About Us
The forerunner of the Woman’s Club of Douglaston was the Woman's Civic Club of Douglaston, established in 1916. It was a vibrant organization with many young, stay-at-home moms. They got organized very quickly with the main emphasis and purpose focused on philanthropic programs or projects to help and care for the Douglas Manor community and its surrounding vicinities. As time went by however, the membership evolved to include working, professional women.
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A lot of information about the Club seems to be missing during the First World War years (1917-1918). As the Club developed and its membership grew, many committees or sub-clubs were formed, although they were all under the umbrella of the Woman’s Club.
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In January 1925, Mrs. A.M. Jenks, on behalf of the Woman's Civic Club, wrote a letter to The Douglaston Civic Association (a.k.a. the Men's Civic Club) stating that “the time has gone by when men and women have found it expedient to do their work separately which has often resulted in very little being done”. She went on to say that “... there might be an advantage in a civic club which combines the interests of all of us as human members of the same community, if you opened your membership to women... the feminine angle, which is often valuable when combined with the masculine angle, can't be beat”.
When Mrs. A.M. Jenks became President of the Woman's Civic Club in October of 1925, upon reading over both the by-laws of the Woman's Civic Club and The Douglaston Civic Association (a.k.a. the Men's Civic Club), she found that they were practically identical in their standing committees and therefore “concluded that it only made for a duplication of effort if not actual work to have the two civic clubs”.
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Taking this obvious duplication into consideration, the Woman's Civic Club decided that the time had come for them to go out of existence as a strictly Civic Club and reorganize along broader lines. A change in name and constitution was adopted by which they became known as the “Woman's Club of Douglaston”.
Our Mission
The Woman’s Club of Douglaston (WCD) is proud of its distinguished heritage, diverse and dedicated membership and unwavering commitment to giving back. Over the years, members have provided volunteer hours and raised funds for a broad range of charities and not-for-profit organizations throughout Douglaston and beyond.
Hard work, however, is not only what we are about. Numerous cultural, civic and social interests are nurtured here on a regular basis including cooking classes, volunteer projects, book clubs, bridge club, fashion shows, day at the races, and garden club projects.
​We respect our tradition but know that women’s lives are different today than when we began over 100 years ago. We’ve made adjustments to the needs, interests and availability of women today.
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We believe all women can embrace who they are, can define their future, and can change the world.
