November 2024 Volume 8, Issue 11

CFWC AND GFWC


The California Federation of Women’s Clubs is a statewide non-profit service organization, and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs is a non-profit international organization. Both are dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service. We are fortunate to be members of these organizations.


Please direct questions, corrections, suggestions, and compliments to

our editor, Peg Boortz, at editor@womansclubofindio.org.

President's Message

Sylvia Baran

Hello Everyone! 


Happy November! Just a reminder to set your clocks back one hour on November 3rd.


Thank you to Mickie Reed for serving as Installing Officer during last month's ceremony. We have a fantastic board, and I'm excited to work with all of you!


October was busy for our club, with five successful events. Mickie and I attended the Area D Conference in San Diego, where we learned about innovative projects like the Laundry to Literacy initiative and the Shelter to Soldier program, which trains dogs to serve veterans. Closer to home, members participated in the Paint El Paseo Pink and Walk to End Alzheimer's events.

clinical Social Worker,

This month’s meeting will be exciting. It will feature guest speaker Angie Negro, a Licenced Clinical Social Worker, a new member induction ceremony, and a Committee and Project Champion Showcase. Plan to arrive by 11:30 a.m., or a little before, to participate in the committee showcase!


Our next big event will be hosting the De Anza District Conference on November 18th. I look forward to supporting our very own Mickie Reed, the De Anza District President, with many club members available to attend. Not only that, but you will also be amazed at how fun these events are and how much there is to learn, and you'll meet wonderful members from sister clubs. Registration closes on November 6th, so don't wait. (By the way, the lunch selections are amazing!)

 

As we enter the holiday season, please consider bringing non-perishable food items for CV Rescue Mission or gifts for CV Foster Kids. Gently used holiday ornaments for Shelter From the Storm are also welcome.



Let’s remember to help those in need during this time. And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, here’s a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: “When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return.”


Happy Thanksgiving!


Serving With Joy,



Sylvia

**Exciting Update**

Our Website Home Page Now

Features a New Video!


The video on our home page was updated and we hope you enjoy the changes. As ever, the goal is to show sponsors, donors, guests, and members how active and engaged our club is in all that we do. Click the hummingbird to the right and enjoy!

Click Here to Watch Video!

For officer and chair contact information, click here.

1st VP/DEAN

Avi Rodriguez

Calendar of Events

(For more details, click here to visit our website calendar.)

Coming Events


  • November 5, 2024, Election Day - VOTE!
  • November 6: General Meeting, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. 

Guest Speaker Angie Negro, LCSW, Clinical Director of Social Services

WEAR WCI SHIRTS OR WCI BLUE for the

annual group photo


Collections: 

  • Thanksgiving Food for CVRM
  • Holiday Gifts for CV Foster Kids (see article for details)
  • Holiday ornaments for Shelter from the Storm 


  • November 11: Fly the Flag for Veteran’s Day
  • November 18: De Anza Conference, 9:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m., Host Club: WCI
  • November 21: Board Meeting via Zoom, 5:30 p.m.
  • November 28: Fly the Flag for Thanksgiving Day

Save the Date


  • December 4: General Meeting, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
  • December 17: ESO Holiday Potluck Party at Alice Burns’s home, 6:00 p.m.
  • December CVRM and Galilee Center Toy Drive, Date TBA 
  • December CVRM and Galilee Center Toy Distribution in late December, Date TBA
2024 - 2025 Calendar

Please remember to submit your hours each month. Just click this link and scroll down a bit to open the form. Answer the questions on the form. It's very easy to do, and you can enter your hours every time you volunteer or donate.

Arts and Culture

Pam Milroy

FUN CULTURAL EXPERIENCE 

Make it a Girl's Afternoon Out at Desert TheaterWorks

 

This local Coachella Valley theater uses performing arts to change lives, inspire, and educate people of all ages. As a non-profit, it is committed to providing diverse cultural experiences through theater.

 

You don't want to miss this fun and entertaining comedy performance:

 

The Wild Women of Winedale

 

Synopsis:

 

"Enter the realm of this contemporary comedy where three women navigate life's twists and turns. Meet the spirited sisters, Fanny and Willa, along with their delightfully eccentric sister-in-law, Johnnie Faye. They've weathered life's storms through laughter and tears, from losing spouses to the unexpected sinkhole swallowing their home in Florida. Join these remarkable women as they tackle life's clutter with wit and ingenuity, promising an uproarious journey filled with laughter and heart. Don't miss out on the hilarity!"

 

If you have any interest in going to this event on

 

Saturday, November 2nd at 2 p.m.

$36 per ticket

 

Please contact Pam Milroy at milroypam@gmail.com by October 31st. I will purchase the Group Tickets at a discounted $36 per person.

 

Location: 

INDIO PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

45175 Fargo St.

Indio, CA 92201

Civic Engagement


Interested in Volunteering?


You've come to the right place! WCI is dedicated to serving our community and we like to say that our business is volunteering. We have a list of nonprofit organizations we support with contact information for learning more about them. Volunteers are always needed and genuinely forever appreciated.


Volunteer Opportunities
 Non-profits We Support

Advocates For Children

Rosalind Miller, Chair

Donations for Foster Kids

 

WCI offers many opportunities to help children in our community.


For the November meeting, holiday gifts for CVFoster Kids are being collected. Gifts for all ages are needed. If gifts are wrapped, please add a gift tag to identify the type of gift.

 

In 2025, there will be a collection of pajamas and underwear. 

 

There are also opportunities to help children through CVRM and Galilee Center donations. CASA and Read with Me offer hands-on volunteer work with children.

Domestic Violence Prevention

Barbara Fairbairn, Chair

Domestic Violence & Sexual Abuse 


I hope you all had a fantastic summer. If you are interested in this committee, please email me.  I'll also be at the meeting on November 6th and would be happy to talk with you then.

 

I have a few ideas for our project this year, but of course, I want your input. Should we focus on graduating high school seniors? What about the elderly in care facilities? What about the pets' families must leave behind when they enter a shelter?

 

Let’s do it again.

 

In gratitude,

Barbara Fairbairn 

DV Chairperson 

WCI/ De Anza District 

dv@womansclubofindio.org

ESO

Mickie Reed, Chair

ESO Holiday Meeting

 

Please join us for a fantastic ESO meeting at Alice Burns's home on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. We will discuss our last book in the banned book category, "The True Life Diary of a Part-time Indian." Lynn Merritt will lead the discussion. 


We will play a couple of rounds of Book Bingo, win prizes, exchange wonderful gifts under $10 in value, and enjoy some excellent potluck food. Please join us for a fun night out.

 

Mickie Reed

CFWC De Anza District President

GFWC Woman's Club of Indio - Past President (#75)

P.O. Box 3071, Indio, CA. 9202

(760) 668-7018

Find Food Bank

Bonnie Tucker, Project Champion



Hunger Action Month Wrapped!

 

I am so proud of all the volunteers from WCI and one non-member who spent the morning of September 27, 2024, at FIND Food Bank. We were there to participate in GFWC’s National Day of Service to combat food insecurity, which also supported FIND Food Bank’s 2024 Hunger Action Month—a win/win situation for all. We finally made FIND’s logo list of recognized organizations. Please see the banner to the left for a look at our beautiful orange sun and palm tree.


Click anywhere on the apple and watch a fun recap video.

 

Many thanks to you all!

 

Sincerely,

 

Bonnie Tucker






WCI Volunteering at FIND Results

 


Woman’s Club of Indio contributed 52.5 volunteer hours at FIND Food Bank on Friday, September 27, 2024, to celebrate Feeding Indio Days and GWFC National Day of Service to combat food insecurity and hunger. Fourteen members and one non-member packed 450 bags of fruits and vegetables to be distributed at a mobile event in Indio on Saturday, September 28, 2024. At 10 pounds per bag, this is 4,500 pounds of onions, potatoes, apples, plums, and pears. In addition, $248.51 was donated to FIND Food Bank through WCI.

Health and Wellness

CVRM Volunteer Opportunities Available

 

We're calling on members to sign up to help CVRM prepare and serve meals on the dates listed below. If you are interested in participating, please email Health@womansclubofindio.org, and Marcia Daniels will coordinate volunteer efforts. Sign-up sheets will also be available at the monthly meetings. Members are welcome to volunteer for a couple of hours on a Saturday to help serve meals to our community. The available Saturdays to volunteer are:

 

  • November 23, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to noon
  • December 7, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to noon
  • January 25, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to noon


Dates are available between February to May, and more information will be provided soon. Please don't forget to bring non-perishable foods to our November meeting. These donations will go to the Rescue Mission for Thanksgiving. Every donation matters!

Food to help us prepare thousands of meals for Thanksgiving week 

for the hungry, hurting people of the Coachella Valley.

Butter  

Drinks, 12 oz Water Bottles

Powdered Drink Mix

Coffee and Coffee Creamer                                                   

Dinner rolls

Brown sugar

Stuffing                                                                  

Turkey Roasting Bag      

Turkey Roasting Pan  

All Spices, including Seasoning 

Salt, Garlic, Paprika, Rosemary,

Oregano, Thyme, and Parsley

Canned Goods, including

Corn,  Green Beans, Mixed     

Vegetables, Yams,

Potatoes, Whole or Mashed   

Cranberry Sauce         

Pies                                                                                 

Call the Mission at 347-3512 X246 for food donation boxes.

Drop your donations off at: 47-170 Van Buren, Indio, CA 92201.

Send cash donations to P.O. Box 10660, Indio, CA 92202-2564.

      Volunteer ID Now Needed at CVRM

 

CVRM has a new digital volunteer center. If you volunteer at a WCI-sanctioned group event, check in under the WCI group credential ID (contact Marcia Daniels to get the ID). If you volunteer for an individual activity, you must first go through a CVRM orientation to get your Volunteer ID. Contact Alva Perez (aperez@CVRM.com) for information.

Recognition

Janice Bowman, Chair

November Yard of the Month

 

Congratulations to Carol and Dale Zack, our November Yard of the Month recipients. About nine years ago, our Canadian friends relocated to the Coachella Valley after a brief stop in San Diego, as the grandchildren and the weather drew them there.

 

Experiencing the harsh summer months here, they incorporated desert landscaping in the front and back yards. They found it to be much lower maintenance and a big reduction of water use. They do all their own yard work. 

 

Their beautiful and welcoming yard shows how dedicated they are to keeping it looking great. The effort they put into making their outdoor space so inviting really paid off. Being November’s Yard of the Month is a well-deserved recognition for their hard work. Great job!

 

Members are encouraged to send congratulatory notes to the Zack family at 80272 Royal Dornoch, Indio, 92201.

Woman's History

WANTED: YOUR LIFE'S STORY

Peg Boortz, De Anza District Woman’s History Chair

 

You, dear members, are all accomplished and interesting people, and you contribute to WCI's success in many ways. It's only fitting that you have a place in our club’s written history.

 

Imagine members ten, twenty, fifty, or a hundred years from now reading about you and taking inspiration from the important events in your life and your experiences in WCI.

 

You don’t have to be Dr. June McCarroll to be remembered as a participant in our club’s history. All you need to do is write an autobiography that we will house in the Coachella Valley History Museum’s archives as part of our historical records.

 

Here’s how this History Project works:

  • Writing your autobiography is voluntary, although we hope you will rise to the challenge.
  • What you write can be brief or long.
  • If you wrote an autobiography for the club newsletter, you can submit that to be part of our club’s history. Please add the information listed in the next bullet.
  • We ask that you include information about your time in the club—when you joined, positions you held, volunteering, what you like about being a member, and any other information about your time in WCI.
  • Including a photo would be terrific.


Please send your life story to pegboortz9@gmail.com. It will be copied on acid-free paper to ensure that future members know about wonderful you.

 

Let’s make Woman’s History our history! 

Membership

Photo Gallery

October Officer Installation Meeting
Paint El Paseo Pink
FIND Foodbank Gallery
Area D Conference Gallery
Walk to end Alzheimer's
CVHM Train Arrives Gallery

Living the Volunteer Spirit

 

Three cheers for the members who put their muscles to work sorting and bagging fruit and vegetables at the FIND warehouse on September 27th. Bonnie Tucker organized the group, which included her husband, Bob Keigher. Club volunteers were Marlon Carrier, Marcia Daniels, Laura Dolata, Barbara Fairbairn, Maryann Herman, Emilie Jester, Natalie Keller, Trish Lounsbury, Peggy Mathieson, Linda Mesman-Poirot, Claire Whitney, and Jane Williams.

 

More cheers and coffee for Sylvia Baran and Mickie Reed, who left Indio at 5:15 a.m. on October 12th to drive to San Diego for the Area D Conference.

Are You Ready to Party?


CFWC’s Second V.P. of Membership, Cindy Sanders, offers an amazing incentive to clubs. 


  • Get 5 new members by 12.01.2024 and receive a certificate.
  • If you sign up 10 new members by 12.01.2024, you'll receive a certificate and be entered to win a $100 gift card.
  • Get 25 new members by 12.01.2024 and the membership team will personally come to your club and throw a MemberShip party.



GFWC Woman’s Club of Indio, WE WANT A PARTY!

COLLECT FOR CLUB WOMEN


Why do we say the Club Collect at the end of our meetings? That's a great question.


Whether you are a new or seasoned member, the following article about the Collect will be informative and interesting. What is a collect? It’s a short prayer said in unison, pronounced käl´ ekt, with the accent on the first syllable. We join hands and say the Collect at the end of our meetings. Click here to read about the woman who wrote the prayer and to see a copy of the Collect.

Federation News

De Anza District Conference Hosted by WCI


Greetings!

 

Share in the fun of "Fall Sweet Fall!" Come to the De Anza District Conference on Monday, November 18th, in Indio.  Meet members from other clubs and learn tips from our speaker, Dr. Eric Davenport, about how to not fall down.  The Call for the De Anza District Conference with all of the details is attached to this email. Please print out a paper copy if needed. 

 

If you plan to go, the cost is $30 for registration and lunch. Your club will register you and provide additional details about paying the club and their deadline for registration. Please let them know which meal you want - regular or vegetarian. Here are the options:

 

Regular meal: Chicken Cordon Bleu – free-range chicken, ham, Swiss cheese, asparagus, herbed Basmati rice in white wine pan sauce

Vegetarian meal:  Pasta Primavera – garden fresh vegetables, penne pasta, Alfredo cream sauce, and topped with Parmesan-Reggiano cheese 

 

The September 2024 Conference Minutes which will be approved at the November Conference are also attached. 

 

Hope to see you in Indio!

 

In Federation,

 

Lois Bailey

Corresponding Secretary

De Anza District

DeAnza Call
Area D Minutes

LEADS

LEADERSHIP, EDUCATION, AND DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR

 

LEADS is a program designed to identify and develop future leaders for the Federation, focusing on the Club, District, State, and GFWC National levels. Each Club is encouraged to nominate a candidate for the LEADS selection process at the District level. Each year, one candidate from the District will be chosen to represent the District at the CFWC State Convention. During the CFWC LEADS event, one District representative will be selected to attend GFWC LEADS and become a LEADS graduate. If a candidate from your Club is not selected at the District level this year, they are welcome to apply again in the future.


The District representative chosen to attend CFWC is not eligible to apply for LEADS a second time, even if they are not selected to represent the State at the GFWC level. However, the majority of LEADS training occurs at the State level. Participants will learn about the Federation, protocol, public speaking, club finance requirements, club ethics, and conflict resolution.


Most representatives return from LEADS training feeling energized and committed to advancing in leadership roles. Many find that their participation in LEADS is the most meaningful experience they have had within the Federation. To apply for the LEADS program, candidates must submit the required materials to the District by January 1, 2025. Please note that late submissions will not be accepted. Send your application items to Jan Emde, the De Anza District Leadership Chair, at cfmd8@verizon.net.

 

  1. CFWC LEADS application found on the De Anza District website.
  2. 5x7 photo of the candidate
  3. Candidate’s one-page Resume

 

If chosen, the representative will need to participate in the CFWC LEADS program. Additionally, if the District representative is selected at CFWC to represent the state, they will also be expected to attend the GFWC LEADS program.

 

CFWC LEADS, CFWC Winter Board Meeting, February 6-8th, 2025, at Glendale, CA

GFWC LEADS, GFWC Convention, June 4-June 9, 2025, Atlanta, GA

 

Travel, lodging, and food can be expensive, so there are some financial commitments to consider. The De Anza District will provide the LEADS representative with shared lodging and $200 to help with costs during the CFWC LEADS program. The representative's Club may also help with expenses. GFWC gives the state representative a stipend of $325 and provides lunch during the LEADS program. However, some costs will still be the representative’s responsibility. Participants must make their own travel and lodging arrangements.


**Mini LEADS Training Announcement!**


Get ready for an exciting opportunity to enhance your skills with our upcoming Mini LEADS training session! Join us on November 16th at 9:00 a.m. via Zoom for a day of engaging training from the comfort of your own home.


This mini-training will give you a glimpse into what a full weekend of LEADS training is like. You won’t want to miss out on this fantastic chance to learn and grow!


For more details, including the agenda and the Zoom link, please check the link below. We look forward to seeing you there!

Click Here for Mini LEADS

CVHM PRESIDENTIAL GARDEN

Mickie Reed


The WCI Presidential Hummingbird Garden is one step closer to being a reality. The train was delivered and is in place, so the gardens can be created. How exciting to honor our past presidents at the only dedicated memorial to our club in the city.


See the Train Arrives Gallery above for photos showing every step of installing the train on the museum grounds.

Check Out Newsletters from Around the District

Corona Newsletter
De Anza District Newsletter

We Thank and Support Our Sponsors




THANK YOU TO OUR NEWEST SPONSOR!


When the club learned there would be an unexpected new charge to use the ballroom for our meetings and events, we reached out to a member to see if sponsorship was an option. It was! Member Elizabeth Middleton, a partner at Trust Properties USA, stepped right in to support us.


Thank you, Elizabeth & Trust Properties USA! We are grateful.

 Brought to you by the talented WCI Editorial Staff:

Peg Boortz & Dona LaFrance

www.WCIndio.org

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