The public is invited to submit homes of distinction for consideration to be the 2022 Show House.

Submitted

The Junior League of Hartford (JLH), a women’s volunteer organization dedicated to improving the lives and communities in which it serves, is celebrating a century of community service in Greater Hartford and its 15th Designer Show House, opening in spring 2022.

The Show House, which occurs every three years, is the League’s largest event-based fundraiser. This signature event involves countless hours of volunteer time and talent from Junior League members, designers, landscapers, and supporters. The JLH takes over a notable home or estate in Greater Hartford, then selects interior designers, artists, florists, and landscape architects to completely redesign and decorate the interior and exterior spaces of the home, culminating in a month-long open house for public and private tours of the transformed property.

Many recent Show Houses – including a home on Waterside Lane in 2018 and a home on Orchard Road in 2015 – have been located in West Hartford

64 Orchard Rd., West Hartford. 2015 Junior League Decorator Show House. Photo credit: Ronni Newton (we-ha.com file photo)

Show House proceeds allow the JLH to provide much needed resources and financial support to a multitude of Connecticut nonprofits, such as The Boys and Girls Clubs, Junior Achievement, Freshplace – Foodshare, and the Chrysalis Center, among many more. Funds are raised through the sale of tickets to tour the home, special events associated with the Show House, and individual and corporate sponsorships. Since its inception in 1979, the Show House has raised more than $1.6 million to support local charitable programs and projects.

The JLH is currently looking for a home to be the next 2022 Show House and encourages homeowners, realtors, and members of the community to submit homes of distinction to [email protected] for consideration. To be selected, a home must be spacious enough to accommodate multiple design areas, ideally have front and back staircases, a central entrance hall, a substantial garage or carriage house area, a sizable lawn, outdoor areas to accommodate landscape design, and be of sufficient interest and character to attract the public.

A Designer Show House is most successful when it can exhibit examples of many designers’ creativity, while keeping the overall charm of the home. The event is not a custom decorating service for the homeowner. A committee of JLH members selects designers to transform specific spaces in the home based on the designers’ submitted design boards.

Show House 2022 will be open from April 29 to May 22, 2022. For corporate sponsorship levels, tickets and special events visit the Junior League of Hartford website. Tickets will go on sale after Jan. 1, 2022. Presale tickets are $25 until April 29; then tickets will be available at the door through May 22 for $40.

Previous Show Houses may be seen here.

Since its inception in 1921,  the Junior League of Hartford has remained rooted in its mission to implement wide-ranging community programs and projects, many of which continue to serve the Greater Hartford community today.  The League’s more than 400 members donate thousands of volunteer hours annually to League projects and community service activities.

A few of the programs the JLH has brought to the Greater Hartford community include:

• 1920s – JLH volunteers founded Hartford’s first Maternal Milk Station, providing access to milk for low-income families prior to the invention of refrigeration and baby formula.

• 1950s – The JLH worked with the American School for the Deaf to establish a Film Captioning Bureau to add subtitles to motion pictures. The first operation of its kind, this project garnered international recognition and was so successful that it was adopted by the US Department of Education and expanded nationwide.

• 1970s – After Civil Rights riots left Hartford’s North End devastated, the JLH partnered with Dr. Evan Daniels to provide funds and volunteers to found Community Health Services.

• 1980s – The JLH created GATE, a drug awareness campaign, Phone-A-Friend, a homework help and support line for children and teens, and developed Friends of the Family, a resource and referral center for teenage parents. This program was so successful that it was transitioned to its permanent home at The Village for Families and Children, and continues its work today.

• 1990s – The JLH developed Take 5, a program that encouraged new parents to get timely immunizations for their babies, which was recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by the White House.

• 2000s – The JLH created Family School Connection to help reduce truancy and abuse. This program now operates at seven sites statewide. To help combat hunger, the JLH instituted the Backpack Program to provide weekend meals to families in need.

• 2010s – the JLH collaborated with Chrysalis Center and FoodShare to create Freshplace, a fresh food pantry that is still in operation today, and Junior Achievement to develop a program called Career Connections for Young Women.

• Today – The JLH’s current focus is Empowering Women and Girls to Overcome Obstacles through a partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford for the SMART Girls initiative, a program developed to offer age-specific experiences that enhance girls’ physical and emotional health.

For more information on the Junior League of Hartford, its projects, and membership visit www.jlhartford.org.

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