GFWC-SC Delegation at GFWC International Convention June 2025
With more than 63,000 members in affiliated clubs in every state, the District of Columbia, and more than a dozen countries, GFWC members work in their own communities to support the arts, preserve natural resources, advance education, promote healthy lifestyles, and encourage civic involvement, issues related to domestic and sexual violence awareness/prevention, and advocating for children.
The General Federation of Women’s Clubs of South Carolina (GFWC-SC) is comprised of more than 1,115 members in 45 clubs. Our volunteer service is focused on seven community service and special programs: Arts and Cultural, Environment, Education and Libraries, Health and Wellness, Civic Engagement and Outreach, Signature Program – Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness and Prevention, Junior Special Project - Advocates for Children. Collectively, we are Lighting the Way. In 2019, GFWC-SC reported 1,291 projects with 72,421 volunteer hours spent to raise $344,011 and donate in dollars $251,159 and in kind $192,975.
GFWC-SC President and GFWC-SC Junior Director
GFWC-SC President Suzanne Carswell
GFWC-SC President Suzanne Carswell
GFWC-SC President Suzanne Carswell
GFWC-SC Junior Director Michelle Blackmon
GFWC-SC President Suzanne Carswell
GFWC-SC President Suzanne Carswell
President's Theme
The theme for the 2024-2026 Administration is BE SOMEONE’S SUNSHINE and its symbol is the Sunflower, which is always seeking the sunshine. Be Someone’s Sunshine is a metaphor for the work we do as clubwomen. GFWC-SC provides a ray of sunshine to those in our communities whose lives we touch. The words of our Collect remind us to ‘forget not to be kind’; we can also Be Someone’s Sunshine simply by extending kindness to others. As Leo Buscaglia said, ”Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” I hope you will join me and embrace the theme and BE SOMEONE’S SUNSHINE today and each day of the two years of this administration.
President's Special Project
With a third of North America’s bird population at risk, much of it due to human actions creating loss of habitat, we need to take action. We can forego the use of dangerous pesticides and insect foggers. We can replace invasive and non-native plantings with native plants and trees that feed and house our avian friends. We can advocate for legislation to protect our precious native wild spaces such as swamps, wetlands and woodlands. We can donate books and host speakers and make our own backyards Certified Wildlife Habitats. We can even create gardens working with our local parks and recreation commissions or others. We can place bird feeders, birdbaths and birdhouses where people can enjoy them: outside schools, elderly facilities, municipal buildings, parks, banks, local businesses and even daycares. We can make donations to South Carolina Wildlife Federation and Audubon South Carolina so that they can continue their wonderful work in education, conservation and preservation. By creating the environment for enjoyment of the birds around us we will, by extension, encourage conservation: Because don’t we all want to protect that which we enjoy and the things we love?
Junior Director's Theme & Special Project
The Goal of my administration, Be The Spark, supports GFWC’s initiative to advocate for children. The area of advocacy I want to emphasize is getting kids outdoors and off screens. Some ways your clubs can encourage kids to be outside may include hosting an outdoor event or by volunteering at a pre existing outdoor event for kids, distributing bottled water at local parks with the GFWC logo, or educating groups about how to get a library card and from there checking out state park passes (this enables families to visit for free). Your club could even create a list that includes which state parks have playgrounds and share this information online, with local schools and preschools. Or perhaps your club would like to donate supplies to PE departments at school that encourage outdoor games. Clubs may even consider sponsoring a child at your local recreation department that cannot afford to participate in rec sports.