September 2018

GFWC Membership Chairman Janet Price and her committee have established a goal of increasing membership 20% by 2020. This should be a goal that GFWC Alabama too can easily reach if each of us accepts the GFWC Alabama membership challenge of inviting at least one new member to join our club each year. So be thinking about who you can invite – coworkers, relatives, neighbors, church members and friends. Kudos to Kirsten Means and Jennifer Mize in their effort to form the Cahaba Valley Women of GFWC. I was excited to attend their first organizational meeting along with President Steele, and I am confident we will be chartering another new club this year. 

Did you know GFWC has established a new program called Thank You Tuesday? Here is the excerpt from the GFWC Membership Advancement Guide explaining Thank You Tuesday:  GFWC members should be mindful of the benefits they have received from belonging to GFWC and the work of others in the organization. Each Tuesday, members are asked to write in a journal something they are thankful for that is due to their GFWC membership; or write a congratulatory note to a member who just chaired a successful project; or a note saying “Great Idea” to a member who just announced a new project; or call and give encouragement to a member who needs a boost. If your club meets on Tuesday, you would pass a flashlight and each member lets it shine as she tells what she is thankful for; or on your club birthday have members buy candles for things for which they are thankful. Many people and experiences would not be a part of your life except for GFWC. Be thankful you belong and pass it on to others.”  The GFWC #ThankYouTuesday Campaign kicked off on Tuesday, August 7 on the GFWC Face Book page. What will GFWC Alabama clubwomen post that they are thankful for?

If you club added three new members during the period from June 1 – August 31, please send forward your club’s name, the new member’s names and contact information to GFWC Alabama Membership Chairman Becky Vansant at gfwcmembershipalabama@gmail.com . Your club name will be submitted by the September 1 ^st deadline for recognition in the upcoming GFWC Clubwoman Magazine .

Your GFWC Alabama Membership Committee welcomes the opportunity to work with your club on membership retention and growth. Please contact any membership committee member whenever we can be of service. Committee members include: Becky Vansant, Jennifer Robertson, Patricia Cox, Carolyn Whitmire, Karen Sweeney, Ellen Clack, Sherry Dusko, and Patricia Morra.

Balance on August 4 ^th for the Scholarships was $6,278. An additional $2,000 was given by nine members at the Fall Board meeting and $280 was raised in the sale of purses in the Silent Auction. Purse Sales for the President’s Project Scholarship Fund will also be at District meetings, with donations of purses welcomed. Clubs may want to raise money for the project by having their own Purse Sales or Raffles. The President’s Project fund total is now $8,558. Purse-onal thanks to all who have given!

The AFWC Executive Committee approved my request that a new scholarship for Female Veterans be formed, which would qualify as a Project for the 2018-2020 GFWC 7 Initiatives, #6, that members do 1,000 projects devoted to women in the military. My request was for no less than $250 and the EC approved a Female Veteran Scholarship in the amount of $500.

Sherry Stutts, Co-Chair

GFWC ALABAMA LEADS

Currently there are 13 Alabama LEADS graduates active out of the 15 AFWC members who attended and graduated from the Leadership, Education and Development Seminar given at an International GFWC Convention beginning in 2004. GFWC Alabama LEADS is also a federated club. This year a LEADS project was a donation of $130 to the Juniorettes Jamboree. At the Fall Board meeting the announcement was made to the Board of Directors that the club voted unanimously, starting with the 2019 LEADS Representative, to sponsor a $200 LEADS Scholarship every year. The Scholarship will be presented to the LEADS Representative at the annual AFWC Convention and is to be used for International GFWC Convention expenses.

Very appreciative “Thanks” to all individuals and clubs who donated over 80 aprons to the Tie One On fundraiser, to those who bought aprons and gave donations. Remaining aprons will be for sale as this fundraiser continues on until the end of the year; it is the only fundraiser the 2024 Campaign will have in 2018. If you forgot to bring or send the apron/s you got for the fundraiser, please bring them on to the District meeting you will be attending. If you FORGOT to buy an apron, I have just the one you want! A Wonder Woman apron was signed and presented by the 2016-2018 Campaign 2024 committee to Suellen Brazil and President Christine Steele presented Judge Lyn Stuart with a Tie One On – A Friend apron. The Leadership Workshop sales raised $2,024 and an additional $241 has been added to that, bringing the total Tie One On fundraiser at this time to $2,265.

The General Federation of Women’s Clubs has a long history of supporting woman in the military. During both World Wars, GFWC helped to train and recruit nurses to send to the battle lines, and we even sent our own overseas units to recreation areas where American troops were stationed. GFWC supported the opening of, and continues to support, the Women in Military Service For America Memorial in Washington, D.C. Most recently, we have announced the Military Women Initiative as part of this administration’s Seven Grand Initiatives. For this fall’s upcoming WHRC Newsletter, we invite you to submit articles detailing a program, an act of kindness, or an anecdote that demonstrates how your club has supported women in the military. Submissions must be no more than 500 words and can include a picture, although a picture is not required. Please send all questions, concerns, and submissions to WHRC Manager Alyssa Constad at  aconstad@gfwc.org  by September 6.