Help Break the Cycle of Poverty

Our Little Black Dress Initiative (LBDI) is a week-long, social media-driven fundraising campaign that uses the iconic little black dress to raise awareness about poverty and its effects on women in our community.

The Junior League of Columbia invites its members to wear the same black dress or outfit for five consecutive days from February 5 to 9 to illustrate how poverty can limit a woman's access to resources, her confidence, and professional opportunities. Wearing a button that requests the public to Ask Me About My Dress, our goal is to spark conversation and spread awareness of the impacts of poverty in our community.  Additionally, this campaign helps the JLC to raise money for our support of Community Impact Grants, Kids in Transition, Kids with Special Needs, and local schools in the 29203 zip code.

Our community programs focus on basic needs and education - specifically impacting food security, children's literacy, and career and work readiness for women.