Mid-Peninsula

About Our Chapter

NCL, Inc., Mid-Peninsula 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 Menlo Park, Atherton, Redwood City, San Carlos, Belmont, Woodside or Portola Valley areas. Like all NCL, Inc. Chapters, Mid-Peninsula aims to foster the mother-daughter relationship by serving its communities together.

The Mid-Peninsula Chapter is comprised of mothers and their daughters whose daughters are in grades 7-12.  Our Membership Drive takes place in the fall and membership officially begins May 1 each year.  Most of our new members participate in our recruitment program during the 6th grade year.  Our chapter is currently comprised of 261 members between Patronesses and Ticktockers, as well as 29 Sustainer (alumni) members.  

The mission of National Charity League, Inc. is to foster mother-daughter relationships in a nonprofit philanthropic organization committed to: community service, leadership development, educational activities and cultural experiences. Membership in our chapter will offer opportunities to participate in each of these areas. It is our hope that our daughters will develop a greater appreciation of the community values and ideals that our generation holds to be important and worthy of preservation.

Last year, our members volunteered over 5,500 hours of service in our community in partnership with local charities.

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.

Our Membership drive starts in the fall of each year for entrance beginning the following June. Our six year program runs from 7th-12th grades, therefore the majority of our Members apply during their daughter’s 6th grade year. Girls join as a “class” with other girls in their grade level.

Each prospective mother must attend an informational session held in the winter (January to February) to learn about NCL, Inc. and our Chapter. If interested in joining, the Prospective Member is asked to fill out an application. The applications are due in March. Membership invitations are extended in April. If we receive more applicants than space available, our Membership committee will conduct a blind draw to select the class.

We do occasionally open up our Membership Drive to include girls who are in the fall of their 7th, 8th and 9th grade years, although usually these upper classes are already full. If your daughter is in 7th, 8th or 9th grade, please feel free to contact us to determine if you can apply for Membership.

The Membership commitment includes monthly meetings for the mothers that alternate between daytime meetings and evening meetings.  Girls usually meet as a grade level once a month to plan events, listen to speakers and/or perform some sort of philanthropic or cultural activity.  Our Mother/Daughter Tea is held each year in March, and our Awards Ceremony/New Member Welcome is held in September. In addition, each mother/daughter team puts in a minimum of 15 hours during the year of volunteer work with our local partner philanthropies. Girls assume various leadership roles within their grade level and mothers each hold a job within the Chapter every year.

 

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:

  • Ada’s Cafe
  • Alexandra Chiles Foundation (8th Grade Focus)
  • Alzheimer’s Association
  • American Cancer Society (11th Grace Focus)
  • American Heart Association
  • American Red Cross
  • Art in Action (8th Grade Focus)
  • Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula (10th Grade Focus)
  • Cake 4 Kids (11th Grade Focus)
  • Caminar (Formerly Family & Children Services) (10th Grade Focus)
  • Children’s Fund (10th Grade Focus)
  • Community School of Music and Arts (8th Grade Focus)
  • Disaster Response
  • Each Green Corner
  • Family Connections
  • Grassroots Ecology (Acterra) (7th Grade Focus)
  • Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco (9th Grade Focus)
  • LifeMoves (9th Grade Focus)
  • My New Red Shoes (10th Grade Focus)
  • National Center For Equine Facilitated Therapy (7th Grade Focus)
  • National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS)
  • Nine Lives (7th Grade Focus)
  • One Life Counseling Center
  • Operation Gratitude
  • Peninsula Volunteers, Inc. (10th Grade Focus)
  • Pets in Need (7th Grade Focus)
  • Ravenswood Education Foundation (11 Grade Focus)
  • Redwood City Parks & Arts Foundation (8th Grade Focus)
  • Ronald McDonald House at Stanford (11th Grade Focus)
  • Save the Bay (7th Grade Focus)
  • Schola Cantorum (8th Grade Focus)
  • Second Harvest Food Bank (9th Grade Focus)
  • SHFB Food Distribution – (old name: Serve the Peninsula) (9th Grade Focus)
  • Silicon Valley Bike Exchange (10th Grade Focus)
  • The Kindness Campaign!
  • The Princess Project (10th Grade Focus)
  • TheatreWorks (8th Grade Focus)
  • There With Care (11th Grade Focus)
  • Village Harvest (9th Grade Focus)
  • Weingarten Children’s Center (9th Grade Focus)

We believe that philanthropic work promotes social awareness and inspires our members to become service leaders. In the past year, the Mid-Peninsula Chapter contributed over 5,000 volunteer hours to our local community.

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: Nicole McNeal
  • President Elect: Erika Lee
  • Secretary: Elizabeth Ocken
  • Treasurer: Eugenia Vorrises
    Stephanie Drolapas
  • Parliamentarian: Joelle Lumish
  • Vice President Communications: Haley Sanchez
  • Vice President Membership: Anya Chernykh-Hodges
  • Vice President Philanthropy: Trish Wagner
  • Vice President New Members: Stephanie Chen
  • Vice President Ticktockers: Velvet Snow
  • Vice President Chapter Engagement and Inclusion: Veronica Spencer

Vice President Technology:                                                                        

Haley Sanchez                                                                                                                                     

Treasurer Elect:

Stephanie Drolapas

 

Members have opportunities to engage in experiences that build essential skills.  Each Ticktocker grade level is organized by Ticktocker officers and coached by a Patroness acting as a Grade Level Advisor. Every Ticktocker is required to hold at least one officer or leadership role within the Ticktocker Executive Committee for her class during her tenure.

In addition to working closely with daughters and supporting their local communities, all Patronesses hold a chapter job each year and actively participate as leaders in the operational success of the chapter.

Our chapter’s leadership training aims to maximize potential to be a confident role model and encourages one to be an advocate for others. Leadership in our chapter focuses on:

  • Organizational skills
  • Team building
  • Parliamentary procedures
  • Time management
  • Problem solving
  • Creative thinking
  • Collaboration
  • Public speaking

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.

Past cultural events in the Mid Peninsula Chapter have included visits to local art exhibits and/or museums, self-defense classes, pottery and painting classes, concerts, ballet performances, and theatrical shows.

Educational Activities

Our Chapter focuses on teaching our daughters to develop new life skills, be self-assured in social settings, demonstrate good manners and respect others. Our Chapter educational activities include but are not limited to:

  • Personal growth training
  • Mentoring during the transition to high school
  • College admissions advice
  • Personal finance skills
  • Event planning
  • Communication skills including managing social media, team building, and conflict resolution
  • Healthy lifestyle habits