Category: Uncategorized

GFWC Woman’s Club of Aurora 

On Federation Day, GFWC Woman’s Club of Aurora (Illinois) volunteers gathered in a parking lot to collect items for several projects. Cars drove in, trunks were popped, and volunteers retrieved the donations. Members donated baby items for the club’s annual baby shower for the VNA Healthy Families program, flower and vegetable seed packets for Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry’s Garden, Charity Blooms, unused or expired prescription and over-the-counter medicines for the Aurora Police Department’s Drug Take Back Program, and can-tabs for Ronald McDonald House. Club members said it was a wonderful morning of fun, friendship, and Living the Volunteer Spirit!

GFWC Woman’s Club of Bismarck 

The GFWC Woman’s Club of Bismarck (Illinois) hosted a special event on March 29, at Crosspoint Human Services in Danville, Illinois, for GFWC Affiliate Organization Prevent Child Abuse America’s Pinwheels for Prevention campaign. Members planted pinwheels around the Peace Pole and in the pots in front of the shelter, and 15 pinwheels in vases with tent signs were delivered for placement throughout the building. Members also made Easter baskets for the children who live at the shelter.

Members brought candy for the baskets to their March club meeting and then collected baskets, grass, and small items to place in the baskets. A local children’s ministry also donated small toys and stuffed animals to help the cause. The club’s Prevent Child Abuse Chairmen met twice and sorted items and five club members met at the shelter to assemble 15 Easter baskets. A pinwheel was also added to each basket. Extra candy from club donations was used for an Easter egg hunt for the children. The Crosspoint Human Services director and an employee who works with the residents told members they were very appreciative of the donations.

In April, members also donated coloring books, crayons, puzzles, pencils, paper, clip boards, games, books, toys, and other items needed for the Vermilion County Children’s Advocacy Center.

GFWC Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills

Members from the GFWC Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills (New Jersey) joined a town-wide clean-up effort of more than 200 volunteers as part of Earth Day on April 24. Teams were sent to various areas in town to pick up discarded trash. The ladies cleaned up along the Boonton Reservoir and a particular focus was placed on picking up micro plastics and other trash in this area to reduce the negative impact on local wildlife.

GFWC Women’s Club of Farmingdale 

Through the efforts of GFWC Women’s Club of Farmingdale’s (New York) past President Barbara Hoerner, club members were made aware of a not-for-profit organization called Beads for Courage. This organization is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children and teens coping with serious illness, their families, and the clinicians who care for them through their Arts-in-Medicine Programs. The organization has established collaborative partnerships with hundreds of hospitals nationally and internationally and worked with several community organizations to make healing happen through the use of beads as a historical art form.

With the help of a donation of upholstery fabric from Avanti Furniture Corp. in Farmingdale, members of the club sewed dozens of small bags to contain the beads so these children can have a convenient place to store them.

Naples Woman’s Club

In keeping with the theme Restore Our Earth, members of the Naples Woman’s Club (Florida) organized a beach clean-up day on Earth Day, April 22. The club’s Environmental Committee volunteered their time to clean up the beaches at Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park in North Naples, Florida.

The park’s Board President, Kathy Foster, and Park Manger Terrance Torvund had everything ready to go for the group of volunteers as they set out to clean up one of the many beaches along Florida’s west coast. Many volunteers from the club joined together to make the beaches and ocean a little cleaner one piece of trash at a time. The day was a huge success!

The Naples Woman’s Club Juniorettes also organized a beach clean-up day of their own on April 23.

Lisle Woman’s Club

Lisle Woman’s Club (Illinois) member Bea Fodor had no idea what she started when she offered to collect plastic bags and deliver them to a group in Peotone, Illinois, that was taking bags and turning them into mats for people without homes.

In total, 2,871 plastic bags were collected by the club and made into balls of plastic yarn, which were then donated to the ladies at Christ Community Church in Peotone. These women then set to work crocheting the plastic into mats to put under sleeping bags. The handles from the bags were used as stuffing for small pillows attached to the mats.

The mats will go to three mission outlets in Illinois, where people without homes can pick them up.

Many club members participated in this project by collecting and dropping off plastic bags and making the plastic yarn balls.

Exeter Area GFWC

Exeter Area GFWC (New Hampshire) presented a donation of $1,000 to Waypoint, a critical non-profit provider of resources and services to families in need. Funds were raised through their annual SleepOut21 event designed to end youth homelessness in New Hampshire. Eight club members who participated in SleepOut21 raised an additional $675. Additionally, all funds raised were matched by a generous anonymous donor, bringing the total donation to $3,350. Waypoint, formerly known as Child and Family Services, has been advocating for and servicing New Hampshire for more than years. Exeter Area GFWC members said they are dedicated to enhancing the lives of others in Exeter and surrounding communities through volunteer and charitable services.

Woman’s Club of Fredericksburg

Members of the Woman’s Club of Fredericksburg (Virginia) gathered outside the City of Fredericksburg Head Start building to recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. Members assisted the Head Start children in planting blue and white pinwheels to participate in GFWC Affiliate Organization Prevent Child Abuse America’s Pinwheels for Prevention campaign. The pinwheels are a symbolic reminder of the happy childhoods and bright futures that all children deserve. The Woman’s Club of Fredericksburg was glad to recognize Child Abuse Prevention month and to live up to their motto: Not for Ourselves Alone.

GFWC Celebrates National Volunteer Week

In recognition of National Volunteer Week from April 18 through April 24, people around the country will celebrate the individuals in their communities willing to go the extra mile to help others. GFWC clubwomen are committed to Living the Volunteer Spirit, and it is this spirit that we want to recognize this week as well with a special three-part blog series that highlights members’ efforts. Although we are shining an extra light on volunteers this week, GFWC is proud to share the inspirational stories of clubwomen volunteering to make a difference for others every week.

Village Improvement Association of Rehoboth Beach

On March 29, four members of the Village Improvement Association of Rehoboth Beach (Delaware) delivered 40 boxes filled with donations to GFWC Affiliate Organization Operation Smile in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In total, 939 items were delivered, valued at $4,459. Items included children’s hospital gowns, Smile bags, and blankets. The team of clubwomen who participated said they did so because they thought they could make a difference and help children in developing countries with cleft palate and/or cleft lip. This group of women also encouraged other club members to participate, which led to 54 members and the club’s Caring Stitchers group sewing hospital gowns, knitting, and packaging items. Other members also dropped off materials for the project anonymously.

Operation Smile is an international children’s medical charity focused on restoring children’s smiles through performing surgery on facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate. They are dedicated to raising awareness of this life-threatening issue and providing lasting solutions that will allow children to be healed, regardless of financial standing, well into the future.

GFWC Junto Woman’s Club

Members of GFWC Junto Woman’s Club (Virginia) are continuing their commitment to improving the environment by participating in a new educational program with the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance (NRPA) for third grade students in Suffolk, Virginia, schools. The program is intended to encourage 8- to 9-year-olds to be an environmentally literate generation of problem solvers by learning about local waterways and watersheds, as well as the impact of rising sea levels on their community. Club members said they are excited to be involved with this new initiative by assembling the hands-on environmental learning kits and delivering the learning aids to local elementary schools.

The mission of NRPA is to raise public awareness and encourage environmental stewardships of local waterways. Several GFWC Junto Woman’s Club members also serve on the NRPA Board of Directors.

GFWC Celebrates National Volunteer Week

In recognition of National Volunteer Week from April 18 through April 24, people around the country will celebrate the individuals in their communities willing to go the extra mile to help others. GFWC clubwomen are committed to Living the Volunteer Spirit, and it is this spirit that we want to recognize this week as well with a special three-part blog series that highlights members’ efforts. Although we are shining an extra light on volunteers this week, GFWC is proud to share the inspirational stories of clubwomen volunteering to make a difference for others every week.

GFWC Mississippi

On April 22, people around the world will celebrate Earth Day to raise awareness about the environment, global warming and climate change and encourage people to volunteer for the good of the planet. Several GFWC Mississippi clubs have created community service projects of their own dedicated to taking care of the earth.

The Decatur Woman’s Progressive Club built two monofilament fishing line recycling bins for two of the local fishing and recreational lakes near their town of Decatur, Mississippi.

The three-foot-long cylindrical bins constructed of PVC drain pipe are mounted to fishing piers at launch ramps or marina boat docks, and are part of the “Reel In and Recycle” national fishing line recycling program. These bins help keep fishing line out of waterways where it can be dangerous to wildlife.

Clubwomen are in charge of cleaning, caring for, and maintaining the bins. These recycling bins have been so successful for the boaters and fisherman that they are adding two additional bins to a local park with signs stating their purpose.

Members of the Civic Women’s Club of Picayune also are participating in various environmentally-focused community service projects. One of these projects was a “Save Our Resources” challenge which began in February and ended in April that required members to identify habits that are wasteful of natural resources and work to change those habits during the challenge. This could be as small as turning off lights in unused rooms or turning off water when brushing their teeth. As part of this challenge, members were also encouraged to find new uses for no longer needed items that would otherwise end up in a landfill. One member discovered that a local elder adult facility was in need of DVDs for residents to enjoy, so instead of being thrown away, several DVDs were donated.

The club also partnered with Keep Picayune Beautiful to help sponsor the city’s clean-up day on April 17. Clubwomen helped set up, work the registration tables, issue cleanup supplies, and form a team to pick up trash. Members also made a monetary donation to the city for this project.

Finally, the Pontotoc Woman’s Club contributed 33 pounds of bottle caps for direct recycling at Green Tree Recycling. The battle caps joined more than 600 pounds of other plastic caps collected by area Boy Scouts, elementary schools, and other groups for the ABC Promise Partnership Program. Miranda Georges drove the pickup load to Indiana and returned with six park benches as part of the program.

The ABC Promise Partnership Program is a cap and lid program designed by school children for school children as a tool to learn about caring for the earth and green living.

GFWC Celebrates National Volunteer Week

In recognition of National Volunteer Week from April 18 through April 24, people around the country will celebrate the individuals in their communities willing to go the extra mile to help others. GFWC clubwomen are committed to Living the Volunteer Spirit, and it is this spirit that we want to recognize this week as well with a special three-part blog series that highlights members’ efforts. Although we are shining an extra light on volunteers this week, GFWC is proud to share the inspirational stories of clubwomen volunteering to make a difference for others every week.

GFWC Greensboro Woman’s Club

The GFWC Greensboro Woman’s Club (North Carolina) strongly supports GFWC Affiliate Organization Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA) Pinwheels for Prevention campaign. The club purchased 150 pinwheels to create a pinwheel garden and eight clubwomen spent an afternoon arranging the pinwheels on the lawn of the historic Weir-Jordan House in downtown Greensboro. This house is used as the club’s clubhouse and is located in a high traffic area, ensuring maximum awareness of this important cause. A banner was also erected on the lawn to highlight the goals of the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign.

PCAA introduced the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign in 2008 as the official symbol of great childhoods. The pinwheels represent childlike whimsy and lightheartedness, and PCAA’s vision for a world where all children grow up happy, healthy, and prepared to succeed in supportive families and communities.

GFWC Texas Alamo District

GFWC Texas Alamo District held their annual Spring Convention on March 27, 2021, hosted by the Woman’s Club of Cotulla in Cotulla, Texas. Alamo District President Novella Byrd requested that attendees bring a package of women’s socks to the meeting for a one-and-done project. As a result, more than 130 pairs of socks were collected during the event. The socks were donated to the nonprofit organization Soldiers’ Angels. The socks will be distributed to women active duty personnel or women veterans. The organization states that socks are the number one requested item on all request lists. The mission of Soldier’s Angels is to provide aid, comfort, and resources to the military, veterans, and their families. The motto of the organization is “May No Soldier Go Unloved;” which fits seamlessly with the theme of President Byrd’s administration, “Serving Those Who Serve.”

GFWC South Carolina

Several GFWC South Carolina clubs are participating in GFWC Affiliate Organization Prevent Child Abuse America’s (PCAA) Pinwheels for Prevention campaign this year. One of these clubs is GFWC Lexington Woman’s Club. The club’s Health and Wellness committee showed their support for the Children’s Trust of South Carolina by planting a pinwheel garden on the lawn at the Lexington County Courthouse. The pinwheels will remain on display through the end of April.

Another South Carolina club participating in the campaign this year is the GFWC Woman’s Club of the Midlands. Club President DeAna Reed-Sharpe said she was thrilled to see a large gathering of club members planting pinwheels in the high-visibility area at the corner of 12th Street and Jarvis Klapman Boulevard. Members dressed in blue in honor of Wear Blue Day to kick off Child Abuse Prevention Month, and they came ready to spread the word about preventing child abuse and neglect.

“We have 100 percent support of this effort,” DeAna said.

Pinwheels were chosen for this campaign to represent childlike whimsy and lightheartedness, as well as PCAA’s vision for a world where all children can grow up happy, healthy, and prepared to succeed in supportive families and communities.

Children’s Trust of South Carolina serves as PCAA’s state affiliate in South Carolina.

GFWC Peninsula Hills Women’s Club

GFWC Peninsula Hills Women’s Club (California) has remained busy throughout the past year, despite challenges caused by COVID-19. Earlier this year, the club created the “Thanking Essential Workers” project. As part of this project, members purchased candy bars, created labels, wrapped the candy bars, and delivered them to various locations. These locations included the Sequoia Hospital, Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center, the Redwood City Police Department, the Redwood City Fire Department, and the Fair Oaks Medical Center.

In addition to this project, clubwomen filled 42 Easter bags with small gifts and candy for agricultural workers in San Jose.

Last year, club members also helped deliver Christmas stockings to children of migrant farm workers along California’s central coast and donated funds to an elder adult center in Redwood City to help with the cost of delivering Thanksgiving dinners.

Woman’s Club of Clayton

Members of the Woman’s Club of Clayton’s (North Carolina) Environment Community Service Program spearheaded the planting of a pollinator garden at the local library. The purpose of pollinator gardens is to provide nectar or pollen for a wide range of pollinating insects. The lovely stone path running through the garden and the preparation of the garden was done by the residents of the town, and clubwomen are responsible for planting and maintaining the garden.

GFWC Oconomowoc Junior Woman’s Club (Wisconsin)

Every March, the GFWC Oconomowoc Junior Woman’s Club (Wisconsin) looks forward to celebrating Youth Art Month in a unique and special way. Through the GFWC Community Service Program, the club, along with several others throughout Wisconsin, sponsors and organizes the annual Helen Farnsworth Mears Art Contest for seventh and eighth grade public, private, and homeschool students each spring.

This unique art contest begins at the local club level when teachers from area schools select student artwork to be a part of the art exhibition and contest. Clubwomen said they are thankful to have such wonderful school teachers who go above and beyond to support their students and this art contest each year. There are two class distinctions for the contest: Class A – schools with an art instructor, and Class B – schools without an art instructor. These two classes do not compete against each other, but their artwork is combined as a whole for the exhibition at the local library. The contest is judged at the beginning of the exhibition, and community interaction is encouraged as well, with the People’s Choice Award, which is voted on by the public. The entire body of artwork remains on exhibit at the library for a duration of one to two weeks. Each year, club members and the community marvels at the talents of the young artists that participate in this event.

Despite the challenges of remote/hybrid teaching and learning this school year, clubwomen were delighted to have four schools and 42 students participate in the local contest. The GFWC Oconomowoc Junior Woman’s Club believed that it was important to put forward this annual contest despite COVID-19, for the sake of our young artists who have had to face such uncertainty, sacrifice, and hardship this past year.

GFWC Clifton Community Woman’s Club (Virginia)

For 47 years, the GFWC Clifton Community Woman’s Club (Virginia) has hosted a Homes Tour to benefit the club’s Charitable Trust. Annually, the club gives approximately $20,000 to scholarships, food banks, veterans, women and children in need, and others. Although the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled two of the tours, it did not cancel their desire to give, and the CCWC C.A.R.E.S. Competition was born. C.A.R.E.S. is an acronym for Creative, Arts, Recording, Education, and Service.

People of all ages could submit their art to participate in the competition from February 1 through March 31. The submissions were sorted into the various categories and then sent for judging. Winners from each category will be recognized on Zoom in April and will receive a donated prize. Clubwomen said they thought it was important to get friends and the community involved in the project this year.

Riverside Woman’s Club (California)

For the second year, members of the Riverside Woman’s Club (California) supplied families living at Home Front at Camp Anza with soil, vegetable plants, and mulch to replant individual garden boxes. Home Front at Camp Anza is an affordable housing community for veterans in Riverside, California, that is located on the former site of Camp Anza, a WWII Army training camp. The community can house more than 400 guests and part of the club is a museum. Clubwomen said the residents were excited to have family garden boxes again this year after a successful yield the previous year, which helped significantly due to the economic impact of COVID-19.

GFWC Woman’s League of Lowcountry (South Carolina)

GFWC Woman’s League of the Lowcountry (South Carolina) sponsored a walk to benefit GFWC Affiliate Organization St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital the morning of March 13. Even though the walk was outside, the walk times were still staggered due to COVID-19. Masks were also worn and distancing was encouraged to ensure the safety of everyone participating. Donations were made at the pavilion the day of the walk or made online through the St. Jude event website. Live music, light snacks, coffee, and water were available throughout the morning. Local businesses also donated prizes and gift certificates, which were used as door prizes for all the registered donors.

Many club members helped plan and prepare for this wonderful project, and clubwomen said they are so grateful for the generosity and support of this event. As a result of this event, more than $9,000 will be sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to benefit the children.

GFWC Woman’s Citizenship Club of Alamosa (Colorado)

GFWC Woman’s Citizenship Club of Alamosa (Colorado) wanted to show their appreciation to the staff of the Alamosa School District. Club member Linda Cozart, who spearheaded this project, commented, “For a year now, things have been uncertain as to how we should continue to live our lives during a pandemic. Nowhere has that been more agonizingly so than with the schools.”

It was with that sentiment in mind that club members put together large bowls of goodies and snacks and took them to the different school buildings to be placed in staff break rooms. This was a small way to say “thank you” for their dedication and doing their best in a bewildering year. A special note was placed in each snack bowl which read, “Take a minute to reflect and consider how truly awesome you are.”

GFWC Millville Woman’s Club (New Jersey)

GFWC Millville Woman’s Club (New Jersey) members make it their goal to honor military veterans and strive to demonstrate their appreciation for the service they provide. While the club has an on-going drive year round to receive articles of clothing for veterans, Louise Jones, the club’s Civic Engagement and Outreach Chairperson, came up with a special project during the holidays. It was called “Undies Under the Tree” and involved contributions of socks, undershirts, and underwear being generously donated for men and women for men an women. Various other items were contributed as well, including boxes of CDs featuring different types of music. On Friday, March 12, Louise Jones and Barbara Westog delivered this collection to the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home in Vineland.

GFWC Agawam Junior Women’s Club (Massachusetts)

Members of GFWC Agawam Junior Women’s Club (Massachusetts) gathered at the Agawam Public Library for a pre-arranged work night recently to assemble five tied blankets to be donated to the YWCA of Western Massachusetts. The material was purchased more than a year ago, but the work could not be completed as a group due to COVID-19 restrictions on gathering. The YWCA provides safe places for women and children in crisis, and offers women counseling, job training, childcare, and health and fitness opportunities.

Club members Donna Shibley, Lizzie Demerski, Ashley Moore, Regina Sibilia, Julie LaBarre, and Jen Nowak, from GFWC Wilbraham Junior Women’s Club, helped make the blankets.

Library staff members were pleased to hear chatter and laughter as the work progressed, and the club offered its thanks to Nancy Siegel, Agawam Public Library Director, for her help with scheduling.

GFWC Junto Woman’s Club (Virginia)

Last October, nineteen GFWC Junto Woman’s Club (Virginia) members and several of their spouses partnered with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance (NRPA) in Suffolk, Virginia, to construct Oyster Reef Baskets. These baskets are scheduled to be placed in the Nansemond River in late March and early April. According to the NRPA, establishing an oyster garden can be beneficial to the environment because these shellfish help filter bacteria, nutrients, and suspended solids from water. After the success of the club working with the NRPA for the first phase of the Oyster Reef Project, several more members will be joining the second part of the project by putting together oyster shell mesh bags that will be used as substrates and installed along the river.

In addition to the Oyster Reef Project, several GFWC Junto Woman’s Club members serve on the NRPA Board of Directors and the Water Quality Committee and have participated in trips down the Nansemond River to take water samples for testing. The club first became a community partner with the NRPA in 2018, as many members live along the river, and have continued to work with them on projects since.

GFWC du Midi Woman’s Club (Alabama)

Clubwomen with GFWC du Midi Woman’s Club (Alabama) put on their masks and went shopping for a variety of outfits for infants and toddlers who may need an emergency change of clothes during clinic visits with GFWC Affiliate Organization St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Affiliate Clinic of Huntsville, Alabama. A total of 131 sets of new infant and toddler clothing outfits, along with 42 pairs of underwear and 33 pairs of socks valued at more than $2,000 was donated during the club’s monthly drop off. The Juniors’ Special Program: Advocates for Children Chairperson washed, dried, ironed, sorted, and packaged each outfit for safety before they were delivered. Club members support a variety of projects for St. Jude, including keeping the clinic’s “Treasure Chest” filled with books, craft kits, and gift cards for ages one to 18.

GFWC Anchorage Woman’s Club (Alaska)

GFWC Anchorage Woman’s Club (Alaska) clubwomen decided to “Give from the Heart” during the month of February. Club members donated $1,000 that was matched by ISE Logistics. The $2,000 check was presented to the Alaska Food Bank at the historic Pioneer School House. The club offered their thanks to all members who participated, and a special thanks to Ken Gitter.

GFWC Illinois Morris Woman’s Club (Illinois)

GFWC Illinois Morris Woman’s Club (Illinois) prepared 50 “kindness bags” for the adults and children being housed by Guardian Angels of Will and Grundy Counties for Valentine’s Day. Since many of survivors of domestic abuse leave their situation with only the clothes on their backs, they have little to entertain themselves and their children while sheltering. The adult bags contained personal hygiene and pampering items as well as things to occupy their time, such as cards, puzzle books, and more. The kids’ bags contained age-appropriate toys, books, and pampering items for teens. All of the bags also contained snacks.

GFWC Hopkinton Women’s Club (Massachusetts)

GFWC Hopkinton Women’s Club (Massachusetts) did their part to participate in the GFWC Signature Program: Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness and Prevention by assembling and donating 30 “care bags” to Compassion New England Crisis Center in Milford, Massachusetts. The bags were filled with various personal care items. Compassion New England is a nonprofit organization which works to develop programs and services that meet the needs of families in the community.

March is National Reading Month – a month used to inspire people of all ages to read every day. Projects in the Education and Libraries Community Service Program are designed to foster schools, as well as other educational institutions and opportunities. These projects promote libraries, literacy, and the love of a good book. Through these efforts, we encourage the growth of individuals and communities at home and around the world. GFWC clubwomen have been working tirelessly to help the people in their cities and towns find their own love of reading.

One of the clubs that has been working on an Education and Libraries Community Service Program project is GFWC Big Rapids, Inc. (Michigan). Although the club could not host its usual Dr. Seuss Birthday Party at the Big Rapids Community Library, it decided to have its own community party where members donated 58 Dr. Seuss books. Twenty of the books were left at a local gas station to be given away to children when they came into the station. Some of the books, along with cupcakes, were taken to a local homeless shelter and Women’s Information Services Inc., a crisis intervention and support services center for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Members also brought the books to a local hospital for newborns and an area dentist office.

GFWC Lilburn Woman’s Club (Georgia) donated a Dr. Seuss-themed chair to the media center at Lilburn Elementary School. Nancy Chilcoat donated the chair for the project and Pat Shaver and Gloria Sill designed and painted the chair. Vaccinated members from the club also volunteered to read to students during Dr. Seuss Week the first week of March.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions members of GFWC Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy (New Jersey) were unable to read to children this year. However, the club’s Education Chairman Betty Lagitch and her committee worked with the Parsippany Library, Morris County Head Start, and the Parsippany Child Day Care Center to come up with another way for the children to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday this year. A donation was made to each organization to purchase a craft for the children to make. Although the members said they missed reading to the children this year, they hope the kids have fun with crafts and are looking forward to hopefully visiting next year.

Members of GFWC Madison Heights Women’s Club (Michigan) created a remote guest reader project for local schools in March. Since schools are limiting visitors due to COVID-19, clubwomen created a daily virtual option for members, elected officials, the police and fire chiefs, city manager, judges, city librarians, and more to reach to children. Club members said as of March 1, the online videos reached more than 1,500 people.

In continuing GFWC’s longstanding support of public libraries, GFWC Women’s Club of South County (Rhode Island) started “One Book at a Time.” As part of this project, libraries from five local towns created a wish list of 20 books featuring diversity and strong role models for young girls and women. Club members then went to a local, independent bookstore to purchase these books. The books will be distributed to the libraries during National Library Week from April 4-10.

Last year, GFWC Manchester Women’s Club (Connecticut) partnered with the town’s recreation department to establish eight Little Free Libraries in places where children would have access to them. While many facilities were shut down, clubwomen kept boxes of books in their cars to regularly refill the libraries, and a virtual book sale was held with the proceeds going toward more books. Although the premise of the libraries is to leave a book when you take one, members understand many children do not have books at home. As businesses have started to reopen this year, book drop-off locations have been established once again.

Finally, members of GFWC Wilbraham Junior Women’s Club (Massachusetts) recognized Read Across America Day on March 2 by hosting a remote story time with kindergarten and first-grade students from Edward P. Boland Elementary School in Springfield, Massachusetts. Six classrooms and about 190 students were included, with each reader being assigned a different classroom. A Google Slide presentation was also created so students could follow along on screen and a scavenger hunt activity was planned for after the story was read.

After this event, the club reached out to Links-to-Libraries, an area nonprofit that encourages reading as a lifelong skill, and was able to get a book donated for each child that day.