As the autumn leaves begin to change, Tolland Junior Women is initiating some changes of its own. The most noticeable is that we will now be known as Tolland Community Women (TCW). You don’t need an invitation to join, and all women 18 years and older may join at any time throughout the year.
The club continues to focus on improving the quality of life in Tolland through service projects and donations to benefit the schools, library, emergency services, human services, seniors and youths, and supporting the efforts of other non-profit organizations. A total of $10,000 was distributed in June at their annual Donations Meeting.
Individual members have the opportunity to put their creativity and skills to good use, develop leadership skills, and enjoy the comaraderie of working together toward common goals. To allow more time for members to mingle, this year meetings will be shorter, and in some cases replaced by social events. The number of board meetings per year has also been reduced.
For the fall, the members have chosen to participate in several community projects. They will have a booth at the Celebrate Tolland Festival to be held on September 15 at Tolland High School, including a simple craft for children, and a membership drive with information about the club and some special give-aways.
In October, Tolland Community Women will be donating 500 bags for the Trick-or-Treat event run by the Tolland Recreation Department, and the Tolland Juniorettes (a community service group affiliated with TCW for girls ages 9-18) will assist by pre-filling the bags with a few donated items collected by TCW from local businesses.
The groups will also be sponsoring a parent-child Harvest Dance for fifth graders at Tolland Intermediate School on October 26. This well-attended event includes a DJ, complimentary refreshments, a glow-jewelry sale, and UCONN basket raffle drawing.
December brings the return of a popular community FUNdraiser revived last year by the club to the delight of many Tolland families! They will be hosting a SNACK WITH SANTA event on December 1 at Crandall’s Lodge. For a small entrance fee, each child will receive a “passport” to various craft and snack activities, including a personal visit on Santa’s lap and a free digital photo to take home. The club will also hold its annual ornament sale, with free personalization at the event. Stocking stuffers will also be sold. Remaining inventory will then be available at the Homestead through Christmas.
New officers for 2012-13 were installed in June at the end-of-year banquet held at the Altnaveigh Inn and Restaurant in Mansfield.
President- Minna DiBella
Mentor President- Linda Byam
Vice President/Ways and Means- Kathy Aldrich
Membership Officer- Linda Domingos
Recording Secretary- Jen Krasusky
Corresponding Secretary- open
Treasurer- Alison Haigis
Leadership Officer- Betty-Lou Griffin
This is going to be an exciting year for Tolland Community Women as we refine and improve our organization. Look for us at Celebrate Tolland, visit our website (tollandjuniorwomen.org) or call Linda at 860-870-9418 to find out more about us. Visitors are always welcome at our meetings.
Come join the fun, or re-join us. Impact your community; Impact your life!
