In the Spring of 1978, Pat Carrington (Mrs. Charles) attended the Conference on Children and Youth in Tallahassee. She was so impressed by the quality of input of the delegates who were members of the various Junior Leagues that she returned home determined to organize such a group in Manatee County.

In August 1978, a large group of civically active women met at the Bradenton Public Library and began the process of forming a Service League. By December 1978, bylaws were written, membership established, and Manatee County Service League (MCSL) became a reality.

In March 1986, the Manatee County Service League became the Junior League of Manatee County (JLMC) and joined the Association of Junior Leagues, Inc. (AJLI) as its 264th member.

Junior League of Manatee County is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through effective action and leadership of training volunteers. Our purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. In furtherance of our mission, we create and organize community projects to meet the needs of women and children in need, and we do this through hosting our own fundraisers while training our volunteers and providing leadership opportunities for our members to flourish and become civic leaders.

We are women building better communities.