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Quota Baton Rouge – A Legacy of Service and Leadership

Founding and Early Years

In early 1935, a group of women met with the goal of organizing a Quota Club in Baton Rouge. Frances L. Landry was given the task of organizing the group, and on June 15, 1935, the charter dinner was held. Frances Landry, a respected attorney, was Quota’s first president. There were seventeen founding members who met at Anderson’s Tea Room located at the corner of Fourth and Main Streets. The club’s guiding motto, “We Share,” inspired its mission of service, fellowship, and ethical leadership.

The early service projects supported Brownie and Girl Scout Troops at the Magnolia School. By 1939, Quota Baton Rouge had partnered with the East Baton Rouge School Board and the federal government to establish the state’s first National Youth Administration (NYA) clerical unit for girls. Members furnished housing and served as “Big Sisters” for the participants.

The 1940s were, of course, impacted by World War II. Quota Baton Rouge created the first nursery school for the children of defense workers, in addition to collecting for the Salvation Army, buying war bonds, and sponsoring blood drives. During this time, Quota also provided scholarships for young women to attend Pelican Girls State and helped in the establishment of a YWCA in Baton Rouge.

By the 1950s, Quota had expanded its reach with programs such as Aid to the Hard of Hearing, youth mentoring through Club Quoteen, and emergency assistance funds for mothers and children. Fundraising was accomplished through concerts, social events, and the long-running Open Door Tour.

1950s through 1990s

Quota Baton Rouge started the Open Door Tour in 1951 and continued to showcase area homes for fifty-five years. The funds raised through the annual home tours started the Baton Rouge Speech and Hearing Foundation, now The Emerge Center, supporting Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, The Baton Rouge General, and Woman’s Hospital. Quota Baton Rouge was also instrumental in the startup and support of the Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center and Girls Hope. Quota endowed a $100,000 scholarship at LSU and provided $100,000 to LSU for a support program for deaf students who wanted to attend a Louisiana university.

Quota Baton Rouge became one of the largest and most influential clubs within Quota International. Members served not only locally, but also on the international stage. Frances Landry became an International President and was later joined by Bobbie Carey and Rosemary Hannie—making Baton Rouge the only club with three International Presidents.

Quota Baton Rouge initiated the Universal Hearing Screening program and encouraged other Quota Clubs to fund the revolutionary new technology for infant hearing screening, enabling hearing issues to be diagnosed at birth. This technology was advanced by Quota Clubs around the world and adopted as a standard of care in the U.S. and many other countries.

Present Day and Ongoing Mission

Quota Baton Rouge remains dedicated to supporting women, children, and the deaf and hard of hearing through philanthropy and hands-on service. Quota’s most recent fundraisers, “Eyes on the Ties” and “Stars for a Cause,” have supported The Emerge Center, Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital, Capital Area CASA, and LPB children’s programming. And each year members donate time, expertise, and funds to many nonprofits in the community such as Volunteers of America, the Louisiana School for the Deaf, IRIS, The Alliance House for Mental Health, St. Vincent de Paul, Habitat for Humanity, Magnolia Woods School, LaSalle School and St. Lillian’s. Quota also donates infant starter kits to new mothers and Easter baskets and holiday gifts to underserved children and families.

For over 90 years, Quota Baton Rouge has been a driving force for community service, leadership, and advocacy. What began with seventeen trailblazing women in the midst of the Great Depression has grown into a vibrant network that continues to shape Baton Rouge and beyond.