GFWC Clubs Making a Difference

Make A Difference Day is an annual event where volunteers nationwide come together to do community service. While GFWC clubs volunteer all year round, the day is a celebration of how much better the world could be if more people followed that example and made time to improve the lives of others. This year’s event is on October 28th, and unsurprisingly, many GFWC clubs are taking up the challenge to unite with volunteers across the country to make their communities better places to live in.

The Seaward Woman’s Club (New Hampshire) will collect canned goods and other food at their local grocery stores, and will donate it to the five pantries in their area. They will also be collecting food, clothing, and other personal supplies for the local City Mission. The club has been doing this project for Make A Difference Day annually, and are looking forward to another successful year. Similarly, the Antioch Junior Woman’s Club (Illinois) will stand out front of their local grocery store to collect non-perishable foods and money which will be given directly to Open Arms Mission to help stock their food pantry.

The Centennial Woman’s Club of Tullahoma (Tennessee) is running for a cause this Make A Difference Day by participating in the first annual Spooktacular 5K and Monster Mile Fun Run and encouraging others to join. The proceeds of the event will go towards local charities, including the South Jackson Civic Center— Light Up South Jackson, which is a community improvement project the club spearheaded in 2014. Since then they have already raised $86,000, and are trying to reach their goal of $100,000 by the end of the year, with Tullahoma city officials agreeing to match that amount.

The Woman’s Club of Denville/Rockaway (New Jersey) is using the day to observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and will be hosting a Kickboxing Fundraiser at the local health club, with funds going directly to the American Cancer Society’s Reach to Recovery Program, which matches trained volunteer breast cancer survivors with people living with breast cancer to provide them with hope and support.

As these diverse club projects prove, there is room to help everywhere. This year, encourage your friends and family to join in on Make A Difference Day so they can see how a few extra hands and open hearts can make a world of difference to the people who need it.

What Can You Do for World Food Day?

Hunger statistics have always been troubling, but they continue to get worse. The Food and Agricultural Organization reported that from 2015 to 2016, the estimated number of undernourished people in the world rose from 777 million to 815 million.

The organization established World Food Day in 1979 to raise awareness about issues involving food distribution and hunger. Nonprofit organizations around the world come together every October 16th to observe the day with events that help raise awareness and money for reducing poverty and hunger, which are inextricably linked.

Each year, World Food Day has a different theme to target an area where taking action is necessary. 2017’s theme is “Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural development.” The ultimate goal is to work towards long term changes by investing in a system that is sustainable, and changing the way we distribute food so that people, particularly poor people, have more access to it, and that perhaps one day we will live in a world without hunger. While those are some large goals, individuals can make their own difference by prioritizing the issue of hunger and having projects in their community. So what can your club do this year to mark the day?

  • Organize a food drive for your community. Additionally, since food banks can buy bulk food at a discount, consider donating money to help them make those purchases.
  • Support organizations that work toward ending hunger. One of GFWC’s sponsors, Heifer International, is the perfect example of who to support, as it is their mission to ensure that impoverished areas have access to sustainable agriculture.
  • Volunteer at a community farm.
  • Host or volunteer at a meal packaging event.
  • Look for programs to support in your area that will ensure that schoolchildren who rely on school meals also have food for afterschool and over the weekends.
  • Create a community garden so local residents have the opportunity to grow and eat food that is both healthy and affordable. You can also donate surplus produce to food banks and soup kitchens that accept more than non-perishable food.

Additionally, you can make a difference right in your kitchen by eating sustainably! Buy food at your local farmers market, or search for brands that support small-scale farmers. If you purchase Fair Trade certified food and clothing, it ensures that the people who grew or produced it are treated and paid fairly.

So organize a project or find a local event in your area this World Food Day to be a part of the global mission to fight hunger!

Clubhouse Spotlight: Architecture

GFWC’s clubhouses all have their own architectural personalities and histories. For example, the Atlanta Woman’s Club’s (Georgia) clubhouse was inspired by a French chateau! William A. Wimbush, a distinguished Atlanta attorney, returned from visiting his friend’s chateau in Southern France, so he commissioned the building of the Wimbish House in 1906 so his family had a home that reflected their social status. He hired architect Walter T. Downing to design it, and the family lived there from 1906-1919 until the Atlanta Woman’s Club purchased the home for $47,500 to use as their clubhouse.

The Victorian-era home is one of the last residences on what was once considered Atlanta’s “Mansion Row.” It has since been restored, but the home still recalls the turn of the century, especially amongst the new and chic buildings around it.

In the early 1920s, the Miami Woman’s Club clubhouse was designed by local architect August Geiger. With a symmetrical composition, a garden courtyard, a porte-cochere, and semi-circular arched windows, it’s an example of the adaptation of Spanish Renaissance Revival style architecture.

The building’s original metal cresting that topped the roof and other ornamentation was deteriorated by salt air, so it was removed in 1951. In 2009, the windows and doors were all replaced with hurricane proof glass.

The club wants to protect the building, so they decided to create a commercial partnership that will guarantee the building’s long term stability, and so two world class restaurants lease out two of the clubhouse’s three floors. The Miami Woman’s Club is eagerly awaiting restoration, which is in the permitting process and which will include returning the cresting that was removed in 1951, so that their building can be appreciated for years to come.

Unlike clubs that purchased buildings that already existed, the Florence Woman’s Club bought land in 1914, established a building fund in 1919, and constructed their clubhouse in 1929 for $9,420. The 16,260 square foot building was the last Spanish Colonial Revival building left in Florence by 1982.

Similarly, the GFWC Ossoli Circle (Tennessee) bought a lot so a clubhouse could be built on it in the early 1930s. Barber and McMurray, Knoxville’s best architects, were hired for the job. Barber thought that since the club was the oldest federated woman’s club in the South, that its look should match that. He wanted it to look southern to match its history and southern ladies, but also give the appearance that it had been on the property for many years. One of the ways he accomplished this feat was to use hand-pressed brick, just like the Southern antebellum mansions.

GFWC clubhouses may be unique in style, but they all provide a place for women to come together and dream big for the difference they want to make in the world.

Thank you to every club that contributed!

IDs for AMBER Alert

The U.S. Department of Justice reports that as of 2017, a total of 868 abducted children have been rescued specifically because of the AMBER Alert program. To send out an AMBER Alert, law enforcement needs photos and identifying information, and with cases of child abduction, time is of the essence.

In order to reduce the time involved, several rotary clubs developed the Rotary AMBER Alert Child ID Program for the state of Connecticut, and the Women’s Club of Danbury-New Fairfield (Connecticut) has been an active supporter of the program since 2003.

The Danbury Rotary Club purchased the first two systems in Connecticut, and currently operate five. A system includes a computer, camera, printer, cards, and instruction sheets for how to use the cards. Sheila Vetter, chair of the Women’s Club of Danbury’s program, explained that her husband, chair of the Rotary Club of Danbury’s program, reached out to her club to seek their help in keeping up with the demands of their successful program, which has enrolled 30,000 children. The clubwomen voted unanimously. “After all, young children and grandmothers are perfect together,” Sheila joked.

The club holds events, some of which have had up to 500 children attend, where parents can get ID cards for their children that help speed up the process of broadcasting an Amber Alert when a child is abducted. The card is credit card sized so that a parent can keep it in their wallet. It has a colored photo of the child, physical description (including height, weight, eye color, date of birth, and any distinguishing marks), and a unique ID number. Not included on the card are names or addresses so that if a parent were to lose the card, there would be nothing to lead a child abuser to the child. The child’s name and information is kept secure in a national data base which only state police communication centers can access. If the worst should happen, and a child goes missing, a parent can present their ID card to law enforcement, who then has everything they need to activate an AMBER alert if necessary.

“What I call the Wonderful Women jumped right in,” Sheila said to describe the women who work three hour shifts to run the computers, explain the program, hand cards out to parents, take the height and weight of children, and put in hard work to make it run smoothly. She continued, “We all love it and the kids are so cute. But the best are the parents who are so grateful we are volunteering to do this. It’s also been a challenge but fun to bring two very different clubs together into a cohesive working team.”

The Danbury Rotary Club was able to enroll more children than other clubs in the state because of the Women’s Club of Danbury-New Fairfield commitment, and that means because of them, more Connecticut parents have taken precautions to keep their children safe.

 

GFWC App Contest: Advocates for Children Week

The official GFWC app is a convenient way to be connected with clubs all over the country and see the great things they’re up to. It’s especially exciting to see the unique projects and events that different clubs do for the same cause.

To celebrate this year’s Advocates for Children Week, GFWC is offering a contest! We’re challenging as many clubs as possible to upload a photo during the special week on the official GFWC app and show how their club is making a difference for youth. Each club who uploads a photo will have their name entered into a raffle for the chance to win a $100 gift card.

This year, the Juniors’ Special Program: Advocates for Children Week takes place from Sunday, October 22 – Saturday, October 28, and it’s a time for clubs to find ways to support youth in their communities or around the world. Share a photo of your project or event on the GFWC app and you just might win the prize!

Don’t know how to share a photo on the app? We’re here to help. The official GFWC app is available for free on iPhone iOS and Android. First, find out how to download them below.

HOW TO INSTALL THE APP

1. Turn on your phone and press the “App Store” app if you have an iPhone:

and “Google Play Store” if you have an Android:

2. Go to the store’s search bar and search “GFWC.” Do not search “General Federation of Women’s Clubs” because it will not bring up any results.

3. The app will likely be the first thing to appear. Click on it.

4. On an iPhone, your phone will show a button that says “Get” or “Install”, so click on that. You will have to put in your Apple ID password before the app can download.

On an Android, your phone will show three dots next to the app. Click on that and then click Install.

For a more thorough exploration of the app’s features, including how to create an account, read through the user guide on GFWC.org

HOW TO SHARE A PHOTO ON THE APP

1. Click on the top right icon as shown below:

2. It will bring you to a page that says Status. To add the photo, click the Camera icon. The app needs permission to use your photos, so you might get a message that says “‘GFWC’ Would Like to Access the Camera”. Click OK, and then click OK again if it asks “‘GFWC’ Would Like to Access Your Photos”.

3. The app gives you the option to take a photo right there on that screen. But to upload a photo saved on your phone, click the bottom right icon that shows your most recent photo. This will take you to all of the photos on your phone. Find the one you want and click on it.

4. The app uploads photos of all the same size, so the next page allows you to move the photo around until you are happy with which part is going to be cropped. Click “Choose” once you’ve decided.

5. It will take you back to the Status page, where you can add a comment about the photo and how your club is celebrating the week. When you’re ready to post, click the check mark in the upper right corner and it will upload to the photo feed!

Share a photo of your Advocates for Children week project on the GFWC app so everyone can appreciate all the hard work that GFWC clubwomen put towards improving the lives of children.

Falling for Fall Festivals

Autumn conjures up the sound of crunching leaves, the sight of huddled orange pumpkins, and the feeling of a cup of apple cider warming your hands. It also means the start of fall festivals and fairs to celebrate the season!

Many GFWC clubwomen mark the beginning of the club year and the advent of fundraising by hosting their own fall festivals. GFWC Lamoille Women’s Club (Nevada) sponsors an annual two day Fall Craft Festival in November. The fundraiser goes toward providing scholarships and other community projects. Vendors come from across the neighboring states— California, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona— and some dedicated vendors have been participating for all seven years since the festival’s inception.

The club is in a particularly rural area, and so the craft show is a great occasion to bring together the whole community. Bakers and businesses participate in the Gingerbread House Showcase. The Boy Scouts and other non-profit groups volunteer at the event, and in turn, they are provided with a free booth that allows them to fundraise for their own cause. The GFWC Lamoille Women’s Club sets up a Membership table and a booth with hand sewn items, and unveil their annual Country Fair quilt.

The GFWC St. Petersburg Junior Woman’s Club (Florida) hosts a Pumpkin Palooza Family Fall Festival, which boasts of a petting zoo, games and prizes, a pumpkin patch, face and hair painting, craft vendors, and food trucks. Additionally, Pumpkin Palooza serves as a canned food drive for World Food Day. The club enjoys this project because it gives them a chance to connect with the community and raise money to give back to local non-profits.

Some clubs have an incredibly long tradition of hosting a fall festival! Take Exeter Area GFWC (New Hampshire) for example: the club will be hosting its 41st Annual Yuletide Fair. At the fair, 120 crafters sell a variety of handmade items from baked goods to jewelry. In addition to serving coffee and snacks throughout the day, clubwomen sell homemade fudge and cookies to raise money for Dollars for Delegates, which sends members to state, district, region, and international meetings. The local Juniorette club, Girls in Action, are given free space to sell holiday decorated paper bags that patrons can use to hold their purchases.

There’s a suggested entrance donation of a dollar to support local food pantries, and that alone usually brings in about $1500. The fundraising tradition nets approximately $15,000 that Exeter Area GFWC uses to support local families and charities, as well as GFWC partners.

In another example of a long tradition, the GFWC Greenland Woman’s Club (New Hampshire) will be hosting their 27th annual Craft Fair and Pie Festival that raises money for their community projects. The first year of the fair, the club had 90 pies to sell, and they worried they couldn’t accomplish that. Now they sell over 500 pies each year, and have been coined the “Pie Ladies”.

When club president Michelle Vincent joined first joined GFWC, it was at a time in her life when she was frustrated that she didn’t have an outlet to help people in need. Then she was invited to a meeting where they were planning the festival, and she was hooked. Michelle said, “I love the complexity of this project as well as the camaraderie that we all pull together from bakers, logistics, publicity, cafe and so much more. We all do it together and it’s amazing!”

Hosting a fall festival is an exciting project that not only gets GFWC clubwomen ready for the new club year, but also serves as a way to forge a lasting relationship with their communities, who quickly learn that GFWC clubwomen know how to fundraise in style!

Youth Community Service: Ideas for Juniorettes

GFWC’s Juniorettes, ages 12-18, are examples of how the call to do community service can be answered at any age. Juniorettes have school, extracurricular activities, and social lives to juggle, but they find time to make positive changes in their communities. In this blog post, we will discuss project suggestions for the Juniorette age group and their club advisors.

Since Juniorettes are students, it means that school can be a great and convenient place to accomplish their projects. Talk to your school to set up donation boxes and consider some of these great projects:

  • Organize a donation drive for the local food bank.
  • Collect winter coats for the homeless.
  • Start a book drive for the local library, hospital, school, or relevant charity of choice.
  • Collect toiletries for the area women’s shelter.
  • Have a holiday toy drive for children from low-income families.

Those boxes can also be put in churches and local businesses because the more drop off locations, the better! Besides projects that involve donations, there are many more ways that teenagers can make a difference in their communities. The following ideas are projects that Juniorette clubs can do together as a group, meaning they can bond and have a good time while doing community service at the same time:

  • Organize a car wash (or dog wash!) for a cause.
  • Host a charity bake sale.
  • Contact the local senior center or nursing home to learn how you can brighten their days, maybe by reading to them, etc.
  • Volunteer at a Special Olympics event near you.
  • Create care packages for the homeless shelter.
  • Do a run/walk charity event.

Additionally, there are many ways that teens can put their efforts toward helping St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which would be a great way to acknowledge Childhood Cancer Awareness Month this September:

  • Raise funds by hosting a Jude Teen Gala, while also getting to have some fun!
  • Team Up for St. Jude by picking a sporting event at your school and donating a portion of game ticket sales, organizing a sprit week for fundraising, etc.
  • Make craft kits to be distributed to patients throughout the week to entertain them and their families.
  • Create gift bags for the waiting room filled with items like art supplies so that patients have something to do while they wait for their doctor.

Juniorettes are trail blazers in their age group, and show how community service is an important and worthwhile commitment. There are countless ways that they can give back to their communities, and they are doing just that! We hope some of these ideas spark your interest and become your next project.

GFWC National Short Story Contest Winner

Jodi Hodges of Anderson Creek Woman’s Club (North Carolina) won GFWC’s 2017 Short Story Contest with a thought-provoking tale about a world where luck functions almost like currency, with rewards and costs for using it.

One of the many successful parts of her story was the subconscious writing style, which Jodi used to create a sense of urgency and chaos that immediately catches the reader’s attention. When asked what she wants readers to take from the story, Jodi said she wanted the story to be a ride, and for readers to think about what kind of choices they might make if put in a similar situation.

Jodi hasn’t written since college, but her return to writing was a success. As for her inspiration, Jodi explained, “I had seen a [writing] prompt for people being limited in luck and started thinking about what that might look like and how it could play a part in people’s lives.” Once she began to imagine that world, her story took off from there. If you want to read Jodi’s absorbing short story, click here.

 

 

Saidie’s Cupboard

A small club can still have a large impact, and the GFWC Salem Woman’s Service Club (Oregon) is proof. With eleven current members and limited finances, they are always on the lookout for projects that small clubs can accomplish. One project that became an enduring success is Saidie’s Cupboard, which partners them with Public Health Nurses who work at the County Health Department with children who have medical issues. Many low income families have children taken care of there, and Saidie’s Cupboard attempts to ease the financial burden.

The club creates family bags that hold 15 hygiene and personal care items, including shampoo, detergent, toothpaste and toothbrushes, deodorant, toilet paper, and more. They also create infant bags, which have newborn care items like diapers, clothes, blankets, infant shampoo, wipes, and other items. Every other month, the club delivers these bags to nurses, who keep them on hand for when a visiting family might need them.

The club named the project to honor Saidie Orr Dunbar, who led the Public Health field in the 1930s. She was crucial to the development and funding of Public Health Nurses, and was both an active member of the Oregon Federation of Women’s Club, as well as the GFWC International President from 1938 to 1941, and so there was no better person after which to name the project.

They began thinking about the project in 2004 when one of the members saw a similar project operated by a church in another state, and brought the concept to her club. They liked the idea because it meant they could provide items to disadvantaged families who couldn’t get those necessary items with food stamps or through other community agencies. They proposed the idea to the Public Health Nurses, who eagerly worked with the club to identify what kind of items would be most helpful. In addition to the family and infant bags, the nurses specifically requested Spanish and English board books and newborn rattles. The nurses explained that they use the books and rattles to teach parents how to have positive interactions with their baby that foster attachment, stimulate the baby, and encourage literacy for both baby and parent.

Club president Pam Briggs said, “This has become an important project to our club because it has been so well received by the nurses and has given us an ongoing project that the community can connect us with.” To strengthen that connection with the community, the club puts labels on the bags with information about the club and their contact information.

The biggest challenge for the club has been providing continual funding, but they have integrated several funding sources over time. In addition to club members bringing a few items to meetings each month, they have obtained grants, as well as established a direct mailing campaign called “Stock the Cupboard” to encourage medical professionals and other clubs in the state to contribute. But the most important development was that of in-kind donations from the community, with the club acquiring unsold infant clothing from a consignment store and surplus items through a United Way program.

From their first delivery in 2005 to the end of 2016, GFWC Salem Woman’s Service Club has provided 514 family bags, 337 infant bags, 1,568 Spanish and English board books, 682 rattles, and 22,190 diapers, showing that a small club can yield big results.

Encouraging the Youth to Write

With the annual National Youth Writing Contests, GFWC offers young writers the opportunity to find their voices. Writing is a wonderful practice and talent worth fostering, especially in children who can use it to discover themselves and their own potential.

Nora Halder, the winner of this year’s Category 4 Youth Short Story Contest, was entered through GFWC Seward Woman’s Club (Nebraska). GFWC Nebraska started a creative writing program in 1970, and it has continued to this day. Initially, it was only for GFWC members, but when the national organization included the youth, the clubs began to include the youth in their contests as well. For the past fourteen years, the clubs have held a writing workshop for students and adults, and there are usually 50 to 60 people, mostly students, in attendance. Nora Halder, now a senior at Seward Senior High School, has attended the writing workshop each year since she was a freshman, and values the chance to write and participate in the contest.

The Fine Arts and Creative Writing Chairman for Nebraska, Betty Jean Kolterman, encourages the clubs to notify schools of the writing contest, and at least nine clubs faithfully provide entries. GFWC Nebraska also prints an anthology that includes the writing of Nebraska students and clubwomen to celebrate and share their work.

The 3rd-5th grade winner of the Youth Short Story contest was Mary Arengo, and she was entered by GFWC Montgomery Woman’s Club (Ohio).


Mary Arengo, pictured with members, from left to right: Ruth Harrison, Claire Hounchell, and Nancy Jones. 

The club has sponsored the contest since their founding in 1952. They promote the contest by sending information to every school in the district. They are fortunate to have enthusiastic English teachers who encourage their students to submit, and so the club receives between 400 and 500 entries every year. The first, second, and third place winners receive a certificate, as well as a Barnes and Nobles gift card to encourage reading and writing. Winners at the state level are invited to join the club in the Montgomery 4th of July parade, and participants are given a “cone card” for an ice cream cone at the local ice cream parlor.

Sophomore student Alison Oman won her age group’s poetry contest, submitted by GFWC Amery Woman’s Club (Wisconsin). Alison is active in sports, particularly tennis, and the group presented her with her award at school to accommodate her busy schedule. The club works with Amery Public Schools and the Home Schooling group that meets at the local library to encourage youth submissions.


Alison Oman pictured with Gloria Lansin

GFWC Woman’s Club of Rock Hill (South Carolina) has been having a writing contest for over thirteen years. Chloe Powell, the nine year old winner of her short story age division, is the granddaughter of one of the club’s members. She wrote the story for school, and the club was very impressed with it. The club is planning a “Tea and Topics” event in the fall where Chloe will be reading her story. The club has a strong Education CSP group and is made up of many former teachers, and so they encourage their families to submit writing. Club President Geri Rinehart said, “[We consider] our Chloe winning this award to be a truly amazing honor and we were so thrilled.”

Gabby Hall, who won the Youth Poetry Contest in the K-2nd grade age group, was entered through GFWC Alma Ladies Reading Circle (Kansas). Arlene Gnadt, the writing contest organizer for club, is a retired third grade school teacher who was approached many years ago by the group’s former President Veryl Meseke to have her students participate. Arlene said it was a great way for her students to practice their writing skills with a purpose. The students kept a journal for a week, and when contest time came, they each selected one poem and one story to submit.

After retiring, Arlene and the group’s new president, Diane Barrett, prioritized promoting the contest by visiting other classes and schools to encourage them to participate. The club gives monetary prizes for the top four winning entries in each category and grade level. Arlene says, “It is always exciting to see the students’ faces light up when they are given this award.” In addition, they celebrate the winners by publishing pictures and winning works in the local newspaper.

GFWC hosts the youth contests to inspire children to pick up a pencil and express themselves, but it’s the clubwomen who encourage it in their communities. “We don’t want teachers to see this contest as additional work, but as an opportunity to expose their writers and encourage a joy for writing,” Arlene said. GFWC hopes clubwomen continue spreading that joy for writing.

To learn more about the GFWC’s writing contest, visit our club manual.