You’d be forgiven if, before you picked up this magazine, you didn’t know how much the Westport Woman’s Club does here in town. Many residents don’t realize that they’re the force behind the family-favorite Yankee Doodle Fair, their biggest fundraiser of the year and a cherished summer tradition that dates back to their founding in 1907. Or that they’ve donated nearly $600,000 in community service grants over the last 10 years— $50,000 of which was this year alone. Or that the club’s Ruegg Grant has helped to fund some of Westport’s most beloved projects, like Club 203, the social club for adults with disabilities, and Wakeman Town Farm. Or that in 2022, they purchased a new ambulance for Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Service. Or that this year, they've awarded $60,000 in scholarships and an additional $13,200 in student grants. (In fact, since 2014, the Woman's Club philanthropy efforts has exceeded a million dollars.) “We’re one of Westport’s best kept secrets,” admits Robin Clark, the outgoing president of the organization.
But it’s time the word got out.
This spring, the Woman’s Club hosted their first gala since their 2007 centennial celebration in an effort to do just that. “After the pandemic, we were really reliant on our members and smaller fundraisers to fund…pretty much everything,” says Robin, who joined the club in 2014. They were looking for a way to strengthen the club for the future, to fund everything from their strong legacy of scholarships to community service initiatives to maintenance on their house on Imperial Avenue (they are one of only two Woman’s Clubs in the state that own their own home). It was a newer member, Vera Rhimes, who thought a gala might be the solution. “I’ve lived in a whole bunch of places, and whenever we move to a new community, I look for the church and the women’s club,” Vera says. She’d seen what many other organizations were doing around the country, and, coupled with her background in education administration, thought a gala could boost their fundraising in exactly the way they needed. “Vera looked at the fundraisers we had been doing and said ‘this is so much work! Let’s try something larger,’” says Robin. Robin and Vera came together with Nancy Austin, the club’s incoming president, and Vivian Hsu, the first vice president for special interests, to plan the gala, which was held on April 5th at the Patterson Club. It was a smash. Guests included First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, actor Scott Foley who served as emcee, and Vera’s daughter, television producer Shonda Rhimes. The night netted more than $200,000 for their cause, and had the added bonus of boosting the club’s profile— the potential member cocktail night held after the gala was to a full room.
Ultimately, that is the club’s goal: a sustainable, lasting organization with robust membership that supports philanthropic work in Westport (and beyond). Nancy says, as president, she wants to focus on the club's mission of “teamwork” amidst members. "We're all sisters in this together." Vera has been recruiting fellow women of color to join. “One of the first questions they ask is ‘how is it working with so many different women who aren't WOCs?’” she says.”I always say: if you go in with the idea that they’re just people and you’re just people, there’s not a problem.” Being of service, she says, is in her DNA. "If you’re blessed to have plenty— whether that’s money, or talent, or time, or all three!—you give back.”
And that’s the real beauty of the Woman’s Club: they both give back to the people in this community and build one for themselves. “It’s so heartwarming to have a new member come in and say ‘I received a scholarship from you,’” explains Vivian. There’s a real circle-of-life quality to the Woman’s Club; they boast members from ages 18 to 95. Students, parents, grandparents—everyone has a home at the Westport Woman’s Club. “I lived for three-plus decades in Southern California, and I never found a community like this,” says Vivian. “To have this tight-knit feeling that you can always reach out to someone is really profound.”
To learn more about the Westport Woman’s Club or to join, visit westportwomansclub.org