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The General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) Coral Gables Woman’s Club celebrated Thanksgiving by buying certificates for turkeys to include in dozens of food baskets members prepared to donate to the families served by the club’s free children’s dental clinic.
Before filling the baskets for delivery, members gathered for a feast that included turkey and great side dishes brought by members. All this happened just one day after the club’s Nov. 19 Gringo Bingo that was hosted once again by Renee Sanz and Grand Living (Watermark), a beautiful luxury senior living place near Merrick Place in Coral Gables. Guests at the fundraiser enjoyed white and red sangria, meatballs, fried avocado, chicken Caesar salad, cheeses and meat board and more.
In addition, the club welcomed the return of emcee Steven Bradley and DJ Germain.
Steven is the new director of sales for Vivo, the huge new entertainment, sports and dining complex at Dolphin Mall that donated some great prizes for the night. Likewise, DJ Germain also got a promotion and is now the director of music for iHeart radio. Congratulations to both of those who, with our amazing sponsors, have helped the club raise more than $100,000 for various charities since this bingo party started in 2019.
Speaking of Vivo, thanks to learning about the place from Steven Bradley, Iris Garcia, founder of The Women Voice Network (WVN), selected Vivo for WVN Board of Directors lunch meeting on Nov. 23. This venue offers so many opportunities for fundraising events, so it was a good place to gather and tour the location. Among those joining Iris for the meeting were Arrisson Pierre, Nathalie Kanzki, Tracy Forgette, Henry Zaldivar, Ernesto Alvarez and Ruben Fuentes.
WVN has recently launched its new Women Voice Network Academy. Visit www.wvn.academy and explore a variety of courses now available in both English and Spanish, designed to empower its participants with essential skills for personal and professional growth. For every client who buys a course, that same course will be donated to a survivor.
Participants will have their own personalized dashboard to keep track of their classes and achievements. It has expanded its curriculum to include even more courses, always offering them in Spanish and English to ensure accessibility for everyone in the community.
Note that this is in conjunction with WVN’s live classes, providing participants with both online and real-time learning opportunities. This academy supports and is part of the nonprofits’ mission of economically empowering women to live a life full of promise living without fear.
In other GFWC activity, District 11 held a membership rally at The Miami Woman’s Club (MWC) on Nov. 23 with everyone dressed in red, white and blue with pom poms to match provided to all. GFWC FL Membership chair Candi Aubin with District 11 Director Ruth Martinez and the MWC orchestrated this fun session on Saturday, Nov. 23. This “rally” was not only informational but also attracted some prospective members along with members from almost all the 12 clubs that make up District 11.
Among the speakers that morning presenting with Candi and Ruth were MWC past president and District 11’s current membership chair Shirley Pardon, MWC president Metris Batts, and past District 11 director Elizabeth Fisher.
By the way, these clubs are actively raising funds for GFWC FL president Sara Dussereau’s “President’s Project.” This project is coordinating and underwriting an Honor Flight for women veterans who are members of GFWC. The cost to charter the flight with meals and hotels is $150,000, so, the fundraising has begun and those who would like to donate may contact district director Ruth Martinez via email at dd11@gfwcflorida.org.
In other good news, a reunion of individuals helped during their teen years by the late Mirta S. Fuentes was held recently at the home of Norma Jean Abraham. Norma Jean managed to coordinate schedules and gather former mentees, now in their thirties, for dinner on Sunday, Nov. 24. Norma shared with this writer her admiration for Fuentes, a Cuban immigrant who came to live in Miami after residing in Mexico; Spain, and Washington, DC, for years before here where she made an enormous impact.
Fuentes first became involved with the Guardian Ad Litem program and served as director of Child Affairs for 17 years. She continued her education at Barry University receiving a BA in Liberal Studies. She was later recognized as a Distinguished Alumni by Barry for her professional achievements, contributions to society and support for the university. Over the years Fuentes helped build Amigos for Kids and most recently began working with the Honey Shine Mentoring Program. This reunion of kids that were mentored by Norma Jean and Mirta was an inspired tribute to Mirta Fuentes and one that everyone appreciated.
Until next time, have a joyful holiday season.
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