WCI Delivers

GFWC Woman's Club of Indio

March 2024 Volume 8, Issue 3

www.wcindio/home

GFWC WOMAN’S CLUB OF INDIO IS A PROUD MEMBER OF CFWC AND GFWC

The California Federation of Women’s Clubs (CFWC) is a statewide non-profit service organization with 10,000 members. Its motto, “Strength United in Service,” reminds us that more can be accomplished when we unite our efforts to serve others.

The General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) is an international organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service. Founded in 1890, and with clubs in every state, Washington, D. C., and more than a dozen countries, GFWC members transform lives every day.

Leadership: Officer Reports

President's Message March 2024

Only a few days remain before we gather to welcome our members, guests, sponsors, and donors to our signature fundraiser of the year. I look forward to seeing your creative outfits, and I know we will have a wonderful time!  

We’ll have plenty of time to regroup before our General Meeting on Wednesday, March 6th, so if you have not done so already, make your reservation for lunch today. Our Nominating Committee will present the slate of officers for next term, and our speaker will be Sue Steding from Indio Rotary, who will talk about how YOU can assist with their annual Math Field Day.  

We also have a March De Anza District event, which I hope you will consider attending. On Monday, March 18th, we will travel to Riverside for our final Conference of the year. If you have never attended a District Conference, please join us or plan to attend our De Anza District Convention in Corona on April 6th where District awards will be presented and Mickie Reed will be installed as District President.

I look forward to seeing all of you in your Mardi Gras finest and Happy St. Patrick’s Day later in the month. Remember, the HARDER you work, the LUCKIER you get! 

President, Marlon Carrier 

2024/2026

WCI Board Election

Timeline & Next Steps

We are well on our way in the process to elect our new Executive Board! 

At our March General meeting, we will receive the Report of the Nominating Committee. In April, we will publish the Candidates’ Statements and at our General Meeting will conduct our election. Our Installation of Officers will take place in May or October at the discretion of our new President.  

The Time Is Here

Renew, Renew, Renew!

Membership Dues

Claire Whitney, Treasurer

It’s that time of year to renew your membership before March 15, 2024. Renewing your membership entitles you to another year of community service, fun, and friendship.

You can pay the $100 yearly dues by going to our website, womansclubofindio.org, and selecting “Membership” at the top of the home page. Click “Join Today,” and scrolling down, you’ll find “Annual Dues” and then “Renew Membership.” This leads to a form to fill out. Don’t forget to finish the renewal process by completing the PayPal page.

You can also pay by check made payable to WCI at the March 6, 2024, meeting or by mailing a check to Claire Whitney, PO Box 1503, Indio, CA 92202-1503.

1st VP/Dean

Christal Cansino

In-Kind Donations

True Fact: In-kind donations are gently used items with approximately a 30% decrease in value. You can include in-kind donations when you report your monthly hours and donations. Do you know how to value them?

You can find a guide here: GFWC In-Kind Donation Guide.

This will guide you to a low to high range of the estimated worth of many items based on information provided by the Salvation Army. For other guides, search “donation value.” Use approximately 30% of the original price if you cannot find an item. If you bought an item to donate to a club project, use the amount you paid.

3rd VP/Fundraising

Sylvia Baran

It’s almost time! We will be just a few short days away from our fantastic event when you receive this email. We accomplished a lot to get to this point and are excited about everything we planned.

The decorations committee will be working hard on Friday, March 1st, getting everything set up so that we can let the good times roll when doors open on Saturday! Anyone who wants to help with set up the day before, assist the day of the event, or help break things down after the event, we’ll be pleased to hear from you and have your help.

I want to take a minute to thank our extraordinarily generous sponsors for partnering with us this year. We have received AMAZING support from our community and members, and it’s because of these sponsorships, we will achieve our fundraising goals and more. We have several returning sponsors (indicated with an asterisk), and, as I mentioned at our last meeting, we have several VERY generous WCI members (in purple font) who deserve recognition and our thanks as well. Please take a moment to thank these sponsors and let them know their support is incredibly appreciated!

Dr. Frank and Christine L. Curry*

Trilogy La Quinta Community Services*

Desert Care Network

Henigan Family Trust*

Handler Family Trust

Contour Dermatology*

Fiesta Ford & Fiesta Kia*

Unicars Honda*

Associa Desert Resort Management*

Senior Living Options of the Desert*

City of Indio*

Janet Hartzler-Braslow

Finally, invite your friends and their friends to register to attend. We still have room for attendees and the more people who attend our event increases the likelihood that we will achieve our goal. The last day we can take new reservations is on Wednesday. As I mentioned last month, we set an energetic fundraising goal of $50,000! 

Wear your best Mardi Gras mask or outfit and plan on having a great time. We’re almost there. Whoop whoop!

Thank you so very much for all that you do.

Sylvia Baran

3rd Vice President

(760) 641-1313

Donate Now to the Fundraiser

At No Cost to You

Rosalind Miller, Chair

Good news, if you need some motivation to de-clutter and get a start on spring cleaning, here is your chance. WCI would love all those items that you are ready to part with for our raffle and silent auction.

Let’s make this year’s fundraiser the best one yet. Laissez les bons temp rouler.

Contact Rosalind Miller at 760-333-2374.

The Wine Surprise! Committee Needs More Wine ASAP!  

Peggy Mathieson, Education & Libraries Chair 

Please donate one or more bottles valued at $15 or more each before the fundraiser, or make a monetary donation of any amount by check or online at our donation page at https://www.womansclubofindio.org/pp-donate-on-home-page.aspx. Please note on the donation form that your donation is for Wine Surprise!

Remember - always hidden in one of the lovely wine bags is at least one bottle of wine valued at $50 or more. Without sufficient donations, we will have less money for our charitable programs, which is the point of having Wine Surprise! Donate now to help us help those less fortunate in our community.

The Short List

Upcoming Events

📌Beginning of March, please report volunteer hours and contributions to Christal Cansino, dean@womansclubofindio.org. You may report 2 hours if you flew the flag on Monday, February 19th, Presidents Day.

📌Board Meeting via Zoom: Thursday, February 29th, 5:30 p.m.

🎉 Annual Fundraiser, Saturday, March 2nd

📌 General Meeting: Wednesday, March 6th        

• Social time 11:30 a.m., lunch and meeting 12:00-1:00 p.m.
• Guest Speaker: Sue Steding, Rotary Math Field Day
• Publication of Slate of Officers
• Collection for CVRM and Galilee: Small kids’ items for Easter baskets and monetary donations. Complete list of items in Community Action Column. Please, no baskets or hard candies.
• Collection: Penny Pines
• Pay your $100 yearly dues if you have not done so

📌De Anza District/CFWC Photography Contest Deadline for submitting Entry Form and Creative Waiver is Monday, March 11th. See article below for forms.

📌Fill Spring Baskets Assembly Workshop: NEW DATE - Saturday, March 16th, 10:00-11:30 a.m., Heritage Palms Heritage Room; supplies and snacks provided. RSVP health@womansclubofindio.org. 

📌De Anza Conference and Photography Contest: Monday, March 18th, 9:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Riverside

📌CVRM Meal Service: Saturday, March 23rd, 10:00-11:30 a.m. Prep and serve meals. Sign up at General Meeting or RSVP

health@womansclubofindio.org.

📌WCI Delivers April Newsletter published Tuesday, March 26th

📌Board Meeting via Zoom: March 28, 5:30 p.m.

📌Galilee Center: March volunteer opportunities: Contact ltorres@galileecenter.org. 

📌De Anza District Arts & Crafts Contest Deadline: Entry Form due no later than Saturday, March 30th. See article below for Entry Form and information.

SAVE THE DATE

General Meeting: Wednesday, April 3rd, Social time 11:30 a.m., lunch and meeting 12:00-1:00 p.m.

• Election of Officers
• Bingo
• Collection: Galilee spring clothing and diaper drive

📌De Anza District Convention:  Saturday, April 6th; Woman’s Improvement Club of Corona clubhouse

• Mickie Reed’s Installation as De Anza District President 
• Arts & Crafts Contest 
• See article In the Federation section for agenda, menu, and bylaws changes

📌CVRM Women’s Life Program: Saturday, April 13th, 10:00-11:30 a.m. Kids reading and art projects. Sign up at General Meeting or RSVP health@womansclubofindio.org.

📌ESO: April 16th, 6:00 p.m., potluck at Shelley Diemer's house with guest speaker, author Peter Bedard

📌CVRM Meal Service: Saturday, April 27th; prep and serve meals. Sign up at General Meeting or RSVP health@womansclubofindio.org.

Meetings and Programs for 2023-2024

Indio Rotary 

Math Field Day

Saturday, April 20th

8:00 a.m. to noon

The speaker for our March meeting will be Sue Steding, who represents Indio Rotary. Sue will discuss and answer your questions about Rotary Math Field Day held on Saturday, April 20th, at John Glenn Middle School in Indio.

Middle school students from across the Coachella Valley prepare months in advance to participate as teams against other schools in math events and games. Last year, several of our members volunteered to assist with this event as graders and proctors. Please join us again this year as we support this event co-planned by Indio Rotary with Desert Sands Unified School District.  

Learn more about this event and how you can help on March 6th. Sign up to participate before April 1st, 2024, via email to Marlon Carrier, president@womansclubofindio.org, or at our March General Meeting. Your information will be passed along to Sue to provide specific details.  

Leadership: Chair Reports

Community Action

Marcia Daniels, Chair

Our Annual Spring Easter Basket Project is just around the corner!! This year, we will collect and fill 300 baskets for kids at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission (CVRM) and the Galilee Center (GC). There are two distinct ways to participate in this FUN ACTIVITY.

FIRST, all members are invited to donate kid-sized items to fill the baskets (see the list below) or make a monetary donation, and we will "hoppily" shop for you. You can bring items and money to the March 6th General Meeting. Alternatively, you can send or deliver the items to Marcia Daniels, 39575 Calle Zavala Indio, CA 92203, or contact health@womansclubofindio.org for pickup of items between now and March 14th, or donate moneys by mailing to PO Box 1503, Indio, CA 92202-1503, or by clicking here.

2024 WISHLIST FOR CVRM & GALILEE EASTER BASKETS

Easter grass, healthy wrapped treats (no hard candy),  plastic eggs handheld toys, small books, doll figures, bubbles, activity books & kits, handheld games, card games, coloring books, stickers, handheld puzzles, art supplies (e.g., kits, drawing pads, crayons, pens, pencils, markers, paint), action figures, sports items (e.g., small balls, jump ropes)

******Please note that as of February 27th, we have enough baskets and stuffed animals for this year’s assembly and distribution. If you donate items, we prefer you choose from the list above. Any additional baskets or stuffed animals we receive will be given to CVRM or GC but not as part of the 300-basket assembly.

SECOND, all members are invited to help fill the baskets at our Spring Basket Assembly Event at Heritage Palms in the Heritage Room on (New Date) Saturday, March 16th, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. You definitely will have FUN!! We will provide all supplies, snacks, and drinks. Please RSVP to health@womansclubofindio.org or sign up at the General Meeting on March 6th so we know how many snacks and drinks to bring.

We also want to highlight these other spring volunteer activities, including:

…..March 23rd CVRM Meal Prep and Service

…..March/April dates TBA: Galilee Center Volunteer Service Projects

…..April 13th CVRM Women’s Life Program: Reading and Art Project for children

…..April 27th CVRM Meal Prep and Meal Service

For questions and to RSVP for these events, contact Marcia at health@womansclubofindio.org. 

Arts & Culture

Victoria Rutherford, Chair

Located just minutes from El Paseo Drive in Palm Desert, Imago Galleries is a stylish, contemporary, 1800 sq ft building set apart from a residential neighborhood on Highway 74. Inside, a gigantic Dale Chihuly glass sculpture lets you know you’re in for something unique.

Currently, the contemporary exhibitions include a Sinatra room, mixed media, photography, couture, sculpture, etchings, and much more. (Check out Ed Benavente’s “Self Made Man.") Every item is beautifully displayed, unique, and for sale.

The Sinatra Gallery displays 12 or so oil on canvas paintings donated by Barbara Sinatra. Frank took up painting as a hobby after his retirement. Most of his works are colorful abstracts. It’s possible that many of his works hang in the homes of his friends right here in Coachella Valley.

Also in the Sinatra Gallery are several installations by Matt Elson, a noted artist and digital creator. Called “Infinity Boxes,” these are beautiful, large, free-standing embellished cubes that invite the viewer to look inside the box—from any one of its four sides—and see mirrored reflections that are surprising and thought-provoking. It’s always fun to be encouraged to touch something in an art gallery.

Imago Galleries is a very do-able experience—so much to see and not overwhelming. It’s a great place to spend an hour and sit in its 1600 sq ft outdoor sculpture garden. After a fun and inspiring afternoon, there’s still plenty of time to find a great happy hour venue on El Paseo.

Imago Galleries

45-450 Highway 74

Palm Desert CA 92260

Phone 760-776-9890

Hours: noon to 5 pm, Tuesday-Saturday

Email: info@imagogalleries.com

De Anza District Competitions Coming Soon!

Enter Now

Peg Boortz, De Anza District Arts & Culture Chair



Step 1, Photography Contest: Scroll through the countless photographs on your phone and select a favorite.

Arts & Crafts Contest: Select a drawing, needlepoint work, jewelry, or any project in the Arts & Crafts categories.

Step 2: Email or mail the forms to Peg. Ta da! Your work is officially entered in a contest. Good luck! We hope you win. 

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

Only photos taken in 2023

Entry form and Creative Waiver due to Peg Boortz by March 11th.

Winning CFWC category photographs will be sent to CFWC Contest in April. 

ARTS & CRAFTS CONTEST

Work could be completed in any year.

Send Entry Form to Peg Boortz by March 30, 2024.

Click on the links below to find complete instructions and forms for each contest.

Civic Engagement

Margaret Nieto, Chair

Communication

Desert Sun to Publicize Our Fundraiser

Reporter/photographer from the Desert Sun newspaper, Carole Stephen-Smith, will attend our Mardi Gras Party Fundraiser. This is a great opportunity to get some publicity for our club and an article in the newspaper. Smile when you see her!

Education and Libraries

Peggy Mathieson, Chair

ESO

Epsilon Sigma Omicron Literary Society

Ellen Cafferata, Chair

Please join us for a potluck ESO dinner as we welcome guest speaker and local resident Peter Bedard, author of Convergence Healing and Billy and the Anxiety Monster: A Grown-up Book for Your Inner Child, our first books in the Self-Help category.

We will meet at Shelley Diemer's home at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, to discuss the books with Mr. Bedard. Please bring an appetizer to share. Shelley will provide the main dish. Shelley's address is 49577 Beatty Street in Indian Palms Country Club in Indio. Please RSVP via the Calendar in the Membership Portal, as we will need to give a list of attendees to the gate guard (we'll send a reminder, too).

We are looking forward to seeing you for a fun evening of delicious food and a lively discussion with Peter Bedard.

ESO for Everyone

 March is National Reading Month

In honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, March is designated as National Reading Month - a month to motivate Americans of all ages to read every day.

Project for April

April 12th is the day to honor Beverly Cleary’s birthday. She is a well-known children’s author. Plan to read one of her books to a child - for example, Romana Quimby, Age 8, from the Romona series.

Environment

Yard of the Month

Bernadette Subia-Martinez

Recognition Chair

80576 Hoylake, Indio 92201

Congratulations, Ms Flynn, for being the first to get Yard of the Month a second time. The first time was in August 2021. 👏 On this overcast day, Ms. Flynn was a ray of sunshine when speaking about her yard. When she said, “I love my yard,” I shared with Ms. Flynn that so do our WCI members. 

2022-2024 Officer and Chair Contact Information

Membership

Care & Concern

Gail Sand

You may remember that Gail broke her leg and elbow in a fall last August. More recently, an MRI showed that she broke her coccyx and a second bone in her spine as a result of another fall. She is bedridden most of the time while waiting for a medical “cement” injection in her lower back on March 11th. When not at work, her daughter helps her. Please send get well cards to Gail Sand at 44418 Royal Lytham Drive, Indio, CA 92201.

Volunteer Spirit

Thirteen of our members met on Saturday, February 10th, to decorate cards and envelopes with hearts and Valentine’s Day good wishes for Desert Mountain Care Center residents. Marcia Daniels, Community Action Chair in charge of the workshop, provided all materials, including cookies and donuts. Peggy Mathieson created a soundtrack of romantic songs for our entertainment while we worked on the cards. Earning gold stars for participating were Sylvia Rios, Trish Lounsbury, Heidi Graham, Reiko Simmons, Barbara Thomas, Marcia Meakim, Pat Ruth, Shelley Diemer, Peg Boortz, Mickie Reed, and her friend Kimberly Roberts.              

An article in last month’s newsletter told about Project Warrior Bonnie Tucker’s Girls Love Mail meeting, where members wrote notes of encouragement to women newly diagnosed with cancer. Since that meeting, Marlon Carrier, Bonnie Tucker, Marcia Meakim, Millie Luszczak, Lorraine Velona, Helen Vigil, Marcia Daniels, Peg Boortz and others wrote more notes for the non-profit organization that will send our messages to hospitals nationwide. 

A round of applause, please, for our members who volunteered at the CV Rescue Mission. Marcia Daniels, Shelley Diemer, Barbara Thomas, and Michelle Krapf worked hard at prepping food and serving meals. On February 17th, Marcia Meakim, Heidi Graham, Michelle Krapf, Shelley Diemer, and Marcia Daniels helped children with their cookie decorating. See the fun in the photo gallery.

Dear Bonnie,

Our thanks to you and your group for your Girls Love Mail contribution! We received your package and are excited to get your kind words out to a woman in need. We appreciate you organizing everyone together to help GLM!

"Giving out the letters touches my heart. I get hugs, tears, smiles, and gratitude from our patients!" - Deana V., Oncology Nurse 

Again, thank you for your hard work and please pass along our gratitude to all of the letter writers. Your efforts are greatly appreciated!

Best,

Nancy 

Nancy Shaw, Volunteer Coordinator

Girls Love Mail

193 Blue Ravine Rd., Suite 120

Folsom, CA 95630

Moment in Time

Women’s History 

WCI’s NEWSLETTER HISTORY 

Peg Boortz, Editor

Beginning in February 2016, I wrote WCI's first six newsletters with the Board’s permission. Joan Dzuro's President's Message was the first column added to the newsletter, and she wrote ten articles before moving out of state. Presidents Lindy Duranceau and Mickie Reed and I continued writing the newsletter for four years before others joined the newsletter staff. Bernadette Subia-Martinez gets credit for being the first chair to sign on in June 2020 with her Yard of the Month articles. The following month saw the beginning of 1st VP Marlon Carrier's articles, and 3rd/VP Sylvia Baran's Website and Fundraising column began in October of that year. The newsletter's new name, WCI Delivers, debuted in September 2022. More Officers, Chairs, and Project Champions added columns each year. We now have, on average, fifteen contributors: Marlon Carrier-President, 1st VP-Christal Cansino, 2nd VP-Marlena Hernandez, 3rd VP-Sylvia Baran, Treasurer-Claire Whitney, Advocates for Children-Rosalind Miller, Arts & Culture-Victoria Rutherford, Civic Engagement-Margaret Nieto, Community Action-Marcia Daniels, Domestic Violence-Barbara Fairbairn, Wine Surprise!/Education & Libraries (what a combination that is)-Peggy Mathieson, Environment-Bernadette Subia-Martinez, ESO-Ellen Cafferata, District 1st VP & WCI Past President-Mickie Reed, and Galilee Center-Susan Everett. The more voices heard, the more comprehensive and professional the newsletter. Thank you, those who participate in making WCI Delivers an outstanding newsletter, and thank you, dear readers, for tuning in.

Birthdays & Anniversaries

March Birthdays

Amelia Calderon - 1st

Maryann Herman - 6th

Susan Spires - 10th

Sophia Franz - 12th

Marcia Daniels-15th

Katie Berger - 18th

Christine Curry-19th

Nola Flynn - 19th

Gloria Beauregard - 20th

Eileen Bunch - 29th

Janice Bowman - 30th

March Anniversaries

Gretchen Perez - 4 years 

Angela Friedrichs - 3 three 

Nola Flynn - 2 years 

Avi Rodriguez - 2 years 

Candy Dravage - 1 year 

Betsy Eisenman -1 year 

Barbara Fairbairn - 1 year 

Lorraine Velona -1year

Photo Galleries

Federation

De Anza District Conference

The final District Conference for the year will be held at the Riverside Woman’s Club clubhouse on Monday, March 18th. The deadline for signing up is Tuesday, March 5th via our web calendar. Featured will be a speaker from Operation Safe House, bylaws changes review, and the world famous Photography Contest. Attached are the Call (agenda), bylaws, and menu. See De Anza District Contests Coming Soon article above for photography information and forms.

De Anza District 

67th Annual Convention

Finding New Roads By Connecting the Dots*

The De Anza District Convention will be held at the Woman’s Improvement Club of Corona’s clubhouse on Saturday, April 6th. Registration, Arts & Crafts Contest check-in, and raffle baskets begin at 9:00 a.m. and the meeting is from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There is a one-day charitable project to make, entertainment, club awards, dynamic guest speaker, CFWC President Barbara Briley-Beard, and most importantly, the installation of Officers when Mickie Reed becomes the District President. A champagne celebration will close the convention.

Registration is $65, which includes breakfast, lunch, a dessert bar, and the one-day project materials. Lunch menu selections will be provided for registrants' choice as we get closer to the event. The deadline for signing up is March 21st. Carpooling will be available. Let’s all go!

*Finding New Roads is District President Alison Eccleston’s theme and Connecting the Dots is incoming President Mickie Reed’s theme.

GFWC HOPE

On February 18th, our Juniorette Club GFWC HOPE members wrote letters for our service members. Their letters will be mailed to Operation Gratitude.  

Mickie Reed

Mickie Reed  diligently and  with great energy worked  her  way  through the board offices to the position of President of the De Anza District. She will be installed on April 6th at the Convention in Corona. Plan to attend to support her as a member of our club and as the new leader of the District.

Volunteers for De Anza Board

The De Anza Board is in need of nominees for: 

1st VP/Dean (must have been a club president)

3rd VP/Federation

Recording Secretary

Financial Secretary

Treasurer

Contact: Claire Whitney, Nomination Committee Member

What’s happening in other clubs?

Read the following publications

to see projects, events, and articles from De Anza District clubs and CFWC.

WCI Delivers is shared with these clubs.

Heritage Palms Maps

We Thank and Support Our Sponsors

 Brought to you by the talented WCI Editorial Staff:

Peg Boortz & Dona LaFrance

www.WCIndio.org

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