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Branchburg Woman’s Club |
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A fun way to help the community since 1960. |
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Current and Recent Projects |
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BWC Booth at the Branchburg Country Fair |
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At the Branchburg Country Fair held for one day in September at White Oak Park, fairgoers have the opportunity to meet some members of the Branchburg Woman’s Club and learn about membership, fun club activities, and projects. This year’s fair will be Saturday, September 25. The rain date will be Sunday. To read about the country fair, see the fair’s Web site at http://www.branchburgcountryfair.com/ |
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Shop Online While Helping BWC’s Philanthropic Fund |
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Starting in 1988, the Branchburg Woman’s Club has held a craft event to raise money for the club’s philanthropic fund. The Branchburg Woman's Club’s Craft Fair will be held Saturday, November 13, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the gymnasium of Whiton Elementary School, 470 Whiton Road, Branchburg (08853). Besides the club's popular bake sale, lunch and refreshments will be available for purchase. Door prizes! Free admission and parking. Crafter contracts are only available via Joan at (908) 369-4376. Craft table rental is $35 for the fair. Many categories fill up quickly so call soon. No vendors or product representatives allowed. *MapQuest.com Map: http://tinyurl.com/3cw7wo (*This map is informational only. No representation is made or warranty given as to its content. User assumes all risk of use. MapQuest and the Branchburg Woman’s Club assume no responsibility for any loss or delay resulting from such use.) Thank you for your continued support. |
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BWC’s Annual Craft Fund-raiser Event |
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Without extra cost, you can turn your online purchases into generous acts that help the Branchburg Woman’s Club’s Philanthropic Fund by registering and shopping online via www.iGive.com/BWCPF anytime. Over 700 online merchants are in the Mall at iGive.com, like Macy’s, FTD.com, Sears, Barnes & Noble, Eddie Bauer, Zales, Cabela’s, HSN.com, QVC.com, Lands' End, JC Penney, eBay, REI, Target, PETsMART, Expedia, Harry and David, and many others. By shopping via http://www.iGive.com/BWCPF, a donation equaling up to 26% of each qualifying purchase will be donated to the Branchburg Woman’s Club’s Charitable Donations and Student Awards Fund. Plus, your free personalized and private iGive page has useful links and helpful stats of your donations along with confirmation numbers. For details, see www.iGive.com/BWCPF/ (Click on the animated “Help Your Community” button on the left to go quickly to the club’s iGive page.) Participation as a BWC iGive.com supporter is free. The BWC and the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs are 501(c)(3) organizations in accordance with the IRS Code. |
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Recognizing the importance of education and philanthropy, the Branchburg Woman’s Club bestows awards on local students and supports a variety of community service programs and charitable projects. |
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BWC’s Philanthropic Fund |
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In an effort to encourage early literacy, the Branchburg Woman’s Club (BWC) started a read-aloud project in early February 2004 at Branchburg’s Whiton Elementary School. The club has a tradition of promoting education by means of student awards and other related activities. |
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Read-Aloud to Promote Literacy Project |
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Annual Food Drive for Local Food Bank September 25 |
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The club’s food drive project has been held each fall since 1999. The project benefits the Food Bank Network of Somerset County. Non-perishable food donations are collected by the club at Branchburg’s Country Fair under the big tent until 4:30 p.m. |
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School Board Candidates’ Night |
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In late March or early April, the Branchburg Woman’s Club typically presents a free forum for the public to ask questions of the candidates running for seats on Branchburg's Board of Education. The women's club pays to have the event televised on local access TV, Comcast Ch.14 and Verizon Ch.46. 2010’s event will be held 7:30 p.m. April 5 and the Board of Education election will be April 20. Four candidates are running for the three 3-year terms. The last day to register to vote in this election was Tuesday, March 30, 2009. Applications for an mail-in ballot may be obtained at the county’s Board of Elections office or the Township Clerk’s office. Applications had to be received by Tuesday, April 13, 2010. April 19, 2010 (3 p.m.) is the deadline to personally hand in an absentee ballot application to the Somerset County Clerk's office, 20 Grove Street, Somerville. |
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Club Meeting and Membership Inquiries: 908-866-1060 bQQwc4me “at” QQspamex.com. Remove all Q’s and spaces. |
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Help the BWC Knit for the Warm Up America! Foundation |
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Knitting for a Purpose, a group within the Branchburg Woman's Club, is making afghans to donate to the Warm Up America! Foundation, a 501-c-3 nonprofit organization. On behalf of the club, this charity will give the afghans to people who are in need of warmth and comfort due to natural disasters or personal calamities. Beneficiaries may have lost their homes, escaped abusive situations, or are being cared for in hospitals, nursing homes, or by Hospice. Since 1991, the Warm Up America! Foundation has helped tens of thousands of people thanks to the generous donations of knitters across the country. Inspired to help this cause, Branchburg Woman’s Club members have found yet another way to make a difference. Once a month during the school year, interested Branchburg Woman’s Club members and friends have been meeting to knit or crochet 7 inch x 9 inch rectangles, which are later combined into colorful afghans. As of May, they have completed eight afghans, which have been shipped to the Foundation. The Branchburg Woman’s Club invites the community to donate 7” x 9” knitted or crocheted rectangles to the club’s on-going project. For this purpose, a wicker collection bin has been placed inside the Township of Branchburg’s main building. Donations of yarn, knitting needles, or crochet hooks also are welcome. The club thanks the public for their continued support and help. Like Warm Up America! Foundation, the BWC is a nonprofit organization and has a mission to help people. For more information about the Warm Up America! Foundation, visit its Website at http://WarmUpAmerica.org/. For questions about the BWC's Knitting for a Purpose group, call (908) 303-9306 or email the club. |
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As a community service, the Branchburg Woman’s Club (BWC) designed and commissioned refrigerator magnets to be given to Branchburg residents free of charge at community events. Printed in the colors of the United States’ flag, these custom imprinted magnets list important telephone numbers and local information that community members might appreciate having quick access to in various situations and find useful for many years. They also list a telephone number for club membership inquiries. One of several club awards won in recent years, this project won a certificate of merit from the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Club’s Fourth District* as “Best All Around Work in the District Reported in the Community Improvement Program”. (*As a result of the recent district redistribution, the club is now part of the College District.) |
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Branchburg “Who to Contact” Refrigerator Magnet |
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Thanks to the generosity of the community and the BWC members, the club's Children's Book Drive of October 2009 was a big success. On October 24, the club delivered over 1,300 children's books to an under resourced school in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The club's community project was part of the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Club's Make a Difference Day and the General Federation of Women's Club's National Day of Service. In New Jersey, participating women's clubs collected a grand total of 42,376 children's books to help needy elementary school children and schools in New Jersey. Thanks to everyone who donated books and time to this worthwhile project.
As part of NJSFWC's Operation Christmas Stocking 2009, volunteer members of the Branchburg Woman's Club put together eleven large gift stockings filled with thoughtful items for our country's troops. The NJSFWC shipped these gift stockings to our armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan for the holidays. |
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Other Recent BWC Humanitarian Projects |
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The second weekend of October, the woman's club hosts a part of Somerset County's Weekend Journey through the Past at the Little Red Schoolhouse, located at 2120 South Branch Road, near Studdiford Drive. The schoolhouse is the primary meeting place of the club and officially named the South Branch School. It is one of the thirteen historic sites on the weekend's free central county tour. Photos from the schoolhouse's past and other memorabilia typically are on display from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday and from noon – 5 p.m. Sunday. While supplies last, color photo note cards of the schoolhouse with its belfry will be on sale for $5 per set as a BWC philanthropic community fund-raiser. The 2-day event is sponsored by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission and several local organizations. Additional information about the historical sites and a related contest may be found at http://www.schistoryweekend.com/. |
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Journey Through the Schoolhouse’s Past Weekend |
