Category: Volunteers in Action

GFWC Woman’s League of the Lowcountry 

GFWC Woman’s League of the Lowcountry (South Carolina) sponsored a walk to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in March. The walk was led by the Silver Striders, a walking group made up of clubwomen, and included other participants from the community.

Club member Sandy Iams explained planning for the benefit walk began in January with members organizing publicity, local sponsors, and the event itself. The fun-filled day included music, water, light snacks, and other refreshments.

“We were really successful in getting people involved,” she said.

People could donate at a pavilion set up the day of the event or online through the St. Jude event website. Through the generosity of clubwomen and the community, more than $8,240 was raised for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“We have done this event for a few years, and it has been so successful because we have managed to get the community involved,” Sandy said. “This is something that is very near and dear to our hearts. Helping children is so important.”

GFWC Junto Woman’s Club 

For 20 years, members of the GFWC Junto Woman’s Club (Virginia) have been working with the Meals on Wheels of Suffolk & Isle of Wight, Inc. to ensure housebound individuals have access to healthy meals each week. Clubwoman Nancy Sullivan explained the club exclusively delivers on Thursdays and members travel in pairs to deliver the meals for safety and camaraderie. The food is all prepared locally and the meals take into consideration whether the recipient is diabetic, has certain restrictions, or has individual preferences.

The woman’s club first formed this partnership after members learned that three of their fellow clubwomen were already volunteering with Meals on Wheels. After the initial interest was piqued, the project grew from there. Now, Nancy said they have been participating for so long that the project is ingrained in the club.

“The community relies on us,” she said. “We see this as a real need, and it is a feel-good project that everyone appreciates.”

Last year, GFWC Junto Woman’s Club members logged more than 300 volunteer hours participating in this project.

GFWC Celebrates Volunteers in Action Week

Throughout Volunteers in Action Week from April 17-23, GFWC has been proud to recognize the Federation’s long and inspirational history, filled with stories of women who make a positive impact in their communities and around the world every day through volunteer service. Through these efforts, GFWC clubs often form long-term partnerships and work with various local organizations to develop projects with a lasting impact. In recognition of Volunteers in Action Week and Federation Day on April 24, the 132nd anniversary of the organization’s founding, GFWC celebrated these projects and the volunteer spirit of clubwomen everywhere with a special three-part blog series. Although this is the last part of our special Volunteers in Action Week series, we will continue to shine a light on our wonderful volunteers and their tireless efforts each week in the GFWC Blog.

Bent Mountain Woman’s Club 

For more than 25 years, clubwomen with the Bent Mountain Woman’s Club (Virginia) have maintained and cared for a community butterfly garden. In 1994, the garden was started on the grounds of the Bent Mountain Elementary School and was used as an educational tool for many years. Although the school eventually closed in 2010, clubwomen continue to keep up the garden every year and it remains a gathering place for neighbors and friends of all ages.

Clubwoman Roberta Johnson explained when she was a teacher at the elementary school she was able to help start the butterfly garden, and after joining the woman’s club a year later, was excited to introduce her fellow members to the garden.

“They immediately embraced the project and we started working in the garden with the children,” she said.

Laura Reichenbaugh, the club’s Environment Chairman, said many people outside the club volunteer to help at the butterfly garden as well and that it has been used for educational programs by the local library. She added there are informational cards about the different plants throughout the garden for visitors to read as well.

“There are a lot of learning opportunities,” she said.

For years, the butterfly garden has been a space for people to gather and to host special events and other fun activities.

“The butterfly garden is part of our identity,” Roberta said.

GFWC North Pinellas Woman’s Club and GFWC St. Petersburg Junior Woman’s Club 

Since forming a partnership with Habitat for Humanity in 2017, the GFWC North Pinellas Woman’s Club (Florida) has donated hundreds of books to children in their community through their Book Fairy Project. In 2018, they were joined by GFWC St. Petersburg Junior Woman’s Club (Florida) and were able to provide even more families in Pinellas County with new and gently-used books.

Debbie Struk, GFWC North Pinellas Woman’s Club’s Book Fairy, said although many organizations support the efforts of Habitat for Humanity, their club was one of the first to provide something specifically to the kids of the families. For clubwomen, this was a great opportunity not only bring a smile to a child’s face, but to continue with their goal to help improve literacy rates in the county.

Using information provided by Habitat for Humanity, Debbie said they try to curate each book to match the children’s ages and interests when possible. Both clubs provide books that feature diverse families and characters.

“We try really hard to give them at least two to three books that they are really interested in,” Debbie said. “We want the kids to see themselves in these books.”

Shannon Bailey, with the GFWC St. Petersburg Junior Woman’s Club and GFWC Leadership Committee Chairman, said her club wanted to get involved with the project to help encourage a love of reading in kids.

“Children with books at home perform so much better in school and literacy rates are better,” she said.

Shannon added this is a project that doesn’t take too much time for members, but has a big impact.

Together the two clubs have donated more than 1,500 books to 155 families with a total of 349 children from June 2017 through December 2021, with an in-kind donation value of more than $14,000.

GFWC North Pinellas Woman’s Club President Lisa Klatt said having long-term partnerships with organizations like Habitat for Humanity is great for the club and community.

“We at GFWC always want to be good partners in our community and help out where things have been left behind,” she said.

GFWC Celebrates Volunteers in Action Week

In honor of Volunteers in Action Week from April 17-23, GFWC is pleased to call attention to the Federation’s long and inspirational history, filled with stories of women who have been and continue to be dedicated to making their communities and the world a better place. Through these efforts, GFWC clubs often form long-term partnerships and work with various local organizations to develop projects with a lasting impact. Now, in recognition of Volunteers in Action Week and Federation Day on April 24, the 132nd anniversary of the organization’s founding, GFWC is celebrating these projects and the volunteer spirit of clubwomen everywhere with a special three-part blog series. Although we are shining an extra light on volunteers this week, GFWC is proud to share the stories of clubwomen making a positive impact every week.

Women’s Club of Madison 

For 22 years, members of the Women’s Club of Madison (Connecticut) have been bringing smiles to the faces of children at the Village for Families & Children by making and donating a blankets for their Afghan Project. As part of this project, members and friends of the club knit or crochet small rectangles and then get together once a year to combine these rectangles into a larger Afghan.

Club Treasurer Katherine DeBurra explained this project first began when the club donated one blanket to a local nursing home, but since then they have made more than 1,000 unique, child-sized Afghans for children who have been removed from their homes due to an accident or other incident. The Afghans have been provided to the children through the Madison Police Department and the Village for Families & Children. This organization provides a range of behavioral health, early childhood and youth development, substance use treatment, and other forms of support for children, adults, and families.

“This is one of my favorite projects,” Katherine said. “These kids have had tremendous trauma and they are often pulled out of their homes with nothing, but then they get a blanket that is unique to them and it’s really special.”

Throughout the years, clubwomen have also donated comfort items such as teddy bears, duffle bags, backpacks, and school and personal supplies.

Katherine said the members have all loved working with the Village for so many years and being able to provide a little joy to children in need.

“Our connection with them is wonderful,” she said.

Madeira Woman’s Club 

The Madeira Woman’s Club (Ohio) has partnered with Joseph House in Cincinnati, Ohio, for six years to provide veterans without homes with a home-cooked meal. Sue Adams, the club’s recording secretary and co-chairman for the project, said the club provides meals for between 25 and 38 men each month. In addition to the meals, members have donated bedding, new underwear, T-shirts, and socks, as well as other gently-used clothing, and items such as books and art therapy materials.

Sue explained it is important to all of the clubwomen that they are able to help veterans in need in their community and that many have one or more family members who are veterans themselves.

“This seemed like a natural project that we would want to get involved with and stay involved with,” she said.

Joseph House is a shelter and treatment facility serving veterans who have been affected by addiction. The goal of the program is to help the veterans regain their lives, obtain jobs, and find new living arrangements. There is also out-patient counseling for women veterans.

Sue said being able to form a long-term partnership with this organization has allowed them to make more of an impact than they could have with just a one-time project.

“We’re trying to stand for the people who have stood for us,” she said.

GFWC Celebrates Volunteers in Action Week

In honor of Volunteers in Action Week from April 17-23, GFWC is pleased to call attention to the Federation’s long and inspirational history, filled with stories of women who have been and continue to be dedicated to making their communities and the world a better place. Through these efforts, GFWC clubs often form long-term partnerships and work with various local organizations to develop projects with a lasting impact. Now, in recognition of Volunteers in Action Week and Federation Day on April 24, the 132nd anniversary of the organization’s founding, GFWC is celebrating these projects and the volunteer spirit of clubwomen everywhere with a special three-part blog series. Although we are shining an extra light on volunteers this week, GFWC is proud to share the stories of clubwomen making a positive impact every week.

Ousamequin Club 

For the past six years, members of the Ousamequin Club (Massachusetts) have been donating toiletry items to Project PACK, a nonprofit organization that assists survivors of sexual assault throughout the state by providing Post-Assault Comfort Kits. Jean Guarino, the club’s recording secretary, said these kits include items such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, gum, underwear, and more. Currently, Project PACK collaborates with the Massachusetts Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program to distribute the PACKs to the patients they treat.

Jean said she first learned about Project PACK during a club meeting and decided to do additional research. After learning more about the organization, the clubwomen knew they wanted to do what they could to help the women who had experienced domestic abuse or sexual violence.

Since then, Jean said members have continued to donate as much as they could throughout the years.

“We’re a small club, but they always bring in so much,” she said.

Jean explained it is always great for the club to form lasting relationships with other local organizations such as this as a way to stay connected with the community and to offer help in a more effective way. She added the clubwomen plan to continue supporting Project PACK for years to come.

Clifton Community Woman’s Club 

Since 2018, clubwomen with the Clifton Community Woman’s Club (Virginia) have provided a monthly lunch to The Lamb Center, a daytime, drop-in shelter for homeless individuals and those in need.

Club President Karen Paris explained after the members learned about the shelter, they wanted to do everything in their power to help.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, members would provide a hot lunch for 800 to 100 guests at the shelter each month. However, due to COVID-19 safety guidelines, they switched to making a variety of sandwiches with fruits and vegetables, chips, a dessert, and a drink. Along with the food, many members have donated clothing items such as socks and underwear.

Karen noted that they are hoping to move back into preparing hot meals again as soon as possible.

“We do what we do because we want to give everybody the best life and chance we can,” she said.

In a given year, Karen said the contributions from clubwomen to The Lamb Center add up to more than 100 hours of service and $2,000 of in-kind and monetary donations.

She added it has been a wonderful experience to work with the shelter for so many years because the longer they offer their support, the more people they are able to help and the more the community as a whole benefits.

“People are always afraid to get started, but when you have a lot of people doing a little bit, it makes a difference,” she said.

GFWC Delaware 

Members of GFWC Delaware joined efforts to help the people impacted by the ongoing war crisis in Ukraine. As of April 8, clubwomen throughout the state raised more than $13,000. These donations have come from both clubs and individual members and have been distributed to various relief organizations. Communications and Public Relations Chairman with the Village Improvement Association of Rehoboth Beach (Delaware) Elayne Cannarozzi said many of the clubs chose to contribute through GFWC Affiliate Organization UNICEF USA. However, her club chose to donate $6,000 to World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that is working to feed refugees at the border of Poland and Ukraine.

“We’re all trying to make a difference and help Ukraine,” she said.

GFWC Delaware State President Rita Hollada said she spoke to clubwomen about different ways they could help during the state’s Federation Day celebration last month.

“It was met with resounding support and clubs just started to donate,” she said. “It started with a spark and turned into a wildfire.”

Rita noted members are continuing to donate as they are able and want to do everything they can to support the children and families being impacted.

“It’s such a desperate and heart-wrenching situation,” she said.

GFWC West Side Women’s Club 

GFWC West Side Women’s Club (Pennsylvania) members responded to a statewide challenge to raise funds for the Fill a Glass with Hope project. This project is a partnership between Feeding Pennsylvania and member food banks, the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association, and American Dairy Association Northeast, which raises funds to enable member food banks to purchase fresh milk directly from their local dairies in order to distribute it to families in need.

Club Treasurer and Northeastern District Director Karen French said the club raised the money by creating and auctioning off a “wellness basket” filled with items to promote physical and mental wellbeing. These items included a lotion, soap, hair products, a handmade scarf, and more. She explained all of these items were donated by clubwomen for the purpose of raising money for Fill a Glass with Hope. In addition to these contributions, a local spa also donated a gift card to support the fundraiser.

“It is a statewide project and we wanted to participate,” Karen said, noting that it is important for food banks to have access to perishable food items such as milk because people often do not donate these types of items, making them less available to those in need.

She said since the COVID-19 pandemic made hosting events and donation drives difficult throughout the last two years, the clubwomen were excited to participate in this fundraiser.

“We were thrilled with the amount of participation from our clubwomen,” Karen said.

GFWC North Carolina District Nine 

GFWC North Carolina District Nine recently made a several hundred dollar donation to the Sea Turtle Assistance & Rehabilitation (STAR) Project at the North Carolina Aquarium Roanoke Island. The sea turtles that are brought to the facility have been tangled in nets, stunned by the cold waters, or even hit by boats, and have severe injuries that need to be healed.

“We wanted to do whatever we could do to help save these beautiful sea turtles,” said District President Donna Harrell. “STAR does wonderful things to rehabilitate these turtles that are found injured or sick.”

Donna said in addition to making the donation, clubwomen were able to take a tour of the aquarium facility and meet some of the sea turtles that were being rehabilitated.

Along with raising funds to help this program, clubwomen do their part to keep marine wildlife save by hosting plastic bag collections to prevent them from ending up in landfills or waterways.

The plastic bags are then donated to the NexTrex Recycling Challenge, a program that allows people to recycle plastic items that are not permitted in curbside recycling, such as plastic grocery bags, newspaper bags, case plastic wrap, bubble wrap, and more. After a certain amount is collected, participants receive a bench from NexTrex. Donna said the club has collected enough plastic to receive three benches, which they have placed around the community at parks and near libraries.

GFWC Millville Woman’s Club 

Despite rainy weather, members of the GFWC Millville Woman’s Club (New Jersey) gathered to pick up trash around their neighborhood in March. Clubwoman Nancy Hammond explained the event was part of the Cumberland County Annual Public Lands Cleanup Trash Hunt. Although they did not participate last year due to COVID-19, Nancy said clubwomen have joined in on the trash hunt several times in previous years.

“It’s a matter of trying to keep our neighborhood clean,” she said.

Nancy said six members were able to attend this year’s cleanup event, and they all donned gloves, bags, and extendable grabbers to fill bags with trash that had been left behind, including coffee or soda cups, plastic sandwich bags, cigarettes, and more. In total, the clubwoman collected about five large trash bags full of discarded items.

“So many things we pick up are not biodegradable, like cigarette butts or plastic,” Nancy said. “People throw these things out and they go into our drains. We need to protect our planet.”

She added along with this event, the clubwoman always try to do their part to keep their neighborhood clean and safe.

GFWC Women’s Club of Farmingdale 

During a recent meeting, members of the GFWC Women’s Club of Farmingdale (New York) voiced their concern for the people of Ukraine in light of the ongoing war crisis. After brainstorming how they could help refugees who were forced to leave their homes, clubwomen set up a committee to collect monetary donations and gently-used clothing for donation. The donations were then delivered to the Holy Family Ukrainian Catholic Church in Lindenhurst, New York, which was holding a donation drive for refugees.

Publicity Chairman Maria Ortolani explained the donations were all sorted by volunteers at the church and then sent to Chicago, where they were then put on cargo planes to be shipped to Poland.

“It all fell into place very easily, which was fortunate,” Maria said. “There was a ton of community support as well to donate items.”

Donations included jeans, jackets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, sneakers, boots, blankets, medical supplies, and non-perishable food items.

Maria said clubwomen were eager to help with this donation drive after seeing what the Ukrainian people have experienced in the news. She added when members dropped off the donations at the Holy Family Ukrainian Catholic Church they purchased plastic tarps to keep all of the items safe from the rain and assisted the volunteers with the church however they could.

“It was amazing to see the number of people stopping by and the amount of supplies donated,” Maria said.

North Myrtle Beach Women’s Club 

The North Myrtle Beach Women’s Club (South Carolina) recently invited a speaker from Sea Haven, a nonprofit organization that provides emergency and long-term services to at-risk youth, to discuss their Project Lighthouse program during one of their meetings. This program is designed to help people ages 18 to 24 successfully navigate their transition to independence and stability. During this meeting, clubwomen learned that often many of these individuals to do not have the proper attire to go out on job interviews.

After learning this, two new club members jumped into action to organize a Dress for Success drive to meet this need. Second Vice President Connie Lawson said clubwomen were encouraged to do some early spring cleaning and go through their wardrobes for clothing that they could donate.

“Anything our club can do to help them in the process of finding a job is great,” she said.

In addition to club members, many others from the community donated clothing to the Dress for Success drive. In total, approximately 300 items were collected, including suits, shirts, pant suits, dresses, shoes, and more.

Connie noted all of the clothing items were dry-cleaned and sorted before they were delivered.

“The young people were so excited and extremely grateful,” she said. “…To have a part in that is a good feeling for all of us.”

Despite the challenges created by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, GFWC’s International Affiliates around the world have been hard at work raising money for various charities, participating in community service projects, and trying to improve the lives of others overall.

International Woman’s Club of Porto Alegre 

The International Woman’s Club of Porto Alegre, in Brazil, has continued its efforts to help people in need by supporting various local projects and charities. One of the many ways clubwomen are giving back is through Rango Solidário, a project which aims to provide a substantial meal every day to people in the community who are struggling to reconstruct their lives after the COVID-19 pandemic left many people without their jobs, homes, or the means to have at least one decent meal a day. The project, which was started about five years ago, distributes approximately 200 meals a day at a central square in the city.

The club has been a part of this project for more than a year and members have made many donations of staple items such as rice, beans, pasta, and more. Clubwomen also collect empty milk cartons that they sanitize and repurpose to be used as containers for the meals. On a couple of occasions, members also donated various hygiene and personal care items in an effort to help their friends and neighbors maintain their dignity during difficult times.

In their international newsletter, IWC Porto Alegre stated being part of the Rango Solidário project has been essential to keeping the club active and united in the recent times of isolation.

Along with this project, clubwomen participated in many other volunteer activities throughout the past year, including providing school supplies for underprivileged children, knitting wool blankets for women in need, donating clothes and food to refugees, and donating funds to the Children’s Cancer Institute and Saint Zita de Lucca Association, a charitable entity dedicated to children in situations of social vulnerability.

Since its founding, the goal of IWC Porto Alegre has been to not only improve friendships, but to do important social work that benefits others. Through fundraising and working together to make a positive difference, the club has continuously attracted women from all backgrounds and occupations to join the club.

GFWC North Pinellas Woman’s Club 

As GFWC continues to celebrate the contributions of women throughout the years in honor of March as Women’s History Month, many clubwomen are finding unique ways to recognize the inspiring work of their fellow Federation members.

Laurie Auth, of the GFWC North Pinellas Woman’s Club (Florida), has been hard at work the past several months nominating International Past President Judy Lutz (2002-2004) to be featured in a museum exhibit in her community. After contacting Judy’s daughter, Judy Griffin, and working together to fill out a nomination form with the Clearwater Historical Society, Judy was selected to be one of eight women featured in the Clearwater History Museum’s Women Trailblazers in History exhibit. This exhibit, which opened at the beginning of March and will be available to the public until May 21, honors local women for their contributions to the community.

Laurie said she wanted to nominate Judy, who passed away in 2019, because throughout her many years with GFWC she gave unselfishly and was an inspiration and role model for many others. She hopes the exhibit will also help promote the great work of GFWC and encourage community members to want to learn more about the organization.

“This exhibit is an honor for Judy, her family, and all of GFWC. It helps share the good works of our Federation and promotes what we stand for,” Laurie said. “…We are often told we are a well-kept secret, so we are working hard to change that.”

The exhibit itself features images and and stories from Judy’s time with GFWC and the various roles she held, including club president, State President, and International President.

Laurie said their district will be hosting a Federation Day event at the museum, during which members will be able to tour the exhibit and then learn about “The Power of GFWC” from GFWC Florida State President Dianne Foerster and GFWC Florida Past State President Sharon Oliphant.

Being part of GFWC meant so much to Judy, and Laurie is glad to see her legacy educating others about the Federation as a whole.

“This exhibit is helping our current and prospective members appreciate the history of our Federation and the incredible organization of which they are a part,” she said.

GFWC Colorado 

GFWC Colorado clubwomen combined their efforts to raise $3,580 in gift cards to support families who were impacted by a large grass fire, known as the Marshall fire, in Boulder County, Colorado. The Marshall fire, which occurred in December, was one of the most destructive fires in Colorado’s history, burning more than 1,000 homes in this highly populated area.

GFWC Colorado State President Deb Greer, who is also a member of the Boulder Valley Woman’s Club, has worked for many years with the Sister Carmen Community Center in Lafayette, Colorado. Deb knew she wanted to help people suffering after the fire, so she reached out to the Center to ask how people could help. After speaking with the Center, Deb sent out a request for assistance to all clubwomen.

GFWC Colorado Membership Chairman Theresa Rudder said all 11 clubs in the state jumped into action.

“Everybody wanted to help in some way,” Theresa said. “…This could have been us; to lose everything you own is heartbreaking.”

She added that no specific fundraisers were organized, but that clubwomen donated their own money to this cause.

The gift cards collected were sent to the Sister Carmen Community Center to be directly distributed to families in need.

GFWC Woman’s Club of Crestview 

GFWC Woman’s Club of Crestview (Florida) members are continuing their commitment to helping people of all ages experiencing homelessness in their community. Since 2020, clubwomen have been donating school supplies and hygiene products each month to the North Okaloosa County School District, which consists of 15 schools. These items are then delivered by the school to students who are homeless. In one month alone, members delivered 647 school supplies and 765 hygiene items to the homeless students in North Okaloosa County School District. Donations this large have been made possible due to a collaboration between the club and local businesses, nonprofits, and churches.

Club President Debra Lucas explained the community members all want children to be able to focus on their schoolwork, rather than having to worry about not having the essentials.

“Helping children is dear to everybody’s heart and we all want the children to succeed in school,” Debra said. “This is a pivotal time for these children so that they can have better lives.”

In addition to helping the children, clubwomen prepare and deliver on average 290 home cooked meals to people experiencing homelessness and others in need each week. These meals are delivered to various community churches and shelters throughout the area.

Debra said members are passionate about helping people and ensuring everyone has access to these basic human needs.