7474 Creedmoor Rd. #310
Raleigh, NC 27613
Telephone – 919-790-8684
Fax – 919-790-8705
Email – hq@gfwcnc.org
GFWC-NC’s regular business hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.
Tuesday and Thursday are by appointment.
You may also leave a message or send an email to hq@gfwcnc.org.
GFWC-NC observes the following holidays each year:
In addition, the GFWC-NC Headquarters generally is closed the week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day.
GFWC-NC was founded at Salem College, Winston-Salem May 26 – 27, 1902. Seven clubs formed the nucleus of the Federation: Sorosis, Round Table, and Embroidery all of Winston-Salem; the NC Sorosis of Wilmington; the Goldsboro Woman’s Club; the Circulating Book Club of Salisbury; and the Alpha Club of Statesville.
Mary Stewart, a Colorado school principal, wrote the words to the Collect in 1904 as a personal daily prayer. Mary titled her poem “A Collect for Club Women” when it was first published because she felt it might have special appeal to clubwomen. According to Mary, “The first women’s organization to hear or use the Collect or to print it in its year books and biennial reports was the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.” Prior to her death in 1943, Mary Stewart’s own account of the history of the Collect was recorded. During GFWC President Dorothy Houghton’s administration (1950-1952), the American Home Department published Mary’s history along with an interpretation of the text and suggestions for using it in GFWC programs. The words for the Collect are as follows or click here to download.
Keep us, oh God, from pettiness;
let us be large in thought, in word, in deed.
Let us be done with fault-finding
And leave off self-seeking.
May we put away all pretense
And meet each other face to face,
Without self-pity and without prejudice.
May we never be hasty in judgment
and always generous.
Let us take time for all things;
make us to grow calm, serene, gentle.
Teach us to put into action our better impulses,
straightforward and unafraid.
Grant that we may realize it is
The little things that create differences,
That in the big things of life we are at one.
And may we strive to touch and to know
The great, common human heart of us all,
And, oh Lord God, let us forget not
To be kind!
Federation colors of blue and white and the Federation pine were adopted in 1906. The official seal, drawn by Mrs. E.F. Reid as Art Chairman was adopted in 1913 as was the motto, The Union of All for the Good of All, submitted by Mrs. W. G. Roger. In 1913, the organization became legally incorporated and the charter was adopted. It was later renewed in 1963.
“I salute the flag of North Carolina and pledge to the Old North State love, loyalty, and faith.”
Officially adopted May 4, 2007, by the NC Legislature after the persistence of many clubwomen, the Salute to the Flag of North Carolina is said after the Pledge of Allegiance to the US Flag with right arm out stretched and palm upward.
The Junior Pledge was written in 1916 by Helen Cheney Kimberly of California, and was adopted in 1930 at the GFWC Convention as the National Junior Pledge. The words for the Collect are as follows or click here to download.
I pledge my loyalty to the Junior Club Women,
By doing better than ever before what work I have to do.
By being prompt, honest, courteous,
By living each day, trying to accomplish something, not merely to exist.
GFWC-NC is always excited to have a new club formed. General, Junior or Juniorettes clubs may be formed. For more information click here to download the How to Start a New GFWC Club Packet.
