This summer, the eyes of the world turned to Dallas. Nine FIFA World Cup 2026™ matches, more than  any other host city, were played at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, including a Semi-final on July 14. Fans  from Argentina, England, the Netherlands, Croatia, and dozens of other nations filled our stadiums, our  restaurants, and our neighborhoods, and for a few unforgettable weeks, Dallas was the center of the  sporting universe. 

Long before the crowds arrived, the Junior League of Dallas had already spent a century training women  to lead, organize, and show up for their community. That training doesn’t wear off once a shift ends. It’s  what Dallas had waiting when the world showed up. 

An Organization Built to Train Leaders 

For more than a century, JLD’s core purpose has been developing women’s leadership through volunteer service. Today, over 4,000 members contribute over 50,000 uncompensated volunteer hours a year and help return roughly $1 million annually back into the Dallas community. That work is concentrated in three impact areas: Education & the Arts, Health & Wellness, and Strengthening Families. 

That training also shows up in our Signature Projects like the Parks Improvement Project, where members help maintain and beautify green spaces across the city, and Done in a Day, which provides short-term volunteer support for local nonprofit events. The skills are the same every time: organizing, welcoming, solving the problem in front of you. Those are the same skills Dallas leaned on to host the world well this summer. 

FIFA World Cup organizers talk about “legacy,” meaning what a host city leaves behind once the crowds  go home. In Dallas, the real legacy isn’t anything built for this summer. It’s the hundred years of  leadership JLD has already put in. JLD trained these women to lead long before FIFA ever came calling.  When the World Cup did, they were ready.

Sara Korsmo, Up Close 

Sara Korsmo and her service dog, Ireland, at the FIFA World Cup 2026 volunteer center.

For JLD member Sara Korsmo, that training led somewhere unexpected. She first learned about the  opportunity to volunteer for the World Cup through the Junior League of Dallas and started as a Starting Lineup Volunteer. As she put it, she “probably wouldn’t have known about the volunteer program  otherwise,” and she credits the League with opening the door to an experience she wouldn’t have found on her own. Once she was selected as a FIFA Volunteer, her assignment landed her at the Uniform  Distribution and Accreditation Center (UDAC). There, she handed out uniforms to volunteers and FIFA staff,  fielded questions, and helped make sure everyone gearing up for the tournament felt taken care of. The scale of it all was the draw: a historic, international event she could be part of, a chance to contribute to something bigger than herself, and an opportunity to meet people from around the world, make new friends, and see firsthand what it takes to pull off something the size of the World Cup. 

One of Korsmo’s favorite memories was when the FIFA team learned that her dog, Ireland, is a service  animal and invited Ireland to join her for a few volunteer shifts. Ireland turned into an instant favorite at  UDAC, lighting up everyone who came through the line. As Korsmo put it, the moment “perfectly  captured the welcoming and inclusive spirit of the volunteer community.” 

Representing Dallas and the Junior League on a stage that size meant something to Korsmo. She saw  every conversation with fellow volunteers, staff, and visitors as a chance to put the city’s hospitality on  display, and she hopes her team left people with the same sense of warmth she feels about Dallas.

Still Shining 

The World Cup is over now. The stadiums have emptied, the fans have gone home, and Dallas has  settled back into its usual rhythm. The women of the Junior League of Dallas haven’t. A new class of  members is already training, learning the same skills volunteers like Sara Korsmo put to work this  summer. This wasn’t a one-time moment for a global audience. It’s what the organization trains its  women to do, again and again, for whatever Dallas needs next. 

— Junior League of Dallas, External Communications Committee