Young women looking for ways to volunteer their time for a good cause have a variety of options available to them these days.
Among them is the International Order of the Rainbow For Girls, a youth group for girls ages 11-20.
The order formed its first assembly in McAlester, Oklahoma, in 1922, and a first New Jersey assembly was held in 1923. This fall, New Jersey assemblies marked a century in existence with luncheons and service projects.
Members of Trenton Assembly No. 9, which meets twice monthly in Mercer County, donated 100 purses to HomeFront for its service project. HomeFront pursues its mission of ending homelessness in New Jersey by providing shelter, meals and necessities for families in need.
The 22 members collected 100 “gently used” pocketbooks and filled them with toiletries and other essentials for women before donating them to the nonprofit.
“The Rainbow Girls are mostly a service organization, so we wanted to do something that was relevant to the community,” said Christine Storie, a Ewing resident who serves as mother advisor for the Trenton Assembly. “The young ladies, in combination with the parents and advisers who help us, collected items all year long to stuff in these bags.”
Storie, who is also an account representative for Community News, said the assembly held a luncheon on Sept. 25 that both current members and alumnae of the assembly attended.
“We had octogenarians through 10-year-olds all sharing in the tradition,” Storie said. “It’s a sisterhood. It’s a community of ladies who go through the same set of traditions throughout the years.”
Girls ages 5 through 10 are eligible to become Rainbow Girl pledges, while girls ages 10-20 are eligible to become Rainbow Girls. After the age of 20, many Rainbow Girls remain involved with their assemblies as advisers to the group.
The order is affiliated with the Masonic Lodges, Order of the Eastern Star Chapters, and Courts of Amaranth. At the state (or country) level, the order is divided into grand assemblies; local assemblies are organized at the town level. There are eight local assemblies in New Jersey, including Trenton No. 9, which is based at the Masonic Lodge on Nottingham Way in Hamilton.
The assembly’s stated goal is for Rainbow girls to learn about charity, hope and service through their involvement and support with various projects, benefiting such causes as Shriners Hospital for Children, Elizabeth H. Repka Charity Fund, Scottish Rite Learning Centers and the ARC of NJ.
Today, The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls has assemblies in 47 states; only Delaware, Utah and Wyoming do not have grand assemblies. Addition ally, there are assemblies in nine other countries, including Canada, Australia, Germany, Brazil and Japan.
To be eligible to be a pledge or a Rainbow girl, a candidate must be unmarried and be either a friend of a Rainbow girl, the daughter or granddaughter of a Master Mason, or a member of the Eastern Star or Majority Rainbow Girl. A prospective member must also be recommended by two Rainbow girls and sponsored by an adult. Local assemblies are usually happy to help candidates obtain recommendations and sponsors.
Mother advisor Christine Storie’s daughter Bella, now 20, first joined the Rainbow girls when she was 12. Today, Christine serves as mother advisor, and Bella as grand worthy advisor for the New Jersey Grand Assembly, in addition to her duties as a member of the Trenton assembly.
“We try to get out into the community,” Christine said. “We do membership tables at trade shows, at community events — the Hamilton National Night Out is a big opportunity for us. We do a lot by Facebook and word of mouth.”
Storie says Rainbow girls get opportunities for leadership, service and public speaking experience. While faith in a supreme being is a listed requirement, she says that girls of any faith are welcome.
Storie said the Trenton assembly has supported organizations such as Alex’s Lemonade Stand, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mercer County and the Eastern Star Masonic Home.
“The fun thing is that the young ladies pick the charities,” she said. “Every four months, we switch officers, and a different girl is the worthy advisor or the president. Every four months, they have an opportunity to change our charity and learn new things about the community.”
Most recently, the Trenton assembly was doing work to benefit the Foundation for Fighting Blindness.
As is true for many of the groups affiliated with Masons or Shriners, the International Order of the Rainbow For Girls is steeped in organizational traditions. “We’ve been opening our meetings the same way for a hundred years,” Storie said.
In a typical meeting, the assembly will give the Rainbow girls opportunities to stand up and talk about committees they’ve been working on.
“It can range from a fun project they’ve been working on to a service project or fundraiser — anything from working on a scrapbook to learning how to talk about Rainbow in public,” Storie said. “All those things we try to encourage, and we let them learn from each other. We dont have a set curriculum. The younger girls learn front he older girls. It’s a fun process and really sweet to watch.”
On Oct. 28, the Trenton assembly held a BowTique Yard Sale. Upcoming events include a Candy Bar Bingo event scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 5 at 11 a.m. and Breakfast With Santa, a benefit for Toys For Tots, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 9 at 8 a.m. The location for all the events is the Masonic Lodge in Hamilton, 3682 Nottingham Way.
More information is available on Facebook.
Current and past members of the Trenton No. 9 Assembly of the International Order of the Rainbow For Girls gathered in Hamilton on Sept. 25 to celebrate the assembly’s 100th anniversary.,
