Since 1975, women in
Greene County,
Virginia have
joined together to
meet the needs of
their community and
to grow in
friendship and
strength among and
within themselves.
Even after three
decades, those who
continue this
history find they,
too, are special as
well.
Perhaps it is the
compassion for
others, the desire
to improve the
present and impact
the future of their
community that has
inspired the members
for all this time.
It is hard to see
where the dedication
to service and the
decision to join
together were ever
separate.
The four major
service projects of
the Woman’s Club of
Greene County
parallel the growth
of the club. The
annual “Helping
Hands” crafts bazaar
raises funds for the
annual scholarships
awarded to female
graduating seniors
from Greene County’s
high school.
The Greene County
Food Bank which is
administered and
funded by the club
provides emergency
food and assistance
to a growing number
of our neighbors in
need.
 The
annual “Caring for
the Children”
Christmas Gift
Project ensures each
needy child in the
county receives the
gift of a wrapped
new toy worth $20
and a new book each
holiday season.
Three year’s ago,
the club added a
yearly “Not your
ordinary” Yard Sale
to help bring more
funds into this
project which has
seen a growth in
need.
Other projects
have included
purchasing the
trophy awarded to
the high school’s
Female Athlete of
the Year; providing
appropriate
materials such as
children’s scissors
and crayons for
yearly kindergarten
testing; and
coordinating with a
local veterinarian
to provide a
drive-thru rabies
shot clinic where
pet owners could get
their animals
inoculated for just
the price of the
vaccination.
 In
each case, some
member or members of
the club have
discovered a need
within the community
and been encouraged
and supported by
other members to
create a method to
meet that need. We
have also funded
donations for
one-time requests on
a regular basis.
We have not
forgotten to reward
ourselves with fun
as well. Though we
sometimes meet at
restaurants, we
normally gather over
delicious and always
sumptuous feasts
called pot luck
dinners. All our
members may not be
good cooks but those
who cannot cook are
exceedingly good
shoppers.
An annual pool
party helps cool the
heat of summer and
the yearly dinner
out with a guest
gives us the
opportunity to share
our comradery with
friends or family.
Unique membership
drives bring new
friends into the
club.
We anticipate and
enjoy the October
meeting in the
home of a member who
loves to decorate
for fall; St.
Patrick's Day in the
home of our
President who is
unabashedly Irish
and Christmas with a
no-business and much
nonsense
covered-dish dinner
and social to
celebrate a year of
good work and a
season of good will.
As individuals
within the club
suffer hardships and
reap rewards in
their lives, so has
the Woman’s Club of
Greene County in its
existence.
Membership ebbs and
flows but, always,
those who remain
fight to keep the
club’s tradition
alive.
 Our
greatest asset is
ironically our
greatest liability:
the members
themselves. With
rare exception, the
individuals drawn to
our club are
dedicated to
volunteering and
staying highly
active in their
family lives. Most
volunteer in other
groups. Many have
active professional
careers.
What makes each
of our members
strong also makes
them vulnerable to
the inevitable
stresses of a life
lived fully. Many
have suffered
service fatigue from
working our major
projects and have
had to leave the
club. Luckily,
others drawn by
those same projects
have come to aid and
join us.
 For
these projects, we
have received awards
from the Federation
but more
importantly, we have
received unnecessary
thanks from those we
have assisted. Many
of those helped
have, in return,
helped when their
circumstances
improved.
In all, the
Woman's Club of
Greene County has
always been the
grateful recipient
of generosity from
the community.
Though we each work
hard, it is through
the assistance of
individuals,
businesses and
organizations in
Greene County and
from other areas,
that we have be able
to grow through
hardship; give where
it is needed and
remain strong for
ourselves.
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