“Falling in love with October. Leaves descending to the ground, orange, magenta, green & brown. The cool crisp breezes in the air, Autumn season must be here.” – Charmaine J Forde
When you think of fall, October’s vibrant colors and promise come to mind. At GFWC it is one of the busiest months. It is National Arts and Humanities Month and the Arts & Culture CSP Chairman’s article this month is full of ideas. It is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, National Book Month, and GFWC Advocates for Children’s Week is October 24-30, 2021. Advocates for Children is initiating a challenge for clubs to “stick their neck out” by undertaking a service project that directly benefits children during Advocates for Children Week.
We learned much about mental health this year at the convention in Atlanta. “Physical Funding” is key. A walk for just 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week, improves attitude and reduces anxiety. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is promoting A United Day of Hope on October 9th: Home (namiwalks.org). The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is sponsoring Out of Darkness Community Walks on October 9th and in November. Find a walk in your area or enjoy a walk with friends and the beautiful fall weather!
We are so appreciative of all our North Carolina clubs, their creativity, and their community involvement. Several clubs were recognized by GFWC for their projects. Congratulations to the following GFWC-NC clubs on their GFWC Top Ten Project honors!
The Mary Stewart Woman’s Club members donated various items to deployed female service members through Ladies of Liberty, part of the Soldiers’ Angels organization that provides care packages to women serving overseas. Members donated snacks, medicines, personal health, and hygiene items, and filled USPS military boxes to ship overseas. The first shipment was so popular, they decided to repeat the project.
GFWC Greensboro Woman’s Club held a program to recycle corks through the Cork Club, a sustainability initiative funded by Widget Co., Inc. This organization donates up to two cents for each natural wine cork received toward forest and ocean conservation. They collected from restaurants, bars, and family and shipped more than 33,864 corks or 338 pounds of cork.
Mary Stewart Woman’s Club hosted a “Little Red Wagon” pool party for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the summer. The cost of admission was a donation toward the purchase of the Little Red Wagon. These Little Red Wagons (also called Patient Wagons) can be purchased for $100 each and are used as transportation within the hospital for St. Jude’s youngest patients.
The A.L. Brown Juniorette Club focused on Break the Cycle, a website for teen dating violence prevention, in February for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Members made posters and displayed them throughout their school. To promote healthy teen relationships, they organized special emphasis days at school, including “Wear Orange,” to spread awareness; “It’s Time to Talk” and “Thunderclap” for National Awareness.
The Fuquay-Varina Junior Woman’s Club held the Gingerbread Competition and Fundraiser in partnership with the Fuquay-Varina Arts Center. A gingerbread kit donated by the local Michael’s store was provided to all 49 entries. Houses were on display at the Arts Center, where visitors voted for the People’s Choice Award. The event was shared on social media and followers voted for the Virtual People’s Choice Award. The club raised $345 through the People’s Choice voting, as well as additional funds through participant entry fees.
Members of the Woman’s Club of Mount Airy made face masks and provided them to hospice, nursing homes, and teachers throughout the community. In lieu of payment, recipients were asked to donate food to the local school system. Members working in teams completed various tasks, including bookkeeping, addressing shipping labels, embroidering logos, cutting elastic and fabric, assembling the masks, soliciting sales, and selling to GFWC sisters. The club members contributed 1,800 volunteer hours and raised $3,600.
GFWC of Holden Beach values the experience, knowledge, and passion of members who have served as club president or State President. They created a Past Presidents Committee, which provides leadership ideas to the club and works with and supports the current club leadership. They make personal phone calls to club members and help coordinate the State President’s special project efforts in their own club.
The Woman’s Club of Raleigh’s suffrage centennial celebration was highlighted by a voter registration drive held in collaboration with another GFWC North Carolina club. The drive was held at various locations, including area churches, the state farmer’s market, and the Raleigh-Durham Airport. They were recognized by the Wake County Board of Elections. Club members and guests attended a club program on the historic 2020 election process.
In celebration of Federation Day, members of Wilmington Woman’s Club chose to plant trees at the historic Oakdale Cemetery, established in 1852 as North Carolina’s First Rural Cemetery. The cemetery experienced severe damage to hundreds of trees and flower beds during Hurricane Florence, so members purchased three fast-growing oak saplings to plant.
Many thanks to all the CSP, Special Program and Advancement Plan Chairmen. Be sure to reach out to them for program information and support. They are always hard at work and will have the latest updates for members at the fall meeting in Asheville. We look forward to seeing you there!
Thanks!
Karen & Pam
The end of the summer is not the end of the world. Here’s to October…” — A.A. Milne