Author: cgill

The Wake Forest Woman’s Club (NC) was pleased to collaborate on a community service project with the Durham Woman’s Club (NC). Several clubwomen traveled to Durham, North Carolina, to provide and serve lunch for women and children at the Durham Rescue Mission. The Durham Rescue Mission serves over 400,000 meals per year and provides shelter to homeless men, women, and children. They also provide “The Victory Program” a 12-month plan to help people go from addiction to employment.

Both clubs have plans for future events together and joined together shortly thereafter at The Lemon Tree Cafe in Wake Forest to socialize and strategize. They plan to meet weekly to learn about how the clubs operate and can work together on future projects.

Wake Forest clubwoman Marilyn Bonnett summed up their meeting as, “We are like-minded women in service to the community.”

The Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is showcasing their club and numerous volunteer projects at the Parsippany Library in New Jersey. Co-Membership Chairmen Janice Carruba and Ginny Scala collected photos and memorabilia from fellow clubwomen for the display. Their projects include literacy outreach, food assistance and raising awareness of child abuse.

On Sunday, April 2, fourteen GFWC clubwomen from Michigan, during their visit to headquarters, planted blue pinwheels in recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Every year the GFWC Pierce Arrows purchase the pinwheels to help raise public awareness on child abuse. The clubwomen from Michigan planted dozens of blue pinwheels in support of this worthy cause. The GFWC District of Columbia club will help keep the display looking tidy and replenished all April long.

National Child Abuse Prevention Month is an opportunity to take bold action to better support parents and caregivers with access to resources to cope during challenging times.
To learn more and what you can do to help raise awareness in your local community, visit: preventchildabuse.org.

The members of District 3 of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs of Louisiana met on Saturday, March 11, 2023 in Thibodaux for their Annual Meeting. At that meeting donated items were collected for the Vermilion Women’s Resource Center, which is the special focus of District 3 President Meg Hebert of Abbeville. The VWRC (vermilionwrc.com) provides services to women and children to improve their quality of life through giving them “a hand up, not a hand out.” Services include life skills for parents, HiSet/GED support, mentor program, Resilient Families Program, and employment and career support. Items donated by the members of District 3 included disposable diapers, baby wipes, hygiene products, baby blankets, and stuffed animals. District 3 includes two clubs in Vermilion Parish, the Woman’s Club of Abbeville and Les Dames de Gueydan, and three clubs in the Houma-Thibodeaux area, Bayou Junior Woman’s Club, GFWC Houma Junior Woman’s Club, and GFWC of Southern Belles.

Pictured from left to right, delivering the donated items to the VWRC:  Meg Hebert, District 3 President; Brenda Landry, President of the Woman’s Club of Abbeville; and members of the Woman’s Club of Abbeville, Jane Barras, Elaine Dill, and Linda Weill.

ART AND EDUCATION AT MILLVILLE WOMAN’S CLUB (NJ)

At their March meeting, members of the Millville Woman’s Club (MWC) enjoyed a presentation by Sandy Smith. Director of Community Outreach at the Barn Studio of Art.  The Barn Studio in a non-profit organization established to “nurture the study of art and nature throughout the community in a non-competitive, creative, developmentally appropriate and positive atmosphere.”  Pat Wit, a Cumberland County native, accomplished artist and advocate for the Maurice River and Delaware Bay, founded the studio in her home in 1962 and it has remained there.  Ms. Smith expounded on their Community Outreach Program which offers workshops that “introduce visual art, classical ballet, classical music, pottery and nature study to groups of young children of diverse backgrounds.”  She was very enthusiastic about their program and showed slides of young children on nature walks outside, inside enjoying music, practicing some dance steps and painting.  Learning about nature and exploring with colors and shapes “enables students to tap into their creative spirits.”  For information about these Community Outreach Workshops and scholarship programs, contact Sandy Smith, Director, at (856)825-5028 or e-mail  info@barnstudio.org.

VIA Honored with Proclamation

The mayor of Rehoboth Beach, DE, honored the Village Improvement Association by proclaiming that Monday, March 20, 2023, would be Village Improvement Association (VIA) Day.  The proclamation was in honor of Women’s History Month and to recognize and celebrate the achievements the women have made over the club’s 114 years serving the City of Rehoboth and surrounding area.

The proclamation cited the club’s many contributions in education, support for the homeless, scholarships and community beautification efforts to name a few.  It also stated that the club’s 240 members make a positive difference in the community.

The formal proclamation was declared on Friday, March 17 and a reception honoring VIA members was held at the VIA clubhouse on Monday, March 20.  Stan Mills, Mayor of Rehoboth Beach, several City Commissioners, GFWC Delaware State President Patricia Rodriguez, and GFWC Delaware Sussex County Vice President Mindy Goss attended the reception and participated in the celebration.

At the Women’s Club of Farminngdale (NY) February Meeting, 2nd VP Lynda Leone scheduled a wonderful program by Canine Companions. Thank you to Linda Herskowitz, Craig Barbieri and Ann Johnson and their beautiful “canine companions” that brought so much joy to the meeting. They shared so much valuable information including the fact that besides helping adults with physical disabilities or deafness, children with disabilities, veterans with physical disabilities, hearing loss and PTSD, they also work in health care, criminal justice and educational settings. They foster a nationwide community of dedicated volunteers, donors, advocates and clients who believe in their mission. For more information, please visit info@canine.org.

At the March meeting of the GFWC Woman’s Club of Bridgeport, Membership Co-Chairmen, Renee Starkey and Gay Jeffers, led the members during a shamrock painting project. This was a combination Saint Patrick’s Day activity and a March Craft Month activity. The club’s paintings were then delivered to residents of a local personal care facility.

Amy Brown, the President of the Wake Forest Woman’s Club (NC), determined a unique and personal undertaking for her President’s Project. Through her weekly volunteer work at the Wake Forest Community Table program at Hope House in Wake Forest, Amy became aware of the need for feminine hygiene products by the women being served.

These products are costly, necessary, and take up a good portion of their budgets. Such products are not an eligible benefit of North Carolina SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) or SNAP for WIC (Women, Infants, and Children).

Further, Huma Farid, MD, in an article in Women’s Health of Harvard Health Publishing, uses the term “period poverty” to describe “the nearly 22 million women living in poverty in the US who cannot afford menstrual hygiene products.”

The women served by the weekly dinner program frequently request such items. Amy states, “As a woman’s club, I wanted to support women in our community. These products are expensive for them.”  Amy communicated her message to her fellow clubwomen and they responded by donating boxes of personal hygiene items to supplement her purchases. Over 150 boxes were delivered to Hope House and will be distributed to clients served by the program.

GFWC Four Leaf Clover Club of Albion Idaho recently worked with the eastern Idaho Food Bank on a agricultural/farmworker food distribution event.  Several members helped by directing traffic, assisting people with food from the pallets and helping load the food into vehicles.  The State President’s project is to help alleviate hunger in Idaho and all four clubs in Idaho are doing their part.