Welcome to the website for National Charity League, Inc. Foothill Chapter. We are a national Mother-Daughter philanthropic organization. Our chapter is comprised of approximately 100 mothers and thier daughters in grades 7 through 12. We support a variety of organizations in our area, including American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Foothill Family Shelter, San Antonio Community Hospital of Upland, Salvation Army, and Meals on Wheels among many others. We also raise money through poinsettia sales for our college scholarship program, which benefits senior girls in our area. If you would like further information about our organization, please visit our national website at www.nationalcharityleague.org NCL, Inc. History In 1925, a small group of women interested in philanthropic work founded the Charity League in Los Angeles. They worked quietly, doing Red Cross work, making layettes and assembling and delivering baskets of food to the hungry at holiday times. Sometimes they brought their daughters with them. By 1938, so many daughters had become involved that they decided to form their own group. They called themselves the Ticktockers. National Charity League was founded in 1947 in Los Angeles, California. The mothers are referred to as Patronesses and the daughters are called Ticktockers. The mothers and daughters work together, either together or within their age group, in philanthropic and educational activities. National Charity League, Inc. is comprised of over 139 Chapters in 15 states nationwide. Our organization is the only mother-daughter volunteer force of its kind serving local communities together. When mothers and daughters who reside in close proximity decide to join NCL, a new chapter is formed. Each chapter of National Charity League has an elected Board of Directors. These women are responsible for determining all aspects of participation for the chapter members: calendar of meetings, events, activities for the year; dues, attendance, and participation requirements for the members; bylaws, standing rules (operational procedures), philanthropy choices for the chapter, etc. The Chapter Board of Directors meets separately once a month to conduct the business of the chapter. The chapter will eventually incorporate as a non-profit corporation in their state. Each NCL chapter is incorporated as a non-profit in their state. The mothers, known as Patronesses, meet once a month in chapter-wide meetings. These Regular meetings are devoted to understanding the business of the chapter and determining the future direction of the chapter in addition to philanthropy work, special programs or activities. The mothers determine what philanthropic opportunities the chapter will become involved with after receiving input from their daughters. Philanthropic participation is a requirement and each chapter sets its own requirements which average about 20 hours per year. These hours are most often performed outside of meetings. In addition, each mother has some type of role or position within the chapter that is assumed as part of their membership requirement which average about 20 hours per year. These positions can be as a Board member, committee chairman or committee member. In NCL, everyone has a role every year. The daughters, known as Ticktockers, meet separately from the mothers. They are organized by grade level, and they, too, have their own set of elected officers, and their own adult grade level advisors. Their meetings are designed around the chapter’s Six-Year Plan which assigns various age-related educational, leadership and cultural objectives for them to meet through programs, presentations, and field trips. They also have a philanthropic hours’ requirement (approximately 20 hours per year), and they, too are required to fulfill some leadership role within their group each year. The overall objective for Ticktockers is to provide opportunities for them to learn the beauty of giving of themselves to others; to practice leadership and social skills within their peer groups; and to have an awareness and appreciation of the various forms of cultural education in the community. It is a requirement for every NCL chapter to hold an annual tea (of some sort) with the daughters being trained in proper etiquette to serve as hostesses. This is a time-honored tradition with National Charity League, but each chapter determines exactly how they will meet this requirement. Ticktocker History The exact origin of Ticktockers is unclear. One account states that in 1927, a group called Tic Toc was organized on the University of California at Los Angeles campus, primarily for the purpose of forming a closer relationship between the various sororities then on the campus. It was recognized as an inter-sorority organization whose membership was taken from the Juniors and Seniors of the following sororities: Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Pi Beta Phi. In this organization were daughters of several women in The Charity League. The daughters later became knows as Athenians, today separate from National Charity League, Inc., but they were the inspiration for the later Ticktockers. Another account states that Mrs. Lawrence organized a group of young women at the University of California at Los Angeles to assist and support activities at Children’s Hospital in their spare time. She named this group Ticktockers. The final account states that in 1938, daughters of The Charity League mothers decided to form their own group which was organized under the guidance of Jacqueline White (later Mrs. Bruce Anderson) and Mrs. Paul Lawrence. The first Ticktocker meeting was held at the Beverly Hills, California, home of Polly and Frances Hanson, daughters of Mrs. Archibald Hanson. At this meeting the girls chose the name of Ticktockers. The Ticktocker Clock shows the clock with the hands at 10 o’clock because the Ticktockers always met at 10 o’clock on Saturday mornings. Though three historical accounts of the origin of Ticktockers have been found, one common thread binds them together. Ticktockers were formed to work along side of their mothers to provide philanthropic service to the community. The first big party of the Ticktockers, the Moonlight Ball, was a summer formal held on June 7, 1941, at the Clarence English Estate in Arcadia, California. The cost was $2.00 admission. On April 10, 1942, Mrs. Paul Lawrence registered the name The Charity League in Sacramento, California. World War II followed with personal family concerns to be dealt with. Everything was put on hold. The group of Ticktockers was reactivated in 1946 following the war. The Ticktockers were organized into grade level groups of 7th through 12th grades. The Charity League was reorganized and renamed National Charity League in 1947. It was at this time that the mothers chose to take the name Patroness. The Ticktockers and their Patroness mothers sent five hundred pounds of clothing to the needy in England, Holland, and Belgium and participated in many local charitable endeavors. An Organization Tea for National Charity League was held on January 20, 1947, at the home of Mrs. Ralph R. Free in Bel-Air, California. Honored guests were the original patronesses of The Charity League. Ticktocker members were a group of high school age students chosen from Marlborough, Westlake and Marymount (private California schools). Forty-two College Ticktockers from the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Southern California assisted at the Organization Tea. National Charity League incorporated on September 10, 1947, as a non-profit corporation organized solely for philanthropic, cultural and social purposes. It is the original mother-daughter charity. National Reference Manual Section Introduction Sub-section History