One Benicia group is taking the mother-daughter bond to a new level by having them participate in philanthropic work and become engaged with their communities. A group of Benicia moms and their daughters have formed their own chapter of the National Charity League (NCL).

Benicia’s chapter of the National Charity League was established in March and officially began meeting in August. The national organization, aimed at uniting mothers and daughters to participate in community service while gaining leadership skills and cultural awareness, was founded in Los Angeles in 1925 by women who did work for the American Red Cross and other organizations. Enough of their daughters were involved that they formed their own group in 1938 before the groups combined in 1947 as the NCL. Now there are 242 chapters in 26 states, consisting of mothers and their daughters in grades 7 to 12.

Jennifer Largaespada, the president of Benicia’s NCL chapter, first learned about the organization through a friend whose daughters had participated in various cities.

“I saw a couple of them posting things that they and their daughters were involved in,” she said. “I decided to look into it to see if there was a chapter around here. When it turned out there wasn’t a chapter, that’s when I started to look into what it would take to start one for this area.”

As it turns out, it took a lot. Largaespada went through an application and approval process which determined if there were other chapters in the area, the size of the region and if there were enough people to sustain an ongoing chapter. After being approved by the national board, Largaespada began looking for members.

The daughter members of the NCL are girls in seventh through 12th grade, and Largaespada said the chapter focuses on three areas: community service, leadership and cultural events.
Community service consists of putting in volunteer hours with local partner organizations. For the leadership area, the girls have their own board of directors.

“They run their own meetings, they structure their own events and they change positions every year, so they get different opportunities to participate at different levels,” Largaespada said. “Somebody would be class president one year, they might be treasurer the next year or being in charge with working with some of our community partners.”

Cultural events can range from mother-daughter activities to going to museums or plays or “just doing anything in your area that expands your awareness of your region.”

So far, the members have volunteered with the Food Bank of Solano and Contra Costa, White Pony Express and the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. They also have been spreading the word through social media and trying to partner with Parent Teacher Student Associations at the middle and high schools.

Largaespada said some of the organization’s goals consisted of providing opportunities to strengthen mother-daughter bonding, enabling girls to become more knowledgeable about their community and grow as leaders.

“I”m hoping it helps them expand their horizons and realize how much they can really do and participate,” she said.

The NCL is seeking members from the Benicia area through the middle of January. For more information, go to benicia.nationalcharityleague.org.

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