Our club is a member of the New Jersey State Federation of Woman's Clubs and the General Federation of Woman's Clubs.
New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs
Making a Difference for 130 Years
Founded in 1894, the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs of GFWC (NJSFWC), a member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, provides opportunities for education, leadership training, and community service through participation in local clubs, enabling members to make a difference in the lives of others, one project at a time. There are approximately 8,000 members in 200 clubs located throughout New Jersey.
Too frequently, women’s clubs’ members are described as privileged, white-gloved women with too much time on their hands. Just the opposite is true. Each member has inherited a history of activism on the community, state, national and international level. Now more than ten years into a second century of community service, we look back with pride at the many accomplishments of our clubs and their members, and know that activism is just as alive and spirited today.
In 1918, the NJSFWC founded the New Jersey College for Women (now Douglass Residential College), and through our scholarships to Douglass students, the Federation continues to support this institution with its strong tradition of training tomorrow’s women leaders.
In May 1964, President Lavenia S. Taylor announced at Convention that building a permanent Headquarters for NJSFWC would be the primary project of her administration. The Headquarters building, on the campus of Douglass College, was completed primarily through the collection of Green Stamps by clubwomen all over the state.
The efforts of the NJSFWC led to the formation of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission to oversee the preservation of the Palisades.
In 2003, the Federation was named the Grassroots Organization of the Year by the Highlands Coalition.
The New Jersey Library Association granted its “Library Champions Award” to the NJSFWC in 2004, recognizing the federation for the role that it and individual clubs played in the establishment of public libraries in the state, as well as the group’s continued support of libraries.
The Federation received widespread recognition for its letter writing campaign to state and Federal legislators which helped secure passage in 2004 of the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act to protect water quality for more than one half of New Jersey's population.
Every two years, members throughout the state support a defined special project with fundraising, in-kind donations and public awareness campaigns. Examples of these projects include the Valerie Fund when $226,658 was raised; Canine Companions for Independence, raising almost $190,000; the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and its state-wide affiliates, contributing $140,000; and contributing cash and in-kind services totaling more than $600,000 to support New Jersey’s domestic violence shelters and their client families. Recent Special State Projects include Family Promise, CASA NJ, and Emmanuel Cancer Foundation.
THE GENERAL FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS
The General Federation of Women's Clubs is an international women’s organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service, with members in all 50 states and more than a dozen countries.
Among the many achievements of our members, GFWC is credited with the following:
- turning the tide in favor of the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 (an effort initiated by a New Jersey clubwoman, Alice Leakey of Cranford);
- founding 75% of the public libraries in the country in the 1930's;
campaigning in the 1960's for seatbelts in all cars and streetlights on neighborhood streets; - the fulfillment of its commitment to America's Promise by raising and donating over $13.5 million in books and materials to public libraries and public school libraries (1997-2002), continuing GFWC’s traditional support for libraries; and
- contributing $180,000 for a fully-equipped ambulance for use by the New York Fire Department in response to the loss of equipment suffered during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
GFWC Affiliate Organizations
Heifer International
For more than 70 years, Heifer International has provided gifts of livestock and environmentally-sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. Since 1944, Heifer has helped over 22 million families in more than 125 countries through training in livestock development and livestock gifts that multiply.
Hope for Justice
Founded in 2008 in the United Kingdom, Hope for Justice works from more than 30 locations across five continents to bring an end to modern day slavery and human trafficking by preventing exploitation, rescuing victims, restoring lives, and reforming society. Hope for Justice is made up of world-class specialists with the skills and experience to help end human trafficking and provide trauma-informed care to survivors. Hope for Justice focuses on rescuing victims, empowering people to protect themselves and their families, working with survivors to rebuild their lives, and reforming society by training professionals to spot the signs of trafficking.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other deadly diseases. Everything the organization does is centered on finding cures and saving children. And families never receive a bill from St. Jude.
St. Jude continues the vision of its founder, Danny Thomas, that no child is denied treatment based on race, religion, or a family’s ability to pay. By sharing our knowledge freely and exchanging ideas openly, St. Jude inspires more collaboration between doctors and researchers worldwide, and, as a result, more lifesaving treatments for children everywhere.
Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to 80 percent since it opened 50 years ago.
United Nations Foundation Shot@Life Campaign
Shot@Life, a United Nations Foundation’s campaign, seeks to educate, connect, and empower Americans to champion vaccines in order to save children in developing countries. Every 20 seconds, a child dies of a vaccine-preventable disease like pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, and polio. You can help save a child’s life by encouraging, learning about, advocating for, and donating vaccines.
Canine Companions
Canine Companions is the oldest and largest assistance dog program providing trained dogs for children, adults, and veterans with physical disabilities. Founded in 1975, Canine for Companions is the leader in the field and has placed more than 6,300 assistance dogs. Canine Companions breeds and trains their own dogs to get the temperament, intelligence, focus, health, and work ethic needed. Their breeding program is highly regarded and looked at by others for best practices. At eight weeks old, puppies are placed with volunteer puppy raisers who raise the puppies for 15 months, teaching basic obedience commands and socialization skills. Then they return the dog to Canine Companions for four to nine months of professional training to learn the 40+ commands they need to know to do tasks for people with disabilities.
March of Dimes
March of Dimes leads the fight for the health of all moms and babies. Together with supporters like you, we’re protecting the health of families by funding research, providing resources and programs and advocating for policies to help parents throughout their pregnancies. Building on a successful 80-year legacy, we create lasting change to make America more equitable for all and help every family get the best possible start.
Operation Smile
Operation Smile is an international children’s medical charity focused on restoring children’s smiles through performing surgery on facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate. They are dedicated to raising awareness of this life-threatening issue and providing lasting solutions that will allow children to be healed, regardless of financial standing, well into the future. Operation Smile’s free surgeries and medical missions are made possible by the thousands of volunteers and donors, throughout the world, who generously contribute time, talent and resources.
U.S. Fund For UNICEF
For more than six decades, GFWC has supported UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, in its efforts to ensure the world’s most vulnerable children have access to health, and immunization, clean water, nutrition, education, emergency and disaster relief, and more.