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The Junior Program |
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| It's up to us! If we want junior members to become senior members tomorrow, we
MUST make our junior program attractive to them ... just as Legion baseball is to boys. Unlike Senior members, who make a conscious decision to be involved in the Auxiliary, Junior members are often enrolled at birth by their mothers or grandmothers.
High school students are not in the same category as infants and preadolescents - we must look at our Junior programs in terms of their ages and interests. Teenage members with friends who do not belong to the Auxiliary are more likely to lose interest in the Organization unless we consider opening our programs to involve their friends ... just as we do now in the VolunTeens and Girls State programs. We will attract MORE eligible girls, and be more able to compete with the dozens of other activities that now compete for a Junior girl's time. If we get our juniors interested and excited about our organization, their friends will want to join. Their friends' mothers might even ask to join! Age differences matter less as we get older, but the gap between 10 and 17year-old juniors is enormous. We MUST offer Juniors something of interest at every age ... something that challenges them and that contributes something meaningful to the organization. If we try to fit juniors into programs that don't fit them ... it just won't happen! They'll lose interest and we'll lose them! If we want to keep them, let's tailor our programs to fit the juniors! Membership in the Junior Auxiliary is usually very inexpensive. Most Units usually have a membership rate of under $5. Many Grandmas are the ones to sign up very young grand daughters as a tribute to "Grandpa's serving in the military". It is the hope of Units that when these girls reach 18, that they will be willing to continue their membership in this great organization, as a Senior member. Many Units use being a Junior Member as an additional consideration when choosing their Girl State delegates. Girls signed up under the eligibility of a Korean Veteran have the additional advantage of applying for the Sam Sung Scholarship when attending Girls State. These young women are the future of the American Legion Auxiliary and deserve to be a part of our programs. They can be of great help when older hands sometime need some help. Application forms for Jr. Membership is available through the Unit Membership Chairmen and are basically the same application form as for a Sr. member. Junior members have the same benefits as Senior Members.
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| ND Auxiliary Home
Page American Legion, Department of North Dakota Headquarters |
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