NATIONAL HISTORY

Marion Stubbs Thomas founded Jack and Jill of America, Inc. January 24, 1938 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1946, the National Organization was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware. Since that meeting in 1938, chapters have been organized across the entire United States and as of July 2012, there are 224 chapters in 36 states and the District of Columbia with 11,500 members. From the meeting of those twenty mothers in Philadelphia, the idea of bringing together the children in a social and cultural relationship spread to New York City, where a similar organization was started in 1939. The third club was formed in March 1940, in Washington, D.C. Thus, Jack and Jill, which began as a local group, became an inter-city association. After four successful years in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, enthusiasm and interest in Jack and Jill spread westward, and in 1944 a chapter was formed in Pittsburgh and in 1952 the first chapters west of the Mississippi were formed in New Orleans, LA and Houston, TX.

In 1966, the organization created its own foundation, The Jack and Jill of America Foundation, which was incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois, January 1968. The Foundation has been responsible for the origin and funding of a large number of educational and charitable projects benefiting children and families in communities across the United States. In 2006, the Foundation embarked on “Rebuild America”. In partnering with Habitat for Humanity, Jack and Jill Foundation’s Rebuild America project has built and refurbished three homes in New Orleans, LA in the South Central Region, Chicago, Illinois in the Mid-West Region, and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the Eastern Region.

Through the years, Jack and Jill of America, Inc. has made large contributions to other organizations and projects, namely: the Hungry of Ethiopia through Africare, The United Negro College Fund, PUSH, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Social Change, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Mental Health for Children, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, Research for Rheumatic Fever, Children’s Defense Fund, Boys and Girls Clubs, and March of Dimes. Jack and Jill of America, Inc. is divided into seven regions for administrative purposes. Each region has a Director, Treasurer, Secretary, and Foundation Member-at-Large and is represented on the National Executive Board of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.