Women's groups provide support, sense of community

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• Women's groups provide support, sense of community

• The Woman's Club has a long history

When Susan Ewing moved to Richmond in the early 1970s, she noticed a weekly ritual in her neighborhood.

"At about quarter of 2 on Monday, the lady across the street would come out in a suit. She did not drive, so a couple of other ladies would come by to pick her up. I thought, I wonder where she goes all dressed up."

The answer was The Woman's Club, a Richmond institution that began in the 1890s when the idea of independent women was radical. Its weekly programs still continue in the post-feminist era.

Now Ewing, 59, is one of the women who assemble every Monday in the landmark building on West Franklin Street for programs that range from classical art to cutting-edge examples of the green revolution.

"I think it is quite an amazing phenomenon," she said of the club's resilience.

Whether it's The Woman's Club or other varieties of women's clubs, changes in the lives of women have produced changes in the clubs. Many federated women's clubs focus on projects to improve their community rather than programs to enrich the cultural life of their members. Some clubs devote their time to business or political issues. Others promote networking.

Organizations such as the General Federation of Women's Clubs and National Association of Colored Women's Clubs have lost members over the years. Black sororities have gained members.

In other groups, gender lines have blurred. The League of Women Voters and American Association of University Women allow men to be members. Some women have migrated to formerly all-male organizations such as Kiwanis and Rotary.

Time-pressed women may opt for commitment-free groups such as the Richmond Women's Network, which is open to anyone who shows up on a particular week.

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The high point for Virginia women's clubs, as measured by clubs affiliated with the General Federation of Women's Clubs, was 1958, when 24,876 women were members. In 2009, the number of Virginia members was down to 6,300.

The same trend is evident in many other civic groups. Nine years ago, the book "Bowling Alone" documented a 58 percent drop over a quarter-century in the number of people who attend club meetings.

"More Americans are bowling than ever before, but they are not bowling in leagues," wrote Harvard professor and author Robert D. Putnam.

Barbara Roberts, president of federated women's clubs in the central region of the state, said she doesn't see any difference in why women join now compared to when she joined in 1974. She said she doesn't know why fewer women are joining.

"I know some people say it's because more women are working today and have families, and you get overloaded, and something has to go, and unfortunately that's one of the things."

Time demands in two-income households make people more discriminating about where to invest their efforts, according to Greg Melia, vice president of ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership, a group for people who work in organizations. "People want to see a difference in the world. There are many, many more ways to make a difference," Melia said. "They're looking for an opportunity to step in, be involved in a project and go back to their normal life without feeling an obligation to show up next Wednesday night at another meeting."

From an organizational standpoint, "It's not enough to say we organized 100 hours of volunteer labor," he said. "People want to know if that resulted in the right project for the community and if it's making a difference in a way that would not have been accomplished if that organization had not stepped up."

Members also are expecting a return on their investment in the organization, he said. In two-career families, "that means oftentimes what is valued in an assocication or participation is the opportunity to establish connections to fuel them forward.

"It's worth noting that there has been a significant growth in associations that serve women and women's interests. The National Association of Women Business Owners would be one. What's great is that you have groups that are specifically focused on helping women facing challenges today."

Janet R. Hutchinson has studied organizational issues as director of the Public Administration Program at Virginia Commonwealth University's L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

"I do believe women are still seeking each other out and forming organizations, professional in the formal sense and less formal in the fun sense," she said. Women may get together for fun at dinner clubs, book clubs or hobby clubs.

In her own professional life, she said, she's joined the women's section of a larger professional organization.

"I do much more for the section than for the organization as a whole, because we share common interests, common stories. I don't think [women's groups] have gone away, but they've changed to meet the needs of today's women."

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Women join women's clubs "to better their communities," said Kelly Lane, a 15-year-member of Bon Air Junior Woman's Club and past president of junior clubs in the Virginia federation. "I think one of the advantages, where there are women from different aspects of life and jobs and things like that, it's also a networking opportunity. They get to know other people."

To make it easier for women with full-time jobs to participate, many clubs have changed their requirements, but not their purpose, she said. Clubs may incorporate a project into a regular meeting instead of scheduling it separately.

"You can participate when your time allows," Lane said. "It used to be you had to come to so many meetings in a year or be dropped from membership. The goal is to help others in the community, to do what you can.

"My own club meets on Friday nights. We do that because of the members that have children. Their husbands are more likely to come home on time on Friday night, and they don't have to get children ready for school that night."

Women's clubs can be a powerful source of emotional support.

After the Virginia Tech massacre two years ago, Tracey Lane leaned heavily on members of the Narrows Junior Woman's Club. Her son, Jarrett, was one of 32 people killed in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

"The local club has been very supportive of me, especially right after we lost Jarrett," she said. "They sat for the grandchildren while we went to meetings. . . . They just came and sat with me, which was a comfort to me and my family. It meant a lot.

"Not only my local club, but I received letters throughout the state of Virginia and out of Virginia from other women's clubs, just letting me know that they were thinking of me and praying for my family."

Out of the grief came a project endorsed by the national federation to raise money for an ambulance for the Virginia Tech student rescue squad. "These young people were the first responders that day," Lane said, noting that the idea for the ambulance didn't start with her but she supports it. "They're very deserving of it."

For Melanie B. Kerneklian, 67, joining the Goochland Woman's Club in 1997 was a way to connect when she moved into Goochland County.

"It takes you away from cocktail parties and political events, although we stay up on public affairs. It is strictly what is the best for this county. We're really, really active with our community. It amazes me how many things they do."

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Among black women, sororities have become a preferred way for women to connect. Black sororities have been gaining in membership, while the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs reported only three Virginia members at the beginning of this year.

The role of Greek-letter sororities in the black community is one of service, according to Mildred Barden, president of the Richmond Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, the largest African-American sorority.

"We are definitely a woman's club, but a lot of members probably wouldn't want to be referred to as that," she said.

"It's just something about the connectivity, wanting to be a member of a sorority," Barden said. "People have mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, sisters, best friends who are members, and there are people who have a desire to give back to the community."

Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation's oldest black sorority, inducted Michelle Obama as a member last year. Like others who didn't join a sorority during college, the soon-to-be first lady was eligible for a graduate chapter because black sororities don't limit membership to college students.

"In African-American sororities and fraternities, you're a life member," said Nikki Charisse Adkins, head of the Rho Eta Omega graduate chapter of AKA in Richmond. "You are focused on service in the community. It's not a social-type club."

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Neither is the League of Women Voters, though its purpose is different. It began in 1920 to help women carry out their new responsibilities as voters and continues as a nonpartisan organization studying national and local issues. In 1976, the league sponsored the first debates between presidential candidates in 16 years. Its national membership has fallen 42 percent, however, since 1969.

Anne Sterling, Virginia lobbyist for the league, sees the group as vital.

"We can't afford to go out of business," Sterling said. "It would be horrible for the country. Our overall job is making democracy work."

She's just as concerned about other volunteer groups, men's and women's. "They're solving major problems," she said, "identifying and solving them in a nongovernment way or working with government. It's a wonderful way to run a country.

"It's a genuine emergency to see the numbers slowly declining."

When Sterling finds women coming together in whatever format, she applauds.

"What should threaten us would be if nobody joined anything," she said. "When I see a younger women's organization I say 'Hooray.' It's an ever-changing world of volunteerism."

Contact Katherine Calos at (804) 649-6433 or kcalos@timesdispatch.com.