Volunteers in Action: GFWC Junior Women’s Club of Westminster and Woman’s Club of Essex County

August 9, 2022

GFWC Junior Women’s Club of Westminster 

 

Members of the GFWC Junior Women’s Club of Westminster teamed up with local law enforcement to organize the community’s annual National Night Out event.

The GFWC Junior Women’s Club of Westminster (Maryland) teamed up with the Westminster City Police to host their community’s annual National Night Out event. Club member and GFWC Maryland Director of Junior Clubs Mimi French explained the club has been a cosponsor of this event for the past 10 years, and the clubwomen always look forward to getting together with their friends and neighbors. This year, multiple local organizations and sponsors provided food, games, music, face painting, community support resources, and door prizes to the 150 attendees from the surrounding area.

“This event gets community information out and it’s an all-around great time,” Mimi said. “It’s important to get our name out and show our commitment to our community and our partners who are also involved.”

National Night Out is a national community-building campaign that takes place in August each year to strengthen relationships between local police and residents of neighborhoods throughout the country.

Mimi said this great event was made possible due to the dedication of 14 clubwomen, four spouses, and event coordinator Trish Wagman.

 

 

Woman’s Club of Essex County 

The Women’s Club of Essex County donated 75 gently used and new purses filled with brushes, makeup, and other items to The Haven shelter for women in need.

Members of the Woman’s Club of Essex County (Virginia) found a fun and impactful way to upcycle their gently used and new pocketbooks while supporting women at a local shelter. Club President Kathy Hicks explained that the clubwomen collected brushes, makeup, jewelry, and other feminine hygiene and beauty products, as well as gift cards for local stores, to fill their donated purses and pocketbooks. The 75 purses collected were then donated to The Haven, an area shelter for women in need.

Kathy said the shelter requested these types of items because the women often will go out on interviews but do not have makeup or bags of their own to help them prepare.

“Instead of throwing out these purses and pocketbooks, we wanted to put them to better use than if they were to instead sit on shelves or go into landfills,” Kathy said, adding that this project was organized by the club’s Environment Committee as a recycling project.

In addition to this upcycling project, club members have donated about $1,000 in kind in clothing, shoes, and household goods to the shelter.

“We work as closely with The Haven as we can as clubwomen because it is a safe shelter for women and children,” Kathy said.