We are dedicated to improving local communities through volunteer service.
Join Us!
2024 GFWC National Day of Service
Join us in the fight against food insecurity and hunger!
GFWC Installs New International President and Board of Directors
Celebrating the start of the 2024–2026 Administration!
Our Mission
With more than 60,000 members in affiliated clubs in every state, the District of Columbia, and more than a dozen countries, GFWC members work in their own communities to support the arts, preserve natural resources, advance education, promote healthy lifestyles, encourage civic involvement, and work toward world peace and understanding.
OUR IMPACT
GFWC members vary in age, talents, location, background, and profession, but are united in their dedication to actively improve the lives of others.
60,000+
members in affiliated clubs in every state
2,600
existing volunteer clubs across the globe
100+
founded in 1890, GFWC has over a century of history
LATEST NEWS
FEATURED CONTENT
Signature Program: Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness and Prevention
GFWC creates and leads education, public awareness, and service projects for club members and local citizens at the community level; collaborates with national domestic violence networks and organizations; supports existing activities and established programs; advocates for victims and survivors; and provides educational opportunities to survivors.
GFWC aims to be a powerful voice for victims and survivors.
2024 GFWC National Day of Service
The GFWC National Day of Service (NDS) is a day in which all of GFWC comes together in service to highlight an area of need, take action to address it, and raise public awareness about its importance. State federations and clubs will participate by organizing Community Service Programs (CSP) in their communities as part of NDS.
Learn More
WHRC: Women’s History and Resource Center
Founded in 1984, the GFWC Women’s History and Resource Center (WHRC) collects, preserves, interprets, and promotes the history of GFWC. The WHRC documents the social and political contributions of GFWC clubwomen from 1890 to the present through the GFWC archives and related special collections.
Signature Program: Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness and Prevention
GFWC creates and leads education, public awareness, and service projects for club members and local citizens at the community level; collaborates with national domestic violence networks and organizations; supports existing activities and established programs; advocates for victims and survivors; and provides educational opportunities to survivors.
GFWC aims to be a powerful voice for victims and survivors.
2024 GFWC National Day of Service
The GFWC National Day of Service (NDS) is a day in which all of GFWC comes together in service to highlight an area of need, take action to address it, and raise public awareness about its importance. State federations and clubs will participate by organizing Community Service Programs (CSP) in their communities as part of NDS.
Learn More
WHRC: Women’s History and Resource Center
Founded in 1984, the GFWC Women’s History and Resource Center (WHRC) collects, preserves, interprets, and promotes the history of GFWC. The WHRC documents the social and political contributions of GFWC clubwomen from 1890 to the present through the GFWC archives and related special collections.
Support Us
GFWC Designated Funds support the work of GFWC by providing essential funding in targeted areas. They are vital to continue GFWC’s mission of strengthening our communities and enhancing the lives of others.
GET SOCIAL
GFWC NDS WELCOMES 64 NEW REGISTRANTS
“Food insecurity and hunger impacts every community, in every state—nationwide.”
~ U.S. Department of Agriculture
GFWC is pleased to welcome 64 new registrants to its GFWC National Day of Service (NDS) participation count. For the week ending July 25, 2024, 62 clubs and two GFWC State Federations have pledged their participation, bringing the grand total to 435.
We’re officially to the halfway point of matching last year’s count of 900. Our ambitious goal for this year is 1,800 participating clubs. However, with nine weeks to go till Saturday, September 28, we have time. Let’s band together and make it happen!
If your club has not registered, please do so today!
Together we can end food insecurity and hunger!
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To register, visit memberportal.gfwc.org/, and follow the prompts. Then, click on the Events page to sign up. Simply select 2024 GFWC National Day of Service and you’re on your way.
If more than one club is partnering on a CSP, you can register up to three clubs on the site. However, you will need to email Membership Director Melanie Gisler, mgisler@GFWC.org, the additional club names for your group.
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NEWLY ADDED REGISTRATION OPTION: EMAIL
If you prefer to register by email, please send a message to GFWCNDS@GFWC.org to sign up for the 2024 GFWC NDS.
Please include:
• Club Contact and Information
• Official Club Name
• Your State Federation
• Brief Description of Club’s Project, If Known (not required)
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* New Registrations as of Thursday, July 25, 2024
GFWC STATE FEDERATIONS
GFWC Florida
GFWC Tennessee
ALABAMA
GFWC Alabama Juniorette Alumni Group
GFWC Alabama River Region Woman's Club
ARIZONA
GFWC Huachuca Junior Women's Club
CALIFORNIA
GFWC County Woman's Club of Campbell
GFWC Dublin San Ramon Women's Club
GFWC Laguna Niguel Woman's Club
GFWC LaVerne-San Dimas Woman's Club
GFWC Mira Mesa Women's Club
GFWC Oak View Women's Club
GFWC Palmdale Woman's Club
GFWC South San Francisco Women's Club
GFWC Victor Valley Women's Club
GFWC Woman's Club of Carlsbad
GFWC Women's Club of Hollister
CONNECTICUT
GFWC Newington-Wethersfield Woman's Club
GFWC Somers Women's Club
GFWC Women's Club of Madison
Woman's Club of Windsor and GFWC
FLORIDA
GFWC Nature Coast Woman's Club
GFWC Pinellas Seminole Woman's Club
GEORGIA
GFWC Azalea City Woman's Club
GFWC Carrollton Civic Woman's Club
GFWC Dunwoody Woman's Club
GFWC Heartland Woman's Club
GFWC Morrow Civic Woman's Club
GFWC Tifton Junior Woman's Club
GFWC Valdosta Junior Woman's Club
IDAHO
GFWC Woman's Century Club
ILLINOIS
GFWC Antioch Woman's Club
GFWC Carol Stream Woman's Club
GFWC Macomb Woman's Club
GFWC Mokena Woman's Club
KENTUCKY
GFWC Murray Woman's Club
MARYLAND
GFWC Frederick Woman's Civic Club
GFWC Woman's Club of Bethesda
MINNESOTA
Winthrop GFWC of Minnesota
MISSISSIPPI
GFWC Ackerman Civic League
GFWC Purvis Woman's Club
GFWC-MFWC Bruce Civic Woman's Club
MISSOURI
GFWC Kansas City Athenaeum
MONTANA
GFWC Billings Junior Woman's Club
NEW JERSEY
GFWC Woman's Club of Paramus
GFWC Woman's Club of Ridgefield Park
NORTH CAROLINA
GFWC NC Kings Mountain Woman's Club
OHIO
GFWC Boardman Poland Junior Women's League
GFWC Ohio Austintown Junior Women's League
PENNSYLVANIA
GFWC Pocono Mountain Women's Club
GFWC Woman's Club of Regency at Creekside Meadows
GFWC Women's Civic Club of Carmichaels
TENNESSEE
GFWC Loudon Woman's Club
TEXAS
GFWC Florence J. Scott Woman's Club
GFWC Gunter Ladies for Tomorrow
VERMONT
GFWC Ludlow Okemo Valley Women's Club
VIRGINIA
GFWC Brookneal Woman's Club
GFWC Capitol Woman's Club
GFWC Lee District Past Presidents' Woman's Club
GFWC Varina Woman's Club
WASHINGTON
GFWC Cathlamet Woman's Club
GFWC Valley Volunteers
WEST VIRGINIA
GFWC Harrisville Woman's Club
WISCONSIN
GFWC Amery Woman's Club
GWC Muskego Woman's Club
#gfwc24nds #GFWC_HQ #GFWC #endfoodinsecurity #endhunger #IamGFWC #LivingTheVolunteerSpirit … See MoreSee Less
It’s WHRC Wednesday! Today’s post is a brief one, as your Librarian took the day off to accompany her grandmother to a quilt exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In preparation, yesterday I looked through the library’s copy of “The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America” by Carrie A. Hall and Rose G. Kretsinger, a well-known work by two Kansas quilters (and an old favorite of mine). Our copy was dedicated by Hall to her “many friends of the First District, K.F.W.C.” in 1935, then donated by the First District to GFWC Headquarters later that year.
So far I’ve found at least one reference to Hall being a “clubwoman” in Leavenworth, but haven’t been able to identify a specific club; do any of our Kansas members have more info that could help us ‘claim’ her as GFWC? … See MoreSee Less
44 NEW CLUBS REGISTER FOR GFWC NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE
Last week's registrations consisted of 41 GFWC clubs, one GFWC National Club, one GFWC State Federation, and one GFWC District for a grand total of 44 new pledges. Thank you to all that registered!
To date, the total count for registrations comes to 371. Last year, GFWC boasted a total of 900 participating clubs. For 2024, the goal is doubled to 1,800 participating clubs. Food insecurity and hunger impact every community, in every state—nationwide. Let’s do this and together we will end food insecurity and hunger!
If your club has not registered, please do so today!
—————————————————————-
To register, visit memberportal.gfwc.org/, and follow the prompts. Then, click on the Events page to sign up. Simply select 2024 GFWC National Day of Service and you’re on your way.
If more than one club is partnering on a CSP, you can register up to three clubs on the site. However, you will need to email Membership Director Melanie Gisler, mgisler@GFWC.org, the additional club names for your group.
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ADDITIONAL REGISTRATION OPTION VIA EMAIL
For those who prefer to register by email, please send a message to GFWCNDS@GFWC.org to sign up for the 2024 GFWC NDS.
Please include:
• Club Contact and Information
• Official Club Name
• Your State Federation
• Brief Description of Club’s Project, If Known (not required)
* New Registrations as of Thursday, July 18, 2024
GFWC NATIONAL CLUB
GFWC Bab's Inspirations
GFWC STATE FEDERATION
GFWC Kansas
GFWC DISTRICT
GFWC Tierra Adorada District (CA)
ALABAMA
GFWC Gulf Shores Woman's Club
GFWC Huntsville Woman's Club
GFWC Quest Club of Wadley
ARIZONA
GFWC Florence Woman's Club
ARKANSAS
GFWC Women's League of Van Buren
CALIFORNIA
GFWC La Verne San Dimas Woman's Club
GFWC San Buenaventura Women's Club
GFWC Santa Clara Woman's Club
GFWC SoCal Volunteers
GFWC Torrance Woman's Club
GFWC Westlake Women's Club
GFWC Woman's Club of Cypress
GFWC Woman's Club of Indio
COLORADO
GFWC Woman's Club of Colorado Springs
DELAWARE
GFWC Women's Club of Odessa
FLORIDA
GFWC Coral Gables
GFWC Dade City Woman's Club
GFWC Marianna Woman's Club
GFWC Temple Terrace Juniorettes
GFWC Wewahitchka Woman's Club
GEORGIA
GFWC Sylvania G.E.M.S.
ILLINOIS
GFWC Illinois Abingdon Junior Woman's Club
GFWC Polo Women's Club
KENTUCKY
GFWC Woman's Club of Madisonville
MARYLAND
GFWC Junior Woman's Club of Westminster
MASSACHUSETTS
GFWC Bay State Contemporary Club
MICHIGAN
GFWC Reed City
MINNESOTA
GFWC Cosmopolitan Woman's Club
MISSISSIPPI
GFWC Civic Woman's Club of Picayune
GFWC Fine Arts Club of Bruce
OHIO
GFWC Gallipolis Junior Women's Club
RHODE ISLAND
GFWC Bristol County Women's Club
GFWC Warwick Women's Club
SOUTH CAROLINA
GFWC Junior Woman's Club of Columbia
GFWC Junior Woman's Club of Rock Hill
GFWC Woman's Club of Rock Hill
TEXAS
GFWC The '36 Club
VIRGINIA
GFWC Great Bridge Woman's Club of Chesapeake, VA
WEST VIRGINIA
GFWC Parkersburg Woman's Club
GFWC Woman's Club of Wheeling
WISCONSIN
GFWC Oconomowoc Junior Woman's Club
#gfwc24nds #GFWC #GFWC_HQ #IamGFWC #LivingTheVolunteerSpirit #endfoodinsecurity #endhunger … See MoreSee Less
SAVE THE DATE!
Following a hugely successful 2024 GFWC Annual Convention, now is the time to mark your calendars for next year's event, June 6-9, 2025, in Atlan#gfwc25acc#GFWC##GFWC_HQW#LivingTheVolunteerSpiritp#IamGFWCmGFWC … See MoreSee Less
132 CLUBS REGISTER FOR GFWC NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE
As of last Thursday, July 11, 132 new clubs have registered for the GFWC National Day of Service (NDS). Thank you to all for your commitment and continued support!
Some notable firsts to highlight include:
The first GFWC International Affiliate to register is GFWC Aruba. Another first to register as a Region is GFWC Middle Atlantic; and for State Federations—GFWC Montana on June 14; and for Districts—GFWC Tidewater District. Thank each one of your for leading the way!
To date, the total count for registrations comes to 327. With 10 weeks left to register, GFWC needs all of you to rally the troops to get us to 1,800 participating clubs. Last year a total of 900 GFWC clubs participated. To challenge ourselves GFWC doubled that number. Help us make an even larger impact on food insecurity and hunger in local communities nationwide.
If your club has not registered, please do so today!
———————————————————————-
To register, visit memberportal.gfwc.org/, and follow the prompts. Then, click on the Events page to sign up. Simply select 2024 GFWC National Day of Service and you’re on your way.
If more than one club is partnering on a CSP, you can register up to three clubs on the site. However, you will need to email Membership Director Melanie Gisler, mgisler@gfwc.org, the additional club names for your group.
(List reflects new registrations for the weeks of June 27 and July 5, 2024.)
INTERNATIONAL
* GFWC Aruba
NATIONAL CLUB
GFWC Legacy Club First national club to register
REGION
* GFWC Middle Atlantic Region
STATE FEDERATIONS
GFWC Alabama
GFWC Arizona
* GFWC Montana
GFWC South Dakota
DISTRICT
* GFWC Tidewater District
GFWC NDS – Clubs Registered by State *As of July 11, 2024
ALABAMA
GFWC Legacy
GFWC Panorama Study Club
GFWC RCHS Juniorette Club
GFWC Woman's Literary Club of Leeds
ALASKA
GFWC Anchorage Women's Club
ARIZONA
GFWC Cherry Blossom Juniorette Club
GFWC Desert Jade Woman's Club
GFWC Tempe Woman's Club
CALIFORNIA
GFWC Aronos Research Club
GFWC Beaumont Woman's Club
GFWC Chula Vista Woman's Club
GFWC Danville Women's Club
GFWC El Monte Women's Club
GFWC HOPE
GFWC Imperial Beach Woman's Club
GFWC La Mesa Woman's Club
GFWC Lakewood Women's Club
GFWC Mira Mesa Women's Clubs
GFWC Ojai Valley Woman's Club
GFWC Woman's Club of Antioch
GFWC Woodland Hills Woman's Club
GFWC Yorba Linda Woman's Club
COLORADO
GFWC Southwest Region Woman's Club
DELAWARE
GFWC Delmar New Century Club
GFWC Village Improvement Association
FLORIDA
GFWC Brandon Service League
GFWC Junior Woman's Club of Jacksonville, Inc.
GFWC Madeira Woman's Club
GFWC Miami Springs Woman's Club
GFWC Mount Dora Woman's Club
GFWC Northwest Florida Service Group
GFWC Orange Park Woman's Club
GFWC Palm Beach Gardens Women's Club
GFWC Ruskin Woman's Club
GFWC Sebastian Woman's Club
GFWC Sun City Center Woman's Club
GFWC Temple Terrace Junior Woman's Club
GFWC Village Improvement Association of Green Cove Springs
GFWC Woman's Club of Deerfield Beach
GFWC Woman's Club of Plant City
GFWC Woman's Club of Stuart
GFWC Women's Club of Inverness, Inc.
GFWC Women's Club of New Tampa
GEORGIA
GFWC Dallas Woman's Club
GFWC Millen Woman's Club
GFWC Winder Woman's Club
ILLINOIS
GFWC Bloomington Normal Junior Woman's Club
GFWC Downers Grove Junior Woman's Club
GFWC Joliet Junior Woman's Club
GFWC Plainfield Junior Woman's Club
GFWC Zion Woman's Club
INDIANA
GFWC IFC ESO Regional Readers
IOWA
GFWC Adel Women's Club
GFWC Iowa Creston Bancroft History Assembly
KANSAS
GFWC Modern Pioneers
GFWC Sunflower Sisters
GFWC Waterville Shakespeare Club
KENTUCKY
GFWC Benton Woman's Club
GFWC Bettie Carter Morgan Woman's Club
GFWC Leitchfield Woman's Club
GFWC Monticello Woman's Club
GFWC Morehead Woman's Club
GFWC Morgan County Woman's Club
GFWC Prestonsburg Women's Club
GFWC Radcliff Women's Club
GFWC Suburban Woman's Club of Lexington
GFWC Woman's Club of St. Matthews's
MARYLAND
GFWC Civic Club of Oakland, MD
GFWC Woman's Club of Glydon
GFWC Woman's Club of Westminster
MASSACHUSETTS
GFWC Ousemequin Club
MICHIGAN
GFWC Caledonia Women's Club
GFWC Gun Lake Area
GFWC Lake Orion
GFWC Pigeon Area Woman's Club
MINNESOTA
GFWC Black Duck Tri Sigma
GFWC Starbuck
MISSISSIPPI
GFWC Fine Arts Club of Waynesboro
MISSOURI
GFWC Northland Women's Club
NEW HAMPSHIRE
GFWC Hudson Women's Club
NEW JERSEY
GFWC Franklin Woman's Club
GFWC Greater Pascack Valley Woman's Club
NEW YORK
GFWC Aurora Women's Club
NORTH CAROLINA
GFWC Warrenton Woman's Club
OHIO
GFWC Great Friends Working Cooperatively
GFWC Junior Women's Club of Barnesville
GFWC Montgomery Women's Club, Inc.
GFWC Northwest Woman's Club
PENNSYLVANIA
GFWC East Petersburg
GFWC Hollidaysburg Area Women's Club
Upper Allen Woman's Club GFWC
RHODE ISLAND
GFWC of Cranston
SOUTH CAROLINA
GFWC Chapin Junior Woman's Club
GFWC Junior Woman's Club of Lake Murray
GFWC Women's Society of Batesburg-Leesville
SOUTH DAKOTA
GFWC Yankton Women's Club
TENNESSEE
GFWC Clarksville Women's Club
GFWC Valamont Women's Club
GFWC Woman's Club of Hendersonville
TEXAS
GFWC Austin Federated Woman's Club
GFWC Eleanor Brackenridge Literary Club
GFWC History Club of Whitesboro
GFWC Lake Area Woman's Club
GFWC North Texas Woman's Club
GFWC Stephenville 20th Century Club
GFWC Woman's Civic Club of Jasper
GFWC Woman's Monday Club of Corpus Christi
VERMONT
GFWC Poultney Woman's Club
VIRGINIA
GFWC Mary Ball Woman's Club
GFWC Metropolitan Richmond Woman's Club
GFWC Ravenswood Civic Club
GFWC Roanoke County Woman's Club
GFWC Woman's Club of Hampton Roads
GFWC Woman's Club of Newport News
Henry Clay Woman's Club of GFWC
WASHINGTON
GFWC Elahan Woman's Club
GFWC Sokico Woman's Club
GFWC Takoma
WEST VIRGINIA
GFWC WV Sissonville Woman's Club
GFWC WV Woman's Club of Dunbar
WISCONSIN
GFWC Brown Deer Junior Woman's Club
GFWC Woman's Club of Hartland
GFWC Woman's Club of Pewaukee
* Denotes first in category to register.
#gfwc24nds #GFWC #GFWC_HQ #IamGFWC #LivingTheVolunteerSpirit #endfoodinsecurity #endhunger … See MoreSee Less
It’s WHRC Wednesday! For this edition of “invented but entertaining holidays,” here’s a fun one: the third Wednesday in July is designated Take Your Poet to Work Day. Luckily for me, the WHRC is well-stocked with poetry books so I am spoiled for choice.
Take, for example, the renowned Edna St. Vincent Millay, who served as GFWC’s Poet Laureate from 1933 to 1935. In the 1920s-30s, working from various chairmanships in the GFWC Fine Arts Department, Anita Browne worked hard to engage our members in poetry appreciation, composition, and collection. One such initiative was asking each state to submit poetry books (hence the bounty here in the Library); another was to encourage states to appoint a Poet Laureate, from which list a national Laureate would be chosen. According to the 1934 “Poetry Study Outline for the Use of Clubs,”
“Within the past three years, over half the states now have a Poet Laureate and in May 1933, at the Richmond Council meeting, during Poetry Week, your national Chairman [Browne] released the name of the first Poet Laureate of the General Federation: Edna St. Vincent Millay, following a national survey and consensus of opinion.” Millay was also Poet Laureate for Maine, her home state.
So for the WHRC’s Take Your Poet to Work Day, I’ve made a little stand-up Millay who can hang out with one of her books – “Renascense,” published in 1917 and donated in 1930 to the GFWC Library by the Methabesic Club of Rockland, Maine (Millay’s birthplace) – and watch me work on fulfilling research requests. She looks thrilled, doesn't she.
What poet would you spend your day with today? Let us know in the comments! … See MoreSee Less
GFWC International President Attends Congressional Breakfast to Celebrate Progress of the National Coast Guard Museum
GFWC International President Suellen B. Brazil attended a congressional breakfast on Capitol Hill to celebrate the progress being made on the National Coast Guard Museum, which GFWC is a proud sponsor.
This annual breakfast is for industry, congressional, business, and association leaders. Earlier this year, GFWC facilitated a webinar for the National Coast Guard Museum to generate support and funding for its construction. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is the only military branch that does not have a museum to honor its service members' contributions.
Those in attendance included the Connecticut Congressional Delegation ( Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Murphy; and Reps. Rosa DeLauro of District 3 and Joe Courtney of District 2); Board Chair Susan Curtin of the National Coast Guard Museum Association, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater; Admiral Linda Fagan, USCG Commandant (first woman); President Wes Pulver of the National Coast Guard Museum Association, and staff.
All members of Congress provided remarks on the importance of the National Coast Guard Museum's existence and its role in preserving USCG's contributions and inspiring future generations. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) provided closing remarks saying the project is "okay, in the House Appropriations Bill," much to everyone's delight.
The following are some photos taken at today's event. Enjoy!
#GFWC_HQ #GFWC #IamGFWC #LivingTheVolunteerSpirit #uscoastguard #nationalcoastguardmuseum … See MoreSee Less
It’s WHRC Wednesday! Here in Washington, DC – just few blocks from GFWC Headquarters – the 2024 NATO Summit is underway, marking 75 years since the North Atlantic Treaty was signed. Clubwomen familiar with our Resolutions (see 140-190 Global Peacekeeping) know that we have long supported NATO in their efforts, beginning with an "Emergency Resolution" passed at our April 1949 Convention, held a few weeks after the Treaty was signed, supporting the “North Atlantic Pact” and urging “prompt ratification and implementation” of the treaty.
We do our homework on the issues we support, and “Clubwoman” magazines of the mid 20th century included many articles on NATO, the UN, and other international affairs, keeping our members educated and up-to-date. During the administration of GFWC President Jessie June Magee (1968-1970), we took that one step further and offered a chance for in-person research. The GFWC NATO Study Mission Tour encompassed three days in Belgium for an International Conference, with a special briefing on NATO; it was bookended with tours to Canada, Ireland, England, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Austria: a 32 day trip, all told, and (as best I can tell) attended by "one hundred women and five husbands." Mildred Ahlgren, GFWC Public Relations Director (and Honorary President, having served 1952-1954), coordinated the tour, and wrote a 26 page report for the files. Of the NATO briefing the tour members received, Ahlgren wrote:
“Since the information given by the top-notch speakers is ‘off the record,’ I will not give any quotes except to say that when one was asked, ‘what can we do?’ the reply was, ‘Women armed with determination are more dangerous than any military organization that ever happened.’ Something to think about.”
📄 Cover and info page of the 1969 NATO Study Mission Tour and Brussels Clubwomen Conference reservation brochure. Convention and Tours Collection, TOUR 1969.06
#ClubwomenInAction … See MoreSee Less