Camaraderie, friendship and volunteerism make up the mindsets of the members of the Sand River Woman’s Club, which helps many charities and organizations in the Aiken area.
The list of organizations the club works with seems almost endless: Helping Hands, Special Olympics, Cumber Center to Assist Abused Persons, Habitat for Humanity, the Aiken County Animal Shelter are just a few of the many groups to which the club contributes.
“The members of our club are blessed in their lives and are able to contribute back some of the blessings that they’ve had, and we feel like it’s a way of life to volunteer and to serve,” said Mary Lou Wallace, first vice president.
The club was organized in 1983 and is a member of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.
“We do our own thing, but it’s within a framework of women all over the country who are doing similar things,” Wallace said.
Wallace and other members recounted some of the many ways they help the community.
Club members have for years delivered a route of Meals on Wheels for Aiken Senior Life Services. The club provides a bookshelf stocked with books to families during Habitat for Humanities housewarming events, and two women who are non-traditional students at USC Aiken and Aiken Technical College receive a $1,000 scholarship from the club each year.
The club also organizes a monthly birthday party for children at Helping Hands. Club members create care bags for women at the Cumber Center packed with all the hygiene items a woman needs, and the Christmas store organized by the club each year allows children to purchase gifts for their guardians.
“All the events that happen aren’t just for our enjoyment, they’re to help other people; and that’s what’s important,” said Jean Schwalbert, a charter member of the club.
Schwalbert called herself a “professional volunteer” and said there’s always somebody who needs you.
“We’re so blessed to live in such a giving community that what we can do and give back and volunteerism keeps Aiken what it is,” Shwalbert said.
Becky Robbins is another charter member of the club. She said the club got started when a group of women aged out of a junior club, but weren’t finished doing club work. The women met at Robbins' house to charter a new club, and named it Sand River Woman’s Club after the sand river that runs through Aiken.
She said being a part of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs is important and that it means a lot to her to belong to a worldwide organization.
Janet Watkins, the current club president, has been a member of the club for 11 years and joined to meet women outside her profession that weren’t teachers.
“I was a teacher, and my entire social circle was teachers; so I joined the Sand River Woman’s Club by invitation,” she said, and saw the good work the club does.
“I love the volunteer heart; I love the volunteer spirit. I’m very blessed, so I feel like I have an obligation to help others, too; so it just makes me feel good to be able to do things for other people,” she said.
The club runs two big fundraisers that alternate every year. This year’s event had to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the club did carry over funds from last year.
Those two fundraisers are Luck Be A Lady for 100 women and Gentleman's Cash Bash, which is for 100 men.
Wallace said it’s nice to be with other people who care about the community. Members of the club are involved on boards of various organizations in the community and can bring attention to issues.
“If you care about a particular issue or charity, it's nice that you have a group of like-minded people who all go, ‘Oh yeah, we want to help, too,’” Wallace said.
She said she has very dear friends from years of working together on community projects with the club.
Sand River Woman’s Club is an open club, but does restrict the number of members it has at any time, since – in non-pandemic times – the meetings are held in members’ homes. There’s no age limitation.
“It’s just a group of caring people who want to give back to the community, and if you’re a caring person who’d like to give back, we’d love to have you,” Wallace said.
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September 27, 2020 at 09:05AM
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Sand River Woman's Club contributes to many Aiken organizations - Charleston Post Courier
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