About Our Chapter

NCL, Inc., Walnut Creek 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 or attend school in Walnut Creek. Like all NCL, Inc. Chapters, Walnut Creek aims to foster the mother-daughter relationship by serving its communities together.

Our chapter was formed in 2013 and chartered in 2016.  Our moms and daughters are proud to be part of such a thriving Chapter which has made a significant impact on our community.

When the nine Board Members first started NCL, Inc., Walnut Creek, they were wondered if they would be able to gather the required 25 moms at the Formation Meeting to officially become an Expansion Chapter.  They joked that we only needed to corral 16 more people after including themselves.  Much to their surprise, the Formation Meeting ended up being a huge success.  They ended up with over 150 members, way more than they ever expected!

 

 

OUR MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS HAVE MADE A HUGE IMPACT ON OUR COMMUNITIES!

Our first year (2014-2015) we contributed 2,300 hours to our philanthropy organizations and in 2015-2016 we increased those hours to 3,190 hours. Since 2016, we have averaged as a chapter over 5,300 philanthropy hours per year.

 

Despite the COVID pandemic, our impact has remained strong. As a group, we were able to shift from onsite volunteering to support pandemic and disaster relief efforts. By shifting to volunteering from home and in creative new ways, we proudly had our peak impact in the middle of the pandemic in 2020-21, volunteering over 6,100 hours! For 2022-23, we now have a variety of impactful ways to serve – both in person and from home!

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.

JOIN US!

We invite you to consider membership in the NCL, Inc., Walnut Creek Chapter. Some things to keep in mind about the membership process:

• Timeline: Applications for membership are accepted during the Annual Membership Drive from January – March each year for daughters in grades 6th-8th at the time of the Membership Drive.
• Residence: A Prospective Member shall reside in Walnut Creek or have a child attending a Walnut Creek school.
• Application: A Prospective Member shall only apply to one NCL Chapter. 

For additional information or questions about our Chapter, please email the Walnut Creek Chapter at membershipwalnutcreek@nclonline.org.

 

Thank you again for your interest in our chapter, we look forward to talking with you!

 

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:

• ALS Network
• Alzheimer’s Association
• American Heart Association
• American Red Cross
• Awards/End of Year Recognition Event – Chapter Sponsored
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area
• Blue Star Moms
• Caldor Livestock
• Cancer Support Community
• Children’s Skin Disease Foundation
• Contra Costa Resource Conservation District
• Creek Kids Care
• Diablo Ballet
• Disaster Response
• Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area
• Elks Lodge
• Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano County
• Friends of the Creeks
• Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley
• Hospice East Bay
• Hosting/Assisting/Food Prep at Ticktocker Meeting (hour for hour)
• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
• Loved Twice
• Make-A-Wish
• Meals On Wheels and Outreach Services
• MedShare
• National Convention (hour for hour)
• National Day of Service – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service – January 15, 2024
• Operation Gratitude
• Party In Kindness
• Project Open Hand
• Save Mount Diablo
• Shelter, Inc
• Special Olympics Northern California
• Sunrise Senior Living of Walnut Creek
• The Crayon Intiative
• The Kindness Campaign
• UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
• Walnut Creek Civic Pride Foundation
• Walnut Creek Historical Society

Community Service

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.  One of our very own Ticktockers even started her own philanthropy which our chapter supports.

Walnut Creek Chapter Philanthropy Partners:

• Alzheimer’s Association
• Big Brothers /Big Sisters of the Bay Area
• Blue Star Moms
• Cal Shakes
• Capes4Heros
• Challenger Baseball (WCLL)
• Children’s Skin Disease Foundation
• Creek Kids Care
• Diablo Ballet
• Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area
• Elks Lodge #1811
• Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano County
• Habitat for Humanity
• HerSmile
• Hospice of the East Bay
• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
• Loved Twice
• Make A Wish Foundation
• Meals On Wheels
• Save Mount Diablo
• Shelter, Inc
• Special Olympics Northern California
• Sunrise Assisted Living of Walnut Creek
• The Lunch Mission
• UCSF Children’s Hospital
• Walnut Creek Education Foundation
• Walnut Creek Historical Society
• Xenophon

OUR MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS HAVE MADE A HUGE IMPACT ON OUR COMMUNITIES!

Our first year (2014-2015) we contributed 2,300 hours to our philanthropy organizations, in 2015-2016 we increased those hours to 3,190 hours and last year we contributed over 5500 hours!

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: Diane Lienhard
• Secretary: Jillana Miller
• Treasurer: Kara Piantidosi
• Parliamentarian: Sabrina Jones
• Vice President Communications: Kristina Bao-Paluck
  Susan Weingarten
• Vice President Membership: Amber Krummes
  Sarah Cole
• Vice President Philanthropy: Jill Berg
• Vice President New Members: Jolene Soliman
• Vice President Ticktockers: Michaela Caughlan
• Vice President Chapter Engagement and Inclusion: Lesley Vella
  Sabrina McQueen

Our Chapter offers girls the opportunity to become leaders in a supportive environment.  With guidance from their Grade Level Advisers, each Ticktocker holds a different job every year in her class.  Whether she is the President, learning to run the monthly meetings or the class VP of Programs who comes up with ideas for speakers and activities for the meetings, they each learn to get comfortable with leadership.  As part of the six-year plan, each Ticktocker must serve as an officer in her class at least once during her six-year experience.

Our members have opportunities to engage in experiences that build essential skills, such as public speaking, event planning, consensus and team building, conflict resolution and parliamentary procedure and we encourage everyone to try something new, and maybe even a position that they don’t think they have the skills for…this is the right place to challenge yourself and build new skills!

BUILDING OUR FUTURE LEADERS

We have noticed that even in one year, the girls have gone from being quiet and just listening in the Ticktocker meetings to leading meetings and taking on the planning and organization of future meetings.

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. We celebrate our history through traditions that honor the past while serving the future.

• Attending a belly dancing performance while dining at a Moroccan restaurant
• Experiencing San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art.
• Attending a musical or live theatre performance
• Screening a documentary film and discussing it over dinner.
• We are always looking for new experiences for our Ticktocker classes to share!

 

CHAPTER TEA

This wonderful NCL tradition comes at the end of the year. Our Tea has definitely been the cultural event that has had the most impact on our Patronesses and Ticktockers.  The event brings our chapter together and it is so much fun to see the older Ticktockers inspire the younger ones.  This year, in preparation for the Tea, we had the Seniors visit monthly Ticktocker meetings for each of the other classes and teach them about etiquette and why it is important in social settings.

At the event, the Patronesses loved watching their daughters present, perform, and serve as greeters.   A photographer is there to take formal pictures of our moms and daughters which serve as a favorite keepsake over the years.  We also have a fun tradition that our new Provisional Patronesses present their Ticktocker with a special surprise of a beautiful teacup to have as a momento of their first year in NCL.