Before Kidspace was a children’s museum, it was a Junior League project. Before the Pasadena Senior Center had a name, a group of women decided it should exist.
The Junior League of Pasadena turns 100 this year. The organization — which it describes as Pasadena’s oldest nonprofit women’s group — began in 1926 as the Junior Aid Society, a volunteer auxiliary for the Boys’ and Girls’ Aid Society. In the decades that followed, its members helped build a children’s museum, founded a senior center, and established partnerships with organizations including a Pasadena shelter for homeless pregnant women. The work is still standing.
On Saturday, April 11, the organization will hold its Centennial Celebration at the University Club of Pasadena. The event runs from noon to 3 p.m.; tickets are $150.
For President Lisa Glionna, who is guiding the organization through its centennial year, the milestone carries a specific kind of weight. “As we move into our centennial year, we are looking forward to growing our impact, strengthening partnerships, and ensuring our work is sustainable for generations to come,” Glionna stated in the organization’s announcement of its 2025-26 leadership slate.
The landmark contributions span most of a century. In 1960, the League was instrumental in establishing what it describes as Pasadena’s first senior center, according to the organization’s history. Kidspace Children’s Museum, now at 480 N. Arroyo Blvd., began as a project of the Junior League of Pasadena and the Caltech community in 1979. The organization has also maintained long-running ties to Elizabeth House, a shelter for homeless pregnant women at 559 N. El Molino Ave., and to arts education programs in Pasadena Unified School District schools.
The organization currently operates as part of the Association of Junior Leagues International — a network of 291 leagues across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Great Britain, according to the League’s LinkedIn profile. Its stated mission: promoting voluntarism, developing women’s potential, and improving communities through trained volunteer leadership.
The centennial year has included a yearlong calendar of events and a targeted membership drive for the “Class of 2025-2026” — the centennial cohort of new volunteers. When the League marked its 95th anniversary in 2021, members collectively completed 950 hours of community service and training and recognized 95 outstanding contributors to the League’s history.
Tickets for the April 11 Centennial Celebration are $150 per person. The event is at the University Club of Pasadena, 175 N. Oakland Ave. For information, visit www.jlpasadena.org or call (626) 796-0244.
So is the senior center. So is Kidspace. One hundred years of women deciding that Pasadena needed something — and then building it.
Junior League of Pasadena’s Centennial Celebration Saturday, April 11, 2026| Time: 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Event Location: University Club of Pasadena | Cost: $150.00/Single tickets | Saturday, April 11, 2026 | Time: 1:00 p.m. | For more information call: 626-796-0244 | Or click here: https://pasadena.jl.org/events/register-centennial-celebration-3/
