Allendale Woman's Club

The Allendale Woman’s Club is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization comprised of a diverse group of women dedicated to having a positive impact on our community and beyond.  Through the organization and management of fundraising and other events, the AWC focuses its efforts toward supporting worthy charities, causes and families in need.  Each year, through the effort of its members, the AWC donates thousands of dollars, plus thousands of hours of members’ time to better our world.

Local support…

Our organization collaborates with town, school and civic leaders to meet community improvement goals through the donation of funds, or by members’ volunteering time, effort or expertise.  Each year the AWC makes significant contributions to our schoolchildren through the donation of resources, providing scholarships to need-based students through the Linda Fleischauer Memorial Scholarship, and by promoting literacy through our Bookmark Contest and Third Grade Busy Books.

Local organizations that have received support from the AWC include the Fire, Police and Ambulance Corps., Boy and Girl Scout Troops, XYZ Senior Citizens, the Lee Memorial Library and our communities for developmentally disabled adults: Orchard Commons and Crescent Commons.  The AWC has also supported environmental, historic preservation and conservation programs such as The Celery Farm, Crestwood Lake, the John Fell House and the Orchard Commons Open Space Initiative.

AWC has worked with civic and faith-based leaders to identity and provide aid to families in crisis by donating funds, supplies, meals and other necessities.  The AWC has coordinated efforts to help families stay together in their homes and to support their recovery from trauma, illness, bereavement, natural disasters and the devastating effects of poverty.

Beyond Allendale…

The AWC has supported worthy causes and nonprofit organizations beyond our local community.  Through fundraising efforts, the AWC has supported the work of the Community Food Bank/Center for Food Action, Family Promise, Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge, DACKKs Group for Supportive Housing Development, Giggles Children’s Theater @ St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Rebuilding Together, Shelter Our Sisters, US Troops in Afghanistan, the USO, West Bergen Mental Health and the Youth Consultation Service Holley Center.

Over the years, the AWC has collaborated with many cause-related events and organizations, often because of members’ personal experiences.  The AWC has donated to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, Quest Autism Foundation, Turn the Town Teal for Ovarian Cancer Awareness, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Gilda’s Club of Northern NJ, the Smile Forever Foundation, Alternatives to Domestic Violence, the Madison Holleran Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and Hope and Healing After an Addiction Death.

Populations served…

In addition to serving the elderly, disabled and student population in our local community, AWC programs have aided low income homeless families by supporting Family Promise of Bergen County; disadvantaged families with support of Oasis in Paterson; disabled children by supporting The Holley Center in Hackensack, and the hungry by supporting the Center for Food Action.

Volunteerism

The AWC is successful in creating a positive and long lasting impact on the people we serve thanks to the volunteer spirit of each individual member!  Club activities create rewarding opportunities for members to explore their interests and talents in an accepting and inclusive sisterhood.  If you are a woman over the age of 18 and live nearby, please join us in service and sisterhood by emailing: awc07401@gmail.com or attending one of our meetings at 7:30pm on the second Wednesday of the month between September and June in the Council Chambers at Borough Hall in Allendale.

History

The Allendale Woman’s Club of New Jersey, Inc. (AWC) is a 501 (c)3 philanthropic, nonprofit organization whose volunteer members are dedicated to performing community service in Allendale and beyond. The AWC is a member of, and is federated by, The New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs and The General Federation of Women’s Clubs. These organizations connect us in service and mission with women around the region, state and country to make a positive impact on our community both locally and nationally.

There has been a woman’s club in Allendale for 93 years! On Dec 13, 1918 the Community Club was founded as a Woman’s Auxiliary to the Allendale Board of Trade. There were 20 members, and they were vital in the creation of Memorial Park as a memorial to the boys who had served in the First World War. They fundraised for the creation of the library and lobbied for street signs and streetlights in town. In 1922, a member of the Ridgewood Club visited and told members about the Federation. So on May 26, 1922, the name was changed to the Woman’s Club of Allendale and they joined the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs. They continued to work to benefit the community, sponsoring a Girl Scout troop in 1927, and donating chairs to the library in 1928.

The Junior Woman’s Club of Allendale was founded and federated on May 18, 1933 with Margaret Critchley as the first president. The Junior Woman’s Club was established as a community service organization for women between the ages of 18 and 35, at which point members could “graduate” into the Woman’s Club, if they chose. The group started as a few women who got together to play bridge regularly. There were 26 charter members and the iris was chosen as the club flower (it has been around since the beginning!). This group has been affiliated with the New Jersey State Federation of Woman’s Clubs since its inception. During the war years, from 1941 to 1945, this club worked on war efforts, selling bonds, knitting for soldiers and assisting the Red Cross. Several of the daughters of the original members went on to become members themselves in the sixties, including Mrs. Thomas Watson, daughter of the first president.

By the 1960’s there were three women’s clubs in Allendale; The Junior Woman’s Club of Allendale, The Allendale Woman’s Club and the Woman’s Evening Club of Allendale. There was also briefly a Sub-junior Club of Allendale for girls in high school. Each of these clubs contributed many items of value to the community of Allendale. The Woman’s Club made draperies for the library in 1954 and sponsored a well baby clinic. In 1960, they donated the funds for a kitchen for the Allendale Borough Hall. The Junior Woman’s Club organized a quilt project illustrating historic sites, which was presented as a gift to the Borough of Allendale on July 4, 1976, and still hangs in the municipal building today. Together, the three clubs raised money to reconstruct the local swimming pool after it was damaged by a flash flood in 1945 and worked on the writing of A History of Allendale in 1964.

Many of the events and projects that we do today come from these previous clubs. For example, as far back as 1964 the Woman’s Club held an annual Geranium Sale, which we still hold, and donated the proceeds to plant a tree by the ambulance corps building. The Junior Woman’s Club started the annual Bookmark contest, the Busy Books project for the Grade Three class and Breakfast with Santa. The library activities program, which we still sponsor, initially began as a story hour for children and for a while included puppet shows in which club members would act out the stories on their hands and knees!

In 1989, after 71 years, the Woman’s Club of Allendale was dissolved. Four years later, the Junior Woman’s Club was renamed the Allendale Woman’s Club and the requirement that members leave at age 35 was eliminated. Since then our membership has grown to over 70 members, and we have started many new projects. We have donated money to the building of the playground at Crestwood Park, purchased bullet proof vests for the Allendale police, supported Boy Scout Eagle projects and donated playground benches to the schools. In addition, we now reach out to the wider community, and we recently donated funds to the Center for Food Action, Oasis, Shelter our Sisters, Rebuilding Together, The Center for Women’s Heart Health at Valley Hospital and The John Fell House. We are proud to continue both the traditions and goals of the earlier women’s clubs, bringing women together for friendship and community service.

In 2018 we have celebrations planned for our Centennial, so please check back soon for more details.