GFWC Volunteers in Action: Ojai Valley Woman’s Club; GFWC Women’s Club of Odessa; Lawrenceville Woman’s Club

July 9, 2019

In 2020, we’ll celebrate 100 years that women have had the vote. The Ojai Valley Woman’s Club (California) celebrated a little early and definitely in style! They dressed as suffragists and marched in their local 4th of July parade to celebrate the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution so many decades ago.

Betty Paterson, Suki Sir, and Pat Essick (1st VP Ojai Valley Woman’s Club)

The GFWC Women’s Club of Odessa (Delaware) enjoyed an English Tea to remember the accomplishments of last year: donating over 100 pairs of shoes for Soles For Souls; distributing over 60 books to children’s libraries; writing letters to their legislators through the Legislative Action Center; providing an animal shelter with towels and blankets; collecting and distributing blankets to the homeless for MLK Day of Service, with one member cleaning a bench even while on vacation; and creating candy boxes to be distributed to patients in a veteran’s hospital on Valentine’s Day.

The Conservation and Education committees of the Lawrenceville Woman’s Club (Georgia) joined forces to stock a Little Free (Seed) Library at the Lawrenceville Housing Authority community garden. The garden is an on-going project of the Conservation committee. For the Seed Library, Conservation provided seed packets and seed saving envelopes while Education provided laminated Planting Guides and Harvesting Schedules. Now, with the inclusion of the Little Free (Seed) Library, the residents are able to maintain their gardens in the years to come. The club will continue to support other planned community gardens with the gardens’ own Little Free (Seed) Libraries. These gardens provide area residents with limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables a sense of pride knowing they are providing their families with healthier food choices. Local co-ops will benefit from donations of food the new gardens. Classes and reference materials are going to provide the gardeners with best practices on harvesting, preparing and preserving food.