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.

Class Tea Bonding                               

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.

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
     

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.

Interested in joining our chapter?  A Prospective Member must be sponsored by a current member of 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.

                                                                                                 Angels Arms     

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:

  • – Donation –
  • Alzheimer’s Association
  • American Heart Association
  • American Red Cross
  • Angels’ Arms
  • Best Buddies
  • Crisis Nursery
  • Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF)
  • Disaster Response
  • Easterseals
  • Equine-Assisted Therapy
  • Five Acres
  • 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)
  • Operation Gratitude
  • Other – 501(c)(3) Outside Partners
  • Pink Ribbon Girls
  • Safe Connections
  • Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis
  • SouthSide Early Childhood Center
  • Special Olympics – East Area
  • St. Louis Area Foodbank
  • St. Louis Diaper Bank
  • St. Patrick Center
  • The Kindness Campaign
  • The Little Bit Foundation

Having fun delivering food to St. Patrick's Center

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.

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: Christina Moore
    Kristen Mathus
  • Parliamentarian: Amy Buckley
  • Vice President Communications: April Hammer
  • Vice President Membership: Emily Kimes
  • Vice President Philanthropy: Sue DeSarno
  • Vice President Ticktockers: Kristen Edler
  • Vice President Chapter Engagement and Inclusion: Julie Nolfo
    Lauren Jenkins

Vice President Standards:

Catherine Hamlin

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

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

 

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:

  • Nutrition Seminars
  • Self-defense workshops
  • Big-Little Sister mentor program
  • Babysitting Safety and Certification
  • College Preparation Seminars
  • Financial Management Workshops
  • Time Management Seminars
  • Car/Driving Safety Workshops
  • Social Media – Maintaining Boundaries
  • Etiquette Lessons
  • Healthy Relationships seminars
  • Poverty Simulation
  • 6 Worlds Cultural event
  • Diversity, Inclusion & Equity speakers