About Our Chapter

NCL, Inc., West Lakes 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 West Lakes area. Like all NCL, Inc. Chapters, West Lakes aims to foster the mother-daughter relationship by serving its communities together.

OUR CHAPTER HISTORY

National Charity League, Inc. currently has a presence in 23 states across the country.  The West Lakes Chapter is proud to be the 175th Chapter formed and the first in Minnesota!  Our Patroness and Ticktocker members have volunteered over 25,000 hours with our philanthropy partners since founding September 2012.  Our members focus on fulfilling the NCL Experience–a 6 year plan focusing on the Philanthropic, Cultural and Leadership pillars of the organization.

The West Lakes Chapter currently has seventeen philanthropy partners in our community; these partnerships will grow in number along with the Chapter.   We have chosen to partner with organizations that address genuine needs in the community and offer a variety of ways for our membership to volunteer.

Join Our Chapter

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.

Membership Inquiry Form

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

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.

We work with the following philanthropies:

• American Heart Association
• Angel Foundation
• Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota
• Eden Prairie Parks
• Feed My Starving Children
• Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery
• Hope Chest For Breast Cancer
• Launch Ministries
• Operation Gratitude
• Operation Homefront
• Second Harvest Heartland
• Sharing and Caring Hands
• Special Olympics
• Starkey Foundation
• Steppingstone Theatre
• The Prop Shop
• The Ronald McDonald House
• The Waters of Eden Prairie
• Three Rivers Park District
• True Friends
• Urban Strategies

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

• President: Kelly Hopper
• President Elect: Kelly Derouin
• Secretary: Megan Blackwood
  Jody Collis King
• Treasurer: Kathleen Cooper
  Stephanie Heiberg
• Parliamentarian: Carin Viertel
  Laurel Famigletti
• Vice President Communications: Tamara Wenning
  Sara Heim
• Vice President Membership: Tina Richter
  Shannon Richter
• Vice President Patroness Activities: Linda Bendt
  Liz Dayton
• Vice President Philanthropy: Tara Wander
  Kathie Johnson
• Vice President Provisionals: Juliana Allen
  Erin Skubic
• Vice President Ticktockers: Jen Stephens
  Gaby Aranda-Schwob
• Sustainer Liaison: Carol Gschwendtner

Activities of our Chapter

Activities of our Chapter include grade level focus areas such as:

* Friendship/etiquette

* High school preparedness

* Time management

* Interpersonal relationships

* College/career; choices/applications/interview skills

* Independent living skills

We also encourage mentoring: mothers and daughters and also girls mentoring other girls.

Cultural Experiences

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, theatre, 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.

Activities of our Chapter include:

Annual Chapter Tea

Provisional Mock Tea and Tea Training

Grade Level Cultural Events focused on:

• 7th grade:  theater

• 8th grade:  museum

• 9th grade:  ballet/dance

• 10th grade: symphony/opera

• 11th grade: ethnic experience

• 12th grade: cultural choice