Gateway

About Our Chapter

NCL, Inc., Gateway Chapter is a group of mothers and daughters who have come together in a commitment to community service, leadership development and cultural experiences.
Members shall reside in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. Like all NCL, Inc. Chapters, Gateway aims to foster the mother-daughter relationship by serving its communities together.

Mother-Daughter Recognition awardees. Picture courtesy of Pekai Photography LLC

The Gateway Chapter currently has 314 members providing hands-on volunteer service for 24 philanthropic organizations in our community. We contribute over 9,000 volunteer hours to our local community each year. Some of the community service areas supported by our chapter include: children’s services for underserved communities, educational organizations, food pantries and animal welfare organizations. Our chapter has been promoting social awareness through action, to meet needs and inspire others to become community service leaders in St. Louis for over 20 years. We aim to instill compassion and civic responsibility in our young women while also focusing on comprehensive leadership development, respect for oneself and the differences of others, and appreciation of the fine arts. The six-year program (7th – 12th grade) incorporates many activities, programs and experiences that ultimately equip our daughters to carry out NCL’s mission, vision and core values.

We value diversity, inclusion and equity within our chapter and beyond. Therefore, we support a membership recruitment strategy that enables a diverse membership. We incorporate programming for our members that support awareness, compassion, respectful engagement with people of different backgrounds or views and appreciation of the diverse cultures in our community.

Learn more about National Charity League

MISSION

The Mission of NCL, Inc. is to foster mother-daughter relationships in a philanthropic organization committed to community service, leadership development and cultural experiences.

VISION

Through the mother-daughter relationship, National Charity League, Inc. will develop strong female leaders serving and impacting communities today and for generations to come.

CORE VALUES

Honoring the mother-daughter bond by together learning, growing and modeling responsibility and graciousness
Empowering women with the skills and confidence to lead
Nurturing through mentorship
Inspiring a legacy of social awareness and compassion
Providing depth of support in local communities
Integrity and excellence in everything we do

Big-Little Sisters

Big Sister – Little Sister Philanthropy Project

Join Our Chapter

Interested in joining our chapter? Membership opportunities are dependent on chapter openings.

If you know someone in our chapter, talk to her about getting started, membership obligations and our membership drive timeline. If you do not know someone in NCL, you are invited to complete this Membership Inquiry Form.

Membership Inquiry Form

For any questions regarding Membership, requests for transfers or assistance with connecting as a Sustainer, email us.

The membership inquiry form in no way obligates you to become a member of NCL, guarantees your membership with NCL or requires you to fulfill any financial obligations. This form is simply to gauge your interest and provide you with the tools to move forward with the application process, if you choose.

NCL Gateway Membership Drive is NOW OPEN!

Welcome to the Gateway Chapter Membership Drive for 2024-2025!

Here are the Membership Drive Application Steps and Prospective New Member Key Dates:

Review the Prospective New Member Packet
Complete the Prospective New Member Inquiry Form
RSVP for a Prospective New Member Informational Coffee
Mark your calendar with Prospective New Member Key Dates
Complete the Prospective New Member Application

Prospective New Member Packet:

The Membership Packet will be covered during the Informational Coffee’s. All questions welcome.

PROSPECTIVE NEW MEMBER PACKET>

Prospective New Member Inquiry Form:

Let us know that you are interested! We will contact you directly to provide you with additional information about the Prospective New Member informational coffee’s and answer any preliminary questions you may have.

PROSPECTIVE NEW MEMBER INQUIRY FORM >

Prospective New Member Informational Coffee:

We invite you to attend one of our three informational coffee’s to meet our wonderful members, learn more about our organization, the Prospective New Member application process and ask questions. Attendance is required at one of the informational coffee’s to be considered for Gateway Chapter Membership.

Coffee Dates:

Thursday, January 18th 7:00pm-9:00pm
Monday, January 22nd 9:00am-11:00am (CANCELLED and rescheduled)
Sunday, January 28th 2:00pm-4:00pm (CANCELLED and rescheduled)
Monday, February 5th 9:00am-11:00am New Date
Sunday ,February 25th 1:00pm-3:00pm New Date & Time

PROSPECTIVE NEW MEMBER INFORMATIONAL COFFEE RSVP >

Prospective New Member Application Process:

There are several steps in the Prospective New Member application process. Prospective New Member’s do not have to complete all the steps at one time. Once a step is complete, the system will mark it off the checklist and save your place in the process to revisit at a later time.

Once all the application steps are complete, the Gateway Membership Committee will review the Prospective New Member’s application, perform the blind draw and present the member recommendations to the Gateway Chapter Board.

Prospective New Member applications will be accepted up to the deadline, February 29, 2024, 11:55pm. Class placement is not satisfied on a first-come, first-serve basis. All eligible applicants will be assigned a unique identifier (numbers or letters) and placed into the blind draw. New Members will be pulled at random from the blind draw until the class size is reached.

The VP of Gateway Membership will send out New Member invitations to all the Gateway Chapter approved Prospective New Members.

PROSPECTIVE NEW MEMBER APPLICATION LINK > * The application link will be shared at the membership coffee’s.

Prospective New Member Key Dates:

Online Applications open Monday, January 15th, 2024
Prospective New Member Informational Coffee’s: Thursday, January 18th; Monday, February 5th; Sunday February 25th
Online Applications due Thursday, February 29th, 2024
Prospective New Member selection – mid March 2024
Prospective New Member invitations distributed Monday, April 1st, 2024
Prospective New Member Acceptance and Payment Due Wednesday, April 10, 2024
New Member Orientation Meeting: TBD

EARLY INTEREST

Is your daughter younger than 6th grade?

While Prospective Members apply to join a chapter during their daughter’s 6th grade year, we would love to connect with you even if your daughter is younger. By filling out this form, you are not applying for membership or committing to join. We look forward to connecting with you!

For any questions regarding Membership, requests for transfers or assistance with connecting as a Sustainer, please contact Gateway Membership.

Angels Arms Project

Angels Arms Philanthropy Project

Mothers and their daughters (grades 7-12) participate in a program that embraces:

Community Service

We understand and serve communities in partnership with local and national nonprofits. Each NCL, Inc. chapter promotes social awareness by considering the local community’s needs and selecting appropriate non-profit organizations to support through different volunteer activities.

We work with the following philanthropies:

Alzheimer’s Association
American Heart Association
American Red Cross
Angels’ Arms
Best Buddies
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF)
Disaster Response
Easterseals
Equine-Assisted Therapy
Five Acres Animal Shelter
Food Outreach
Friends Of Wings
Froebel School
Greater St. Louis Book Fair
Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN)
KidSmart
Lutheran Senior Services
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
National Day of Service – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service – January 15, 2024
Operation Gratitude
Pink Ribbon Good
Safe Connections
Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis
SouthSide Early Childhood Center
Special Olympics – East Area
St. Louis Area Foodbank
St. louis Crisis Nursery
St. Louis Diaper Bank
St. Patrick Center
The Kindness Campaign
The Little Bit Foundation

Each NCL, Inc. Chapter promotes social awareness by considering the local community’s needs and selecting appropriate non-profit organizations to serve. Each Chapter then supports its philanthropic service partners through different volunteer activities.

Little Bit Foundation

Leadership Development

We build capable, courageous leaders through opportunities to learn, reflect and develop. Our leaders become successful in their education, career and communities by learning the necessary skills during their NCL experience.

Examples of skills developed include:

Confidence
Consensus building
Team building
Conflict resolution
Event planning
Parliamentary procedure

Our Chapter Board of Directors:

President: Tracy Kolker
President Elect: Terri Grillo
Secretary: Anne Giljum
Treasurer: Kristen Mathus
Parliamentarian: Amy Buckley
Vice President Communications: April Hammer
Vice President Membership: Emily Kimes
Vice President Philanthropy: Sue DeSarno
Vice President New Members: Peggy McAuliffe
Vice President Ticktockers: Kristen Edler
Vice President Chapter Engagement and Inclusion: Julie Nolfo

Nurturing confidence through opportunities to learn and grow, while also building problem-solving skills through a supportive environment of healthy relationships.

Examples of skills developed include:

Confidence
Consensus building
Team building
Conflict resolution
Event planning
Parliamentary procedure

Each class (7th-12th grades) elects officers to oversee the class priorities and run class meetings using Robert’s Rules of Order. The class officer positions closely mirror the Chapter Officer positions. Every young woman in our organization has a job within her class for the year, all to help support the execution of class goals. Some of the typical, non-officer class positions include:

Inspiration
Social Event Chair
Council Representatives
Nominating Representative
Communications Lead
Special Event Chair

The leadership development opportunities afforded to members through their NCL Experience six-year curriculum provide foundational knowledge and tools to improve life skills and leadership such as:

Conducting Meetings
Organizational Management
Time Management
Parliamentary Procedures
Consensus Building
Following a Budget
Team Building
Health and Fitness
Conflict Resolution
Event Planning
Public Speaking
Effective Communication

Are you interested in learning more about the National Charity League, Gateway Chapter? Contact Gateway Membership

Cultural Experiences

We preserve National Charity League traditions and core values, while appreciating the growth that comes from connecting with different communities and cultures. We continually strive to build stronger ties with our communities and the individuals within them. It is through this understanding that we grow and develop broader worldviews that will shape and support our lives.

Traditions – We celebrate the richness of our history through traditions that honor the past while serving the future.
Values – We embrace values that make us strong as an organization of mother-daughter leaders.
Community Connections – We build connections through experiences that impact our communities.
Etiquette – We encourage and mentor kind, respectful and gracious social conduct.

As future leaders, we continually strive to build stronger ties with our communities and the individuals within them. It is through this understanding that we grow and develop broader worldviews that will shape and support our lives.

Mothers and daughters of each class attend a cultural experience together with a focus on different areas of art, theater, dance and music.

Each Chapter celebrates the richness of its history through traditions that honor the past. The Mother Daughter Tea is an NCL, Inc. tradition. Today, NCL chapters around the country continue to embrace their long-standing traditions, as well as, create new ones.

Examples of events/programs include: