August 23, 2021
Focus on Communications and Public Relations
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Dianne Foerster, GFWC Florida President
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Good morning, GFWC Florida sisters,
ALL ABOARD the 2022 GFWC FLORIDA BLUE UMBRELLA TRAIN to our nation's capital during cherry blossom season, March 30-April 4, 2022! I am so excited to present to you a wonderful opportunity to get to know some of your Florida sisters even better, and at the same time, experience the history of our country. This will be a train tour, picking up members in Miami, Orlando, and Jacksonville.
We will be overnight on the train and arrive in Washington, DC the following morning. We have reserved a block of 25 double rooms at the Courtyard by Marriott - Capitol Hill, and will have a few activities scheduled for all of us, along with some time to pursue our individual interests. For detailed information and registration details, visit the trip website, www.GFWCFLallaboard.com
I would like to thank clubs from across the state who participated in the recent President’s Project Day of Service for our seniors with any type of special need. I have been keeping track via Facebook, and as always, I am so impressed with your kind hearts as well as your creativity! Thank you!
I must also share my sympathy with too many of our dear members who have recently lost friends and family members. It is a difficult time for so many. My heart goes out to each of you who are hurting. You are in my prayers, always.
We are just a couple of days away from the GFWC 2021 Convention that will be held in Atlanta. I am so pleased that so many GFWC Florida members will be in attendance. For those who are attending, the Convention agenda can be found here: https://www.gfwc.org/what-we-do/annual-convention/convention-agenda/. Check it out and you will see that it is packed full of activities. I hope that you will read it carefully and mark your choices of workshops you wish to attend. Business sessions will also include award presentations, resolutions, and proposed by laws changes. The Junior Fun Night is intriguing, especially to a mystery buff like me. Stay in touch with me and with each other via text, as we will attempt to get a Florida picture while we are there. I am really looking forward to being with you all and with our GFWC sisters!
Our GFWC Florida Fall Board Meeting is right around the corner too. The deadline for meals and early registration is September 2. Everything is done online, so be sure to get your registrations in as soon as possible, along with any questions you may have regarding the Strategic Plan, the auditor, or any workshop presenters. We will be highlighting the President’s Project as well as the Director's Project. There will be some exciting speakers and important business to accomplish. It is going to be a fun, busy meeting. I encourage you to bring as many members as you possibly can!
LOVE, RESPECT, and KINDNESS for all!
KICKS for KIDS!
Unity in Diversity under the GFWC Florida Umbrella!
Hugs,
Dianne
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I hope you are all planning to attend the Sunday brunch at Fall Board because we have a special guest speaker...Jennifer Jacobs, the Executive Director at Clothes To Kids will be joining us. She is passionate about making sure children have proper clothes and shoes for school. Be sure to stay and find out more about kids who are in need right here in Florida and how you and your club can help.
Jennifer is excited to accept your new shoe donations that Clothes To Kids will get on the feet of children in need. If you prefer to shop online instead of bringing a donation to Fall Board, here is their wish list:
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Communications and Public Relations Committee
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Are you proud of the great things your club is doing? Have you wondered how to share that message with others in your community? Public awareness is so important! People can’t join, support or partner with your club if they don’t know about you.
Public awareness is not a one-time thing, it’s an ongoing commitment. We want to help you shout from the rooftops about your club, its amazing members, and the many ways you serve your community. And we want to encourage you to do this in a strategic and ongoing fashion.
The GFWC Florida Communications & PR Committee will be talking about “How to Raise Public Awareness for Your Club” at our Fall Board workshop. We will hear from some clubs who do a consistently excellent job in this area. Together we can deliver a powerful message, raise awareness, help grow our clubs, and solidify our place as a valued service organization in our communities.
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GFWC Florida
Fall Board of Directors Meeting
September 24-26
Rosen Plaza, Orlando
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The GFWC Florida Choir is returning to sing at Fall Board Meditation. If you like to sing, we need you! Come to Meditation on Sunday morning. If you want to sing, be there at 7:15 am for warmup practice. If you are interested or want the music beforehand, contact Candi Aubin, aubin5@aol.com, 850-508-3107.
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Do you have a veteran or active duty service member in your club? GFWC Florida Chaplain Margie Harper wants to honor her at the Meditation at Fall Board. Please send her name, club name and a photo by September 2 to communications@gfwcflorida.org. She does not need to be attending Fall Board to be honored.
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GFWC Florida Community Impact Program (CIP) Chairman Julia George is preparing for the CIP workshop at Fall Board. She requests that you submit your questions in advance to gfwcjulia@yahoo.com, so the workshop can include discussions specific to what clubs want to know. Clubs should be busy with the final stages of CIP projects and preparation of their reports.
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Upcoming Dates and Deadlines
- Aug. 27-30 - GFWC Annual Convention, Atlanta
- Sept. 2 - GFWC Florida Fall Board Meals and Early Registration Deadline
- Sept. 2 - Veteran and active duty military members due to GFWC FL Chaplain
- Sept. 3 - GFWC Florida's Got Talent RSVP deadline for Saturday night at Fall Board
- Sept. 24-26 - GFWC Florida Fall Board of Directors meeting, Rosen Plaza, Orlando
- Oct. 21-24 - GFWC Southern Region Conference, Rosen Plaza, Orlando
- Dec. 5 - GFWC Florida Holiday Open House, Lakeland
- Feb. 19, 2022 - GFWC Florida LEADS
- March 30 - April 4, 2022 - GFWC Florida Blue Umbrella Rail Trip to Washington, DC
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Easy links to GFWC Florida Social Media
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GFWC Florida Clubs Communicating Their Message
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Clubs across Florida participated in the GFWC Florida President's Project, a Summer of Service for Seniors, which culminated on August 21, National Senior Citizen Day. Women's clubs, junior clubs and Juniorette clubs showed love, respect and kindness for seniors with special needs in their communities in many creative ways!
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GFWC Woman's Club of Homestead hosted a back to school event where families had the opportunity to speak with 20 social and educational support providers. Together with their partners, the clubwomen distributed supplies to 600 attendees and handed out 1,250 backpacks for students returning to school. Click here to read the newspaper article about the event.
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GFWC High Springs New Century Woman's Club gave a Yard of the Month Award to a local property that features wooded areas for a wildlife refuge. The property also contains native flowering plants for natural pollinators such as butterflies, bees and birds.
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GFWC Woman's Club of Plant City organized a day of drive through food donations for their local food bank. Members, friends and neighbors donated 1,568 pounds of food, and there was an additional monetary donation. Club members were assisted by the United States Army Recruitment Office and some recent graduates who are considering a career in the Army.
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GFWC North Pinellas Woman's Club members helped out at summer camp at a local neighborhood center. Everyone had fun while creating artistic crafts. The neighborhood center offers programs and services to meet critical basic needs, and provides limited financial support, career development and educational programs for children to promote school readiness and school success.
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After many months of outdoor gatherings, GFWC Lutz Land O'Lakes members met indoors for crafting for the first time since Covid-19 lockdowns. The club women worked on hand-crafted items to be sold at their annual arts & crafts show in December. Proceeds from the show will help fund the club's community projects.
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GFWC Palm Beach Gardens Woman’s Club collected back to school donations for their community. The generosity of club members allowed the club to donate supplies to The Boys & Girls Clubs, a support center for developmentally disabled, and their adopted classes at two elementary schools and a Hispanic resource center.
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The Miami Woman's Club understands first hand how powerful donations are in a disaster. In an effort to pay it forward, a donation was made to help the relief effort underway following the 7.2 earthquake that shook Haiti. The club made their donation through a local Haitian relief fund that is part of an organization conceived and run by a very prominent Haitian woman in Miami.
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GFWC Woman's Club of Port Charlotte owns a clubhouse and the surrounding area which is lush with trees and shrubs. A couple of churches have rented the building on a regular basis to hold their weekly services. Members of the church have been helpful when minor maintenance issues have arisen. Recently, church members partnered with club women to spruce up the gazebo. It is once again a lovely setting for photos or meditation. Surrounding the gazebo is a Memory Garden honoring the club’s deceased members. The club is grateful for their many community partnerships.
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Please submit brief articles & photos to clubwomaneditor@gfwcflorida.org each week by Wednesday. Indicate area of focus in subject line of your email. If your article or event is not in the newsletter, it could be scheduled for a future week!
If you would like this newsletter delivered to your email inbox, visit the home page on
gfwcflorida.org. Scroll to the bottom of the page and complete the newsletter sign-up form.
The Junior Newsletter sign-up form is also located at the bottom of the home page
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Membership Montage - the process or technique of selecting, editing, and piecing together various activities of GFWC Florida to form a cohesive whole. Every Monday we will feature a different area of focus with aligning articles, stories, club activities and photos. Please submit your stories for each area of focus!
1st Monday - Membership
2nd Monday - Leadership
3rd Monday - Programs
4th Monday - Communications and Public Relations
5th Monday - (if there is one) - Special Edition
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