Marco Island Woman’s Club Celebrates the Season of Giving

“I pray you’ll be our eyes and watch us where we go. And help us to be wise in times when we don’t know.” Those lyrics and melody of the popular song, “The Prayer,” filled the Naples Lakes Country Club with a call for peace, hope, and guidance as Rosetta Stone, aka Rose Kraemer, sang her heart out for the Marco Island Woman’s Club (MIWC) December Luncheon. The event was a festivity of the holidays with club members, spouses, and other guests in attendance. But the message of the day conveyed so much more. We reflected upon the true spirit of this club – the desire to serve, nurture and improve this amazing Paradise that we are blessed to call our home.

The one and only Shirley Thayer led us in our traditional opening with the Pledge of Allegiance and musical rendition of God Bless America. Gorgeous holiday centerpieces and angel winged favors, created by MIWC member Lynn Nathanson and her daughter Julie, set the table for an extravagant feast of pork tenderloin or pasta primavera, created and served with perfection by the chef and staff of Naples Lakes. A Christmas tree decorated in silver to honor the 25-year Anniversary of Naples Lakes Country Club added to the joy! Following a decadent dessert of chimney sweep peppermint ice cream, Rosetta Stone electrified her tempo to the sounds of Motown as several MIWC ladies grooved to the beat on the dance floor!

Membership Chair Joyce Frame gave us true cause for celebration as she introduced five new members – Christine Merrill, Anna Hutchings, Nancy Roble, Roxana Rascoe, and Susie Walsh. We welcome these ladies to our sisterhood of friendship in the spirit of giving to this community.

I am blessed with the opportunity of being the 2024-25 President of the Marco Island Woman’s Club. We think of ourselves as the “Mother Earth” of this community. We live with a mission to touch the lives of others in our community with kindness, volunteerism, and philanthropy. In 2024, we gave back to our community with a record amount of $88,035 in scholarships to twenty-six amazing students living on Marco Island. We also gave to American Legion Post 404, NCH Urgent Care Marco Island, Marco Island Center for the Arts, Marco Island Academy, City of Marco Beach and Coastal Services, Avow Foundation, The Shelter for Abused Women and Children, Our Daily Bread, Marco Island Historical Society and Museum, American Cancer Society, CCPL (Marco Island Public Library), Meals of Hope, Marco Island Cemetery (new flags), and Dress for Success. We have been hands-on helpers as volunteers for the Beach Cleanup, ACS Imagination Ball, Little Pink Houses of Hope, Camp Able, Meals of Hope Food Packaging Event, and so much more! 

How do we do this? We get by with a little help from our friends! Culver's recently hosted a Donate While You Dine Night for our club. A portion of sales from this event will be donated to the Marco Island Woman’s Club Charitable Foundation. The Marco Island Academy Key Club was on hand to volunteer as servers that night, donating their tips to our Charitable Foundation. We thank Culver’s and the amazing young adults of the Key Club from the bottom of our hearts! Mark your calendars now as J.McLaughlin will be sponsoring a Sip and Shop Event on March 8, International Women’s Day to benefit our Charitable Foundation.

Our annual Fashion Show Fundraiser will be held on President’s Day, Monday, February 17, at Naples Lakes Country Club. This year’s theme is Mardi Gras Masquerade. There are many ways that YOU can contribute to this event through various levels of sponsorship, or donations of gift cards, and other items for our raffles and silent auctions. A gift to the Marco Island Woman’s Club is a gift to the entire community. Every dollar raised will be given back to this community with scholarships and donations to other local charitable causes through the Marco Island Woman’s Club Charitable Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization. For more information, about these opportunities, please contact us at miwcel@gmail.com.

Membership of the Marco Island Woman’s Club is available to all women who live on Marco Island, whether you own or rent, full time or part time. We invite you to join us in our friendship and goodwill. Please visit https://marcowomansclub.com to learn more.