1930's

In 1938, the Junior Service League of Waterloo, Inc. was organized by Mrs. Philip K. Rausch with 40 charter members.

1940's

The first Charity Ball was held in 1940. Early service projects included purchasing eyeglasses for under-privileged children and opening nursery schools to support mothers working during the war.

1950's

The Junior Service League Receiving Home—now the Minnie Crippen Home for Children—opened to serve neglected, abandoned, and homeless children. The Bargain Shop began operating as a used clothing and merchandise store, funding League projects and providing affordable clothing for the community for the next decade. The League provided the community’s first group-setting assistance for children with disabilities, helping inspire the founding of Exceptional Persons, Inc. (EPI), and, in partnership with Kiwanis, helped establish Goodwill Industries locally.

1960's

The League contributed funds to the Waterloo Civic Foundation for a new Recreation Center, restored and opened the Russell Lamson House (now the Rensselaer Russell House Museum), supported the Children’s Theatre with salary funding and youth productions, built the Byron Avenue Day Care Center, and helped start the Junior Art Gallery. In 1968, the organization joined the Association of Junior Leagues and became the Junior League of Waterloo, Iowa, Inc.

1970's

Work with the Children’s Theatre continued while the League provided salary support to the Volunteer Bureau (now the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley), supplied anti-drug films to area schools, and granted funding for a new wing at the Waterloo Recreation Center. The League helped bring adult day care to the community by opening Newell Post, helped establish Green Scene, and began a long-term partnership with Grin and Grow Day Care. In 1978, the League published its first cookbook, Buttercups and Brandy, and in 1973 it adopted the name Junior League of Waterloo–Cedar Falls, Iowa, Inc.

1980's

The League continued supporting child and adult day care programs, improved homes of low-income elderly residents through Project Love, and provided significant funding to the Transitional Living Center, People’s Community Health Clinic, and Cedar Valley Hospice. It recognized volunteers through what is now the Mayors’ Volunteer Awards and established the Enabling Fund to meet immediate community needs. ISPAC (the Iowa State Public Affairs Committee), formed by the five Iowa Leagues, became the first state committee to hire a lobbyist. The cookbook Pig Out premiered in 1986. In 1987, the League celebrated its 50th anniversary with a $50,000 grant to Hartman Reserve Nature Center’s Expansion Project, launched Done-in-a-Day projects, and established the Endowment Fund. In 1989, the League received the Governor’s Volunteer Award.

1990's

The League funded Black Hawk County’s first Habitat for Humanity home and sustained operations for several years with the Gift Box fundraiser while focusing on child welfare and education. It financed renovations at Franklin Street Grin and Grow and supported the center with volunteers through 1996. For its 60th anniversary, the League funded a computer lab at the Boys & Girls Club and purchased a van and materials to launch Traveling Tales, a preschool literacy program. The League helped start the Mayors’ Top Teen Awards to recognize youth volunteers and funded three educational structures that helped launch the Children’s Garden at the Cedar Valley Arboretum & Botanic Gardens, while also assisting with EPI’s Respite Program.

2000's

In 2000, the League published its third cookbook, First Impressions. Early in the decade, it continued emphasizing child welfare and education through projects such as Jamie & Jim’s Kids, Cedar Valley Hospice’s Eucalyptus Program, Hartman Reserve, and the Northeast Iowa Food Bank’s Kids Café. From 2005 to 2007, the League provided funding and volunteers for the Youth Pavilion at the Waterloo Center for the Arts. In 2007, it identified a focus on childhood obesity and safe places to play, creating a $70,000 Safe Places to Play Fund to commemorate the League’s 70th anniversary, and in 2008 it contributed $50,000 to Lafayette Park for play equipment designed for children under five. Throughout the decade, the League continued training volunteers, delivering Done-in-a-Day projects and Enabling Fund grants, and engaging the community through events such as Charity Ball and Style Show.

2010's

The League concluded its Safe Places to Play emphasis with a donation for new play equipment at Pfeiffer Park, eliminated a waiting list for car seats at Operation Threshold, and offered car seat checks at its fall fundraiser as part of the 2010–11 Safe Rides for Kids initiative. In 2010, it launched the annual Touch-A-Truck fundraiser to replace the Style Show. The League celebrated its 75th anniversary with “75 Ways Junior League of Waterloo–Cedar Falls HAS and WILL CONTINUE to Impact the Community,” achieving record-setting Charity Ball fundraising. In 2012, the League began transitioning from project-based to issue-based community impact in alignment with AJLI. In 2014, members adopted Teen Issues as the organizational focus and launched the YOLO Youth Empowerment Series at Bunger Middle School in spring 2015.