Our Community

• Received a proclamation by the Mayor on the occasion of our 110th anniversary

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• Celebrated our 110th Anniversary with “A String of Pearls” Celebration 

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• Our club was designated as historic by the City of Stuart and received a Historic Marker

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• Held a Community Open House and Reception as part of the Martin County Historic Preservation Month

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Scholarships and Benevolence

• Our Holiday Home Tour was our most successful yet. This event is a local favorite, bringing our community together for holiday cheer. This year we raised $160,000 for scholarships and benevolence.

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• In the past 17 years, we have awarded over  $600,000 in scholarships including $70,000 to deserving senior girls in Martin County high schools in 2025.

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• Our Benevolence Committee awarded grants to community organizations representing Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention, Mental Health, Historical Preservation, The Arts, Girl Scouts, Services for Children, Veterans, and Homeless individuals and families. These organizations include:

  • ​Project Lift

  • House-A-Vet

  • MartinArts–Stuart High School Arts Center

  • Black Heritage Initiatives – Salerno Schoolhouse

  • Safe Space

  • National Alliance for Mental Illness-NAMI

  • Care Bag, Inc. 

  • Voices for Children of Treasure Coast

  • Love and Hope in Action – LAHIA

  • Hope Center for Autism

 

• Held a Fashion Show Luncheon supporting our local downtown stores and raised over $7,000

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GFWC Signature Program—Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention

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• Hosted a community event featuring Tara and Joe Petito, parents of Gabby Petito who was murdered by her boyfriend. The Petitos provided information about partner abuse and participants filled Hope Bags for abuse survivors as part of the GFWC International Day of Service.

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• Collected clothing, Christmas gifts, and toiletries for Safe Space, an organization helping women and children of domestic violence

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Arts & Culture

• Hosted an Arts & Crafts Competition and Exhibition for members. Winners in each category competed at the district and state level

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• Participate in Festival of Trees Auction by donating and decorating 2 Xmas trees to benefit local charities

 

• Hosted a Cinco de Mayo Cooking Demonstration with restaurant owner and TV personality Chef Sue Torres

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• Hosted a Children’s Concert performed by the Stuart Community Concert Band

 

• Bingo Night to benefit Martin Arts

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Civic Engagement

• Three of our members who are veterans participated in the GFWC Florida President’s Project, A Flight of Honor, which recognized female veterans in our state by flying them to Washington, D.C., to see the monuments and thank them for their service. They were accompanied by two chaperones from our club.

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• Stars and Stripes Art Night to benefit the President’s Flight of Honor Project

 

• Sponsored an Honor Flight, which recognizes veterans by flying them to Washington, D.C. to see the monuments and thank them for their service.

 

• Collected non-perishable goods for the Treasure Coast Food Bank and Compassion House

 

• Hosted women of the Armed Services at our November meeting/luncheon

 

• Participated in the Stuart Memorial Day and Veterans Day Parades along with 2 WWII veterans and a WWII war widow.

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• Hosted birthday parties with lunch and gifts for ladies from the Refuge Ranch, a residential facility for women struggling to overcome drug and alcohol addiction

 

• Provided meals for residents of Molly’s House. Molly's House offers comfortable and affordable accommodations to patients who are receiving outpatient medical treatment and to their families.

       

• Members participated in National Wreaths Across America Day laying wreaths on  veterans’ graves.

 

Education

•   Members read to preschoolers at the Gertrude Walden Child Care Center and collected school supplies. The Gertrude Walden Center provides daycare for low-income families, offering an engaging curriculum so that all children develop a positive outlook toward school and a lifelong love of learning.

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• Members read to and tutor at-risk children and work in the store  at The 4 C’s (Caring Children Clothing Children). In addition, we provided 400 children's books for their library. 4 C’s strives to provide top quality, gently used clothing and a ​helping hand towards literacy to underprivileged children in Martin County, Florida, all at no cost.

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• Donated $1,000 to the Martin County SPAM (Speed, Power, and Maneuverability) Robotics Team. SPAM inspires high school students to become science, technology, and engineering leaders through a mentor-based program where they design, fabricate, build, program, and test robots for national robotics competitions.

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• Adopted 5 classrooms in area schools

 

• Delivered Teacher Appreciation lunches and soft drinks to teachers and staff at 2 schools that do not have PTAs.

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Environment

• Hosted multiple cleanups at Stuart Beaches

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• Participated in creating oyster restorations, seagrass mats, and other projects with Florida Oceanographic Institute

      

• Provides ongoing information and contacts legislators about environmental topics such as recycling, clean water, and toxic chemicals

 

Health and Wellness​

• Participated in Making Strides Breast Cancer walk raising over $4,000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation

• Alzheimer’s walk raised over $2,500

 

• Held a healing Drum Circle 

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• Volunteer for Meals on Wheels

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• Hosted a Quarter Auction supporting community vendors and raised over $1,300 for club projects

 

In addition, we provided monetary donations to a number of GFWC-endorsed organizations:

•   Heifer International

•   March of Dimes

•   Operation Smile

•   Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA)

•   St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

•   UNICEF USA

•   UN Foundation Shot @Life Campaign

•   GFWC Success for Survivors Scholarship

•   GFWC "Run for the Roses" Capital Campaign

•   GFWC Florida - Arts4All Florida

•   GFWC Florida - Canine Companions for Independence

•   GFWC Florida - Scholarship for Women

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Awards at GFWC Florida State Competition

•   Honor Score for accumulating at least 100 points by participating in community service

•   1st place for fundraising

•   1st place (2021) and 2nd place (2023) for our website. 2nd place internationally in 2021.

•   3rd place for our newsletter

•   1st place in two divisions of the Arts Competition for two of our members