NCL Westside Chapter Kicks Off Year With Annual Meeting

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

After shifting in response to COVID-19-related restrictions, National Charity League, Inc., Westside Chapter is getting “back to basics.”

The Westside Chapter gathered in Pacific Palisades on Sunday, September 11, for its Chapter Wide Kick-Off meeting.

“National Charity League Westside is a nonprofit organization that has over 250 active members serving over 15 philanthropic partners across Los Angeles,” according to the group. “The NCL core program is for mothers and their daughters, grades seven through 12, to participate in a program that embraces philanthropy, leadership and culture. Members give back to the community while forming healthy, unforgettable bonds with their mothers.”

Participating mothers are called “Patronesses” and daughters are called “Ticktockers.”

Mary Ruth Schreier, a third-generation Ticktocker, formed the Westside Chapter in 2010 with the idea that women need to look after one another and form networking, business, social or philanthropic connections.

Across the organization, National Charity League members have volunteered nearly three million hours to more than 6,000 charities, according to its website.

The Westside Chapter has members who reside in the Palisades, Brentwood, Santa Monica and other surrounding communities.

Palisadian President Melissa Rawlins said each September meeting typically includes a safety and empowerment theme. This year, physician and founder of ADOLESSONS, Dolly Klock, visited to speak with members on the topics of health and wellness.

“She talked about party culture and how to keep yourself, and your friends [and] children safe,” Rawlins said to the Palisadian-Post. “We thought this was a timely talk because the kids are really diving into social engagements again, and it is good to have them going out there prepared.”

During an All Chapter meeting, NCL collected gently used and new books as part of its partnership with Access Books, the organization’s newest philanthropy partner.

“This is the focus philanthropy for our ninth-grade class,” Rawlins said. “Their goal is to collect 3,000 new and gently used K-5 books, and we collected many of them at our book drive at the Sunday meeting. It is a lofty goal, and they are asking their friends and neighbors for books as well. The books will be donated as part of a significant library refurbishment at a Los Angeles elementary school.”

As Rawlins looked ahead, she said this year’s theme is “Back to Basics,” following adjustments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Like many other organizations, we spent so much time from 2020 to 2022 changing the way we did things to work within restrictions from the city [and] state, limitations on volunteer opportunities with our philanthropy partners, school rules, etc.,” Rawlins explained. “Embarking on our first ‘normal’ year since we got cut off in the 2019 to 2020 year, we are trying to tone things down for everyone.

“We are emphasizing purposeful gathering for all of our chapter-wide and class meetings. We have a great program focusing on our three pillars of culture, leadership and philanthropy, so we look forward to getting ‘back to basics’ to make our time together more meaningful and efficient for all of our members.”

For more information about NCL and the Westside Chapter, visit nationalcharityleague.org/chapter/westside or the group’s Instagram @nclwestside.