970’s progressed, the League continued to focus on children’s needs in our community.  By 1976, four new projects were adopted: Comprehensive Emergency Services to Children in Crisis; Group Home for Girls; Greater Council for the Arts, Inc.; and Appalachian Regional Child Development Center.  In 1977, the League was awarded “Volunteer of the Year” by the National Association of Social Workers.  As the 1970’s closed, the League co-sponsored a forum on the Treatment of Family Violence with the Department of Human Services and the University of Tennessee.

1980

Much of the 1980’s focuses on education, with such projects as: Traveling Trunks; Adopt-A-School; Kids on the Block; At School Advocacy; Peer Tutoring; and the Ijams Audubon Nature Center.  Leadership Knoxville was a collaboration between the League, Jim Haslam, the Knoxville Chamber, the United Way of Greater Knoxville, and the Steering committee; this organization was created to bring positive change in our community and continues to serve the Knoxville community.  As the decade continued, the League’s projects continued to grow, including Hope Haven, Victim Advocacy Services, and a Child Enrichment Program at two family emergency shelters.  

In 1985, at the conclusion of 33 years of operation, Bargain Box closed its doors after raising $452,268.42 for community projects during its time.  1986 saw the start of a new community project, Bag-A-Bargain, which would become a new annual flea market event.

In 1988, the League was honored by Child and Family Services at the dedication of the Haslam Center, an adolescent residential treatment facility.

1990

In 1991, for its 75th Anniversary, Knoxville Connects was the League’s signature project.  The project linked together many agencies in the battle against child abuse and neglect, homelessness, and domestic violence.  Also in 1991, the Interfaith Health Clinic opened its doors through a community wide effort to meet healthcare needs in the community; the League continued to provide volunteer and financial support to the clinic throughout the decade.  Towards the end of the decade, additional projects began for the League, including: Race for the Cure with the Susan G. Komen Foundation; Healthy Families with the Helen Ross McNabb Center; and Habitat for Humanity, which completed two builds within the decade.  Other notable projects included: mini-grants for educators; the School-to-Work Programs; Exploratory Gallery at Knoxville Museum of Arts; and Teen AIDS Prevention Project.

2000

Our focus continued to be on the needs of family and children throughout the 2000’s.  In the early 2000’s, the League focused on critical needs in: Court-Appointed Special Advocate; Childhelp USA; Hug-A-Tot; Knox Connects; Helen Ross McNabb Healthy Families; Knox Heritage; and mini grants.   Time was also spent on education and training; in 2008, Kids in the Kitchen became a new project, in conjunction with the Girl Scouts of America and the YWCA.  This project helped young children learn about kitchen safety and how to make healthy recipes in their home.  The Character Counts committee was established in 2009, to help educate and train the community on how to build good character, utilizing The Six Pillars of Character and ways on how to deal with disciplinary problems.  This committee helped train over 500 parents in our community over a five-night training event.  The League held their Spring Gala, the predecessor to the Black Dress Ball, as an annual fundraising event throughout the decade.  These events have helped raise over $20,000 each year, benefiting our community.

2010

By 2010 the League was thriving in the community; we had several projects that were not only started within the League, but became their own separate entity.  In November of 2011, commemorating the winner of the first Junior League of Knoxville Dolly Parton Literacy Grant, the League was joined by the President of the Dollywood Foundation, David Dotson, Mayor Tim Burchett, and representatives from the Knox County Commission, in congratulating Pleasant Ridge Elementary School.  In 2014, following discussions with the Community Advisory Board, an in-depth look at the issues facing our community determined that the League should focus on Women’s Health and Safety.  To this end, our focus became the battle against domestic violence and the self development of women in our community.  Over the course of three years, the League began making new partnerships to further our mission and focus.  Such partnerships include: the Helen Ross McNabb Center; the Salvation Army; the Joy D. Baker Center; the Family Justice Center; YWCA; and Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking.  In 2017, the Little Black Dress Initiative was started which has raised over $45,000 as of 2020.  The League also started a League-wide Day of Service to assist our community partners, through volunteer efforts, to reach more of our community.  The first Day of Service was held in the fall of 2019 at Girl Scout Camp Tanasi, where cleaning, inventorying, and organizing were among things League volunteers helped with.