Women’s Clubs Are Modern, Vital

It was with mixed feelings that I read your April 16 story on the 75th birthday of the Women’s Civic Club of Garden Grove.

First, many thanks for printing the story, as it is rare to see anything about the General Federation of Women’s Clubs in your paper. Is it just a coincidence that as our membership has declined so has the publicity? Second, I must protest the tone of the article, which leaves the impression that women’s clubs are passe and just hanging around until the last member dies.

As a member of the Women’s Club of Cypress, I am thrilled to report that our membership of 109 has grown from 65 in a few years, and we aren’t doddering cookie bakers either. Two of our members became first-time moms just recently, and many are professional women. It is true that careers have become more important to women, and rightly so, but we also care very much about the quality of life in our community and the safety and education of our children. In an age where families have been displaced by corporations and have lost that family structure, the support and friendship found in women’s clubs has come to mean a lot.

Clubs don’t just hold fund-raisers to give scholarships (although our club donates around $10,000 annually to various causes). We volunteer time at veterans hospitals, city libraries and nursing homes as well as hold story times and support our own “pops” orchestra. In the process, we learn about ourselves while we learn how to conduct a meeting, plan a project and execute it with the cooperation of the community.

When an elected member of Congress receives a letter from a member of a women’s club, he knows she represents a great many other women--just like those who banded together over 100 years ago to create this conduit through which our voices could be heard. We are not dying over our teacups. We are a dynamic and viable organization of women of all ages and cultures looking forward to tomorrow. Look us up on the Internet: [email protected].

JOANNE WEST

Cypress