Members of Shirley’s Army in the Shirley Temple Private Dining Room at 20th Century Fox Studios, April 2018.
The Diplomacy Center Foundation is pleased to learn that Shirley’s Army—a group of more than 1,000 fans of Shirley Temple Black—has chosen to support the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD) during its annual pin sale. Each year, Shirley’s Army designs and sells a pin, from which a portion of the proceeds are given to a cause that was important to Shirley Temple Black. This year’s pin fundraiser generated $1,500 in donations for NMAD.
Shirley’s Army organizer Melissa Tonnessen says, “the decision to donate to NMAD was an easy one—we saw that the Black family had contributed, and we knew just how important Shirley’s diplomatic career was to her and her family.” Shirley Temple Black had a distinguished diplomatic career under four US presidents over more than two decades. She first served in 1969 as a US Delegate to the UN General Assembly and then to the UN Conference on the Human Environment. She served as US Ambassador to Ghana (1974-1976) and Czechoslovakia (1989-1992) and was the first woman to be Chief of Protocol of the United States (1976-1977). In November 2019, the family of Shirley Temple Black gave a major gift to the Diplomacy Center Foundation to support the creation of NMAD’s gift vault and protocol gallery.
Shirley’s Army began as a small group of devoted fans who met during the 2015 Love, Shirley Temple traveling museum exhibition sponsored by Theriault’s. Love, Shirley Temple traveled to eight museums across the United States and highlighted items from Shirley Temple Black’s childhood years from 1928-1940. Following the exhibit’s opening at the Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey, a Facebook page was created for those who were interested in Shirley Temple Black’s collection. Today, Shirley’s Army has grown to more than 1,000 online members, many of whom meet up annually in California for “Shirley-palooza.” Together, they have attended many important events honoring Shirley Temple Black, including the 2016 US Postal Service dedication of her Forever Stamp in Los Angeles, California.
The annual pin sale by Shirley’s Army began following Theriault’s July 2015 auction of Shirley Temple Black’s personal childhood collection. Inspired by the police badge that Shirley Temple would give out when she was a child star, Shirley’s Army decided to create a badge to identify themselves. The first pin was designed and sold with a portion of the proceeds given to the Santa Monica History Museum. Following the success of their first pin sale, Shirley’s Army continues to sell a pin each year using different designers from their group. Other organizations benefiting from the pin sale include the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Shirley Temple Education Studio at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Since its installment in 2015, Shirley’s Army has donated a total of $8,764 to non-profit organizations.
The Diplomacy Center Foundation is honored by the support of Shirley’s Army and excited for Shirley’s Army’s upcoming visit to see the NMAD’s preview exhibit Diplomacy Is Our Mission, which features Ambassador Shirley Temple Black. Ambassador Roman Popadiuk (ret.), Diplomacy Center Foundation President, says, “we are so delighted to have the support of Shirley’s Army. Shirley Temple Black is an icon of the US film industry and a practiced diplomat who has left a great mark on the world of diplomacy. It is so warming to see her legacy preserved in the NMAD and by her scores of fans nationwide. We look forward to welcoming Shirley’s Army at the Museum and staying in contact.”
Image courtesy of Shirley’s Army.