Today we’d like to introduce you to Lynda.
Hi Lynda, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The El Segundo Woman’s Club is service organization established in 1922. The club is part of the General Federation of Woman’s Club, which is a National and International organization. The El Segundo Woman’s Club was incorporated in 1922 by 17 woman looking to provide service to the community. In 1936, the club members purchased El Segundo’s first grammar schoolhouse from the School Board and had it moved to it’s current location.
Since the Club’s incorporation, the club has been a dynamic part of the community with its mission to serve the community, state and nation, The Woman’s Club is a 100% volunteer organization, we have an active board of directors, numerous committees and approximately 65 active members to carry out our philanthropic endeavors,
Over and above the club’s philanthropy program the club members support the city by volunteering for the Chamber of Commerce and many cities wide events. The members also planted and maintains the Rose and Pollinator Gardens in the cities Library Park.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Since it’s incorporation the club has continued to grow and philanthropy support to many non-profit organizations, such as Education, Military, Community, Environment, and the Arts. This requires a constant stream of fundraising efforts. The club does earn revenue by renting out the clubhouse to host events, but that has experienced short falls especially during the Covid years.
To augment the revenue, the club hosts several events throughout the year such as annual Spaghetti Dinner, Craft Boutiques, Community Rummage sales and our specialty Confetti eggs that are sold at the annual July 4th celebration. This proves to be a constant challenge to raise funds for our philanthropy programs.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The El Segundo Woman’s Club collaborates to support the communities in which we live and work, as well as national and international projects, Since 1936 we support education by providing scholarships to the local high schools, we also support the High School Choirs, the Ed Foundation and reading programs at the local library.
Club members spend countless hours volunteering to support our troops through the military organization in our community like the LAX USO and MEPS USO. they have created quilts for wounded warriors and supported military families at Camp Pendleton
The clubhouse is a perfect location to host community events. In collaboration with the League of Women Voters we host local candidate forums to support local elections for the community. During the Covid pandemic, when N95 masks were in short supple, the members rallied to create over 1,200 cloth masks that were donated to front line workers throughout the South Bay
Since the 1940’s the club has continuously donated to the Penny Pines reforestation program sponsored by the US Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service.
The Woman’s Club has a long history of supporting the arts and arts education by hosting concerts and performances at the Clubhouse and the local School District music and choral programs
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
El Segundo is a wonderful city that is very community minded. The City government and civic organization are consistently looking to improve the quality of life for the citizens within the city. It fosters a small town atmosphere within a much larger community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elswgundowomansclub.org
- Instagram: El Segundo Woman’s Club
- Facebook: El Segundo Woman’s Club
