Civic Engagement & Outreach
SIREN Holiday Tea
The Tea began in 2007 and in 2016 GFWC-Charlotte took over the organization of the annual SIREN Tea. The Tea, is a holiday tea, held in November of every year that raises money for both the SIREN/Eaton Shelter and GFWC-Charlotte. The Tea began in 2007. SIREN/Eaton Shelter is our local Domestic Violence and Homeless Shelter, a non-profit agency that assists with emergency and transitional shelter, support services, and a 24-hour crisis line to families in Eaton County. Support at the Holiday Tea comes in the form of purchasing a table for ninety six dollars and decorating it for the annual event. A luncheon is served. Prizes are awarded in different categories: Most elegant, seasonal/holiday, most unique, traditional, people’s choice and best of show. The event also features a silent auction of items donated by club members. To date over $77,000 has been raised to help SIREN/Eaton Shelter from the Holiday Tea!
Bay Cliff Health Camp
Bay Cliff is a non-profit, non-denominational summer therapy center located on 170 acres of land along Lake Superior near Big Bay in Marquette County. It serves physically handicapped children ranging in age from 3 through 17. Founded in 1934, it now has 50 buildings used for housing and program facilities. The camp enrolls approximately 200 children for a seven-week summer session. Bay Cliff is an endorsed GFWC MI project since 1998. Contributions are reported on a treasurer report form and mailed to GFWC MI. They have an open house on the third Tuesday of July for GFWC members.
To learn more, visit the Bay Cliff Health Camp website.
Christmas Kiddies Gift Wrapping
Club members go to the main fire station and help wrap presents to be delivered to needy families on Christmas Eve. The wrapping event is usually held on the 2nd Saturday in December. Visit the Charlotte Fire Department to learn about the history of Christmas Kiddies, which has been a Charlotte tradition since 1906!
International Day of Service
The International Day of Service is observed by GFWC clubs across the world in September. The Chair of this committee organizes volunteers to support the yearly national focus. In 2025 the theme will be domestic and sexual violence. There will be eight possible areas to consider: Campus Sexual Assault, Child Abuse, Elder Abuse, Human Trafficking for sexual Purposes, Intimate Partner Violence, Military Sexual Assault, Teen Dating Violence, and Violence Against Native American Women. The next International Day of Service will be held on September 27, 2025.
For the 2024 International Day of Service, club members collected hygiene and non-perishable food items for Helping Hands on outside of Dollar Tree. The response was tremendous! We collected 232 pounds of food and $146.48 in donations. Amanda Thompson, Director of Helping Hands greatly appreciated the donations from our community.
Guiding Harbor
Girlstown was founded by the General Federation of Women’s Club of Michigan in 1958. What began as Girlstown, providing quality residential services to young female victims of abuse and neglect, has expanded to include all child victims, and has become Guiding Harbor. As Guiding Harbor, we are continuing our residential program for girls while offering hope to abused boys and girls through our foster care placements. Our Supervised Independent Living program offers a safety net for young adults as they begin the process of living on their own. A major fundraiser for Guiding Harbor is their extremely successful Annual Auction usually held in November. For more information, visit their website https://guidingharbor.org/.
Legislative Alerts
Members sign up to receive Legislative Alerts from GFWC. This is one of the easiest things we can do to support GFWC’s advocacy goals. By signing up, you receive occasional email alerts when there is a new legislative policy that needs our support. GFWC Legislative Priorities are voted on by a bipartisan group of delegates from State Federations each year. Current priorities include domestic violence prevention, online safety for children, access to vaccines, research funding for Alzheimer's, services for disabled veterans, funding to address food insecurity, and more. You can select which policies to take action on. It’s as easy as typing in your name, email, and street address, and GFWC will send a prepared message on your behalf to your representatives.
To sign up for the alerts, visit www.gfwc.org/get-involved. On the right side of the screen, under Sign Up For Alerts, enter your email address and zip code, then click the arrow to continue. On the next page, enter your name, club name, and street address, then click Save.
