For more than 80 years, the Woman’s Club of North Hudson has served the community with charitable activities. They have raised money to buy Christmas gifts for the needy and volunteered their services toward environmental and ecological issues.
They are a member of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, an international women’s organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service. It is the largest volunteer association of women in the United States.
But the local chapter was beginning to have some difficulty getting new members.
“Most of the chapters in New Jersey are aligned in name with a municipality or city, unlike the Woman’s Club of North Hudson,” said Weehawken Councilwoman Rosemary Lavagnino, a long-time member of the club. “It is having an identity crisis. When announcements of projects and fund raising events are publicized, people wonder [which] communities are actually included in North Hudson.”
Most of the meetings were held in Weehawken, and most of the members are from Weehawken.
So the local chapter applied to the General Federation of Women’s Clubs to get a charter to have the local club’s name officially changed to the Woman’s Club of Weehawken. However, members from other communities like North Bergen are still welcome to be involved.
The first meeting under the new name will be held Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Nutritional Center on Highwood Avenue.
The evening’s program is entitled, “Federation History-Women Who Made a Difference,” offering a historical perspective of some of the most influential members of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, featuring thumbnail sketches of the lives of Eleanor Roosevelt, former Maine senator Margaret Chase Smith, author, settler of the Hull House in Chicago and activist Jane Addams and Julia Ward Howe, the writer of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
The presentation will also feature the role the Federation played in shaping public policy and creating American history since 1868.
Name change
Significance comes with the new name change.
“The incorporation of Weehawken into the chapter’s name will also enable it to lend support to activities identified by local government, such as beautification of Weehawken,” Lavagnino said. “Before, when North Hudson was mentioned, you didn’t know what towns or municipalities it was pertaining to. Every other chapter has its own identity with the town where it is located. Some people in Weehawken don’t even know that we’re a part of it. We’re a popular chapter and we’re involved in some good projects. We want other people to get involved as well.
Added Lavagnino, “Without question, this is going to help us.”
The idea for the name change came from the club’s president, Marie Alberian, who suggested that the change might be beneficial to encourage new members.
“I think it’s great,” Lavagnino said. “I think it’s going to help.”
Ruth Elsasser, the past president of the club for eight years, agreed.
“Most of the members are from Weehawken already, so we decided to give it a try and see if we can get even more people from Weehawken interested,” Elsasser said. “I think we’ll be able to drum up more interest from the community. That’s our goal.”
The phone number of the senior nutritional center where the meetings are held is (201) 319-6060.