Education and Libraries Community Service Program

Education and Libraries Community Service Program

Storybook Trail

GFWC Iowa – GFWC/Iowa Grangers Women’s Club

The GFWC/Iowa Grangers Women’s Club partnered with the Granger Public Library to display a series of published children’s picture books at a local park. The Storybook Trail focused on families with small children to enjoy nature and be entertained by reading books along the walk. The walk was 835 feet long, and each page of the story was separated by thirty-two feet. Pictures from the children’s book were installed along the path with the help of club members. As families stopped along the path, they were directed to the next page in the story. Pages frequently were accompanied by activities. Twenty-five stations were installed in the park.

 

Habitat for Humanity

GFWC Kentucky – GFWC Okolona Woman’s Club

Okolona Woman’s Club provided bookcases and age-appropriate books for each child in the families that received the Habitat Humanity homes. Additional community organizations contributed books to the project.

 

Worcester the City That Reads

GFWC Massachusetts – GFWC Northboro Junior Woman’s Club

A retired school principal in Worcester, GFWC Massachusetts, was concerned about the number of students leaving school in June with no books at home to read and no access to the public library. GFWC Northboro Junior Woman’s Club assisted in his mission to ensure that these students (preschool through Middle School) get at least one book to take home for summer reading. One club member took over collecting and delivering NJWC’s books. She placed a bin outside her home for the collection, visited library book sales, picked up books from members who could not get to her house, and delivered all the books to Worcester. The collection this year was a whopping 874 books!

 

Eagle Scout Project

GFWC New Hampshire – GFWC Greenland Women’s Club

GFWC Greenland Women’s Club has long supported those Scouts working on their Eagle Scout Project. This year they donated $500 towards the Eagle Scout Project of Scout Max Murdach, who designed and built an outdoor pergola on the grounds of the Greenland Central School to be used as outdoor classroom space.

 

Adopt a Pet

GFWC New Jersey – GFWC Junior Woman’s Club of Bellville

The Junior Woman’s Club of Bellville continued its “Adopt a Pet” reading initiative reaching 142 early readers. Each child could pick a stuffed animal to adopt and their own book to take home. They were asked to sign a “Certificate of Promise,” where they agreed to read to their newly adopted pet for at least 20 minutes daily. The program extended to our local library, where the children were encouraged to bring their pets in to participate in picking new books or participating in library activities.

 

Story Walk

GFWC North Carolina – GFWC Greensboro Woman’s Club

Members of the GFWC Greensboro Woman’s Club created a mobile Story Walk which featured the book From Head to Toe by Eric Carle. After much research and testing, club members determined that the best method for displaying the book was using portable signs for each page. Clear tape and lamination ensured the book pages were waterproof and easily visible. Each sign displayed a book page Page 10 of 24

and was placed a few yards apart on the library grounds. Children could walk or run from page to page, reading and reacting to the story as they moved along the path. A sign crediting the Greensboro Woman’s Club was included in the Story Walk. Over fifty-eight children participated during the first week of its installation. The Story Walk moved to fifteen locations for one-week intervals.

 

Library for Homeless Veterans

The Madeira’s Club, Inc. finished a library room at the Joseph House in 2022. They purchased a two-seater recliner, three bookcases, an area rug, and two lamps using an outside financial donation. The club continues to donate books. This gives the homeless veterans a room to relax and read and provides stress relief, which is important for their recovery.

 

Read Across America

GFWC Jubilee Woman’s Club (AL) created a YouTube channel where videos were uploaded to celebrate Read Across America Day. A local author donated copies of his book Oscar’s Great Adventure, which were then provided to local school libraries. Members recorded the book and the recording had 295 views. The club reached 328 schools with more than 6,000 students impacted by their online project.

 

Trunk or Treat

GFWC Pennsylvania – GFWC Curwensville Woman’s Club

The GFWC Curwensville Woman’s Club participated in the Trunk or Treat project hosted by the Curwensville Area School District. The club purchased more than 250 new books from Scholastic and some candy. Volunteers gave out traditional Halloween candy and literacy “treats” as every child received books, bookmarks, a new pencil, finger puppets, and a packet of Halloween reading and writing activities. Working with their community partners, nearly 1,000 children and their families walked away with new books and literacy tools to help support reading in their homes.

 

Scholarships for Veterans’ Children

GFWC South Carolina – GFWC York County Woman’s Club

GFWC York County Woman’s Club provided four $1500 scholarships to high school seniors planning to attend college whose parents are serving or have served in the U.S. Military. The club requested and received $2000 from the GFWC-SC Progress Foundation to supplement our efforts. School counselors selected qualified students, and a committee of five club members met to decide on the recipients. The criteria were both need and good grades. In addition, an essay about their veteran parent(s) was required and carried great weight in our selections. Scholarship winners were honored at a meeting where they received a framed Progress Foundation/Club Scholarship certificate designed by a club member.

 

Living History Walk

GFWC Tennessee – GFWC Brentwood/Franklin Woman’s Service Club

The Brentwood/Franklin Woman’s Service Club researched notable persons in their community’s history and presented a “Living History Walk” at two local libraries with ten actors in costume who gave a ten-minute presentation about themselves to attendees from the community. The club estimated that over 350 people attended the events and received excellent print and social media publicity.