ESA members know the founder's day story, the group of women in Jacksonville, Texas who started a reading group to help the women of 1929 learn and grow with changes of the modern world. ESA has a rich history rooted in a passion for changing the communities and the world we live in for the better. A more in depth history of ESA is available to read here, but this Founder’s Day is a time to focus on and celebrate one of the most remarkable parts of the original mission of ESA: to help prepare members for the changes of the modern world.

In Eighty-nine years this has meant many things. In the 1930’s and 40's we helped with the war effort, rolling bandages for soldiers. In the 1970’s, long before St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was a house hold name, we made a pledge to support Danny Thomas’ visionary goal to cure childhood cancer. In the 1980’s we began fostering a passion for helping in young people through the creation of our collegiate program.

Today ESA remains true to the commitments we have made through the decades volunteering more than 860,000 hours each year and donating over $250 million to St. Jude, but ESA continues to provide something unique in our time. Members join ESA because they have a passion for serving others, but members stay for the friendships that blossom from serving alongside others. In digital era ESA is a home for those who are seeking a community not just online but face to face.

"There will never be any subsitute for the friends I have met through ESA - it's just more fun no matter what we are doing," commented one member in our all member survey in 2017.
 
Founder’s Day is a time to celebrate who we are as ESA members. This month celebrate the inspiring people you have met through your ESA journey. Celebrate the new experiences you have gotten. Celebrate the good you do multiplied by members all over the world. Celebrate the enduring friends you have made, near and far. Celebrate those friends that you still have yet to make. Celebrate by joining in our friendship campaign and invite someone you know to join ESA.

If your mew member joins before May 31 you will earn an ESA tote yourself and your new member that expresses all the inspiring roles ESA members play.

Celebrate ESA as an organization that makes positive change, not just in the world around us, but in the hearts of each of our members. We are friends, volunteers, philanthropists, teachers, givers, mentors, joiners,
 
Interested in learning more about ESA membership? Watch our video about becoming your best self through ESA.