Who is the Marco Island Woman’s Club?

You have seen us in the newspapers. You have seen us volunteering at community events, often wearing our signature blue shirts. But do you know who we are and what we do?

We are the Marco Island Woman’s Club, not Women’s Club, as some may think. We are a team of individuals who are joined in service to our community. We live by our motto, “Why you were born and why you are living depends on what you are getting out of this world and what you are giving.”

It all began back in 1966, when a group of sixteen Marco Island ladies got together to form what would become the island’s longest-standing organization. With the support of the Deltona Corporation, these ladies became the Marco Island Woman’s Club (MIWC). They soon founded the Marco Island Public Library. For the first five years, volunteers from MIWC staffed the library, even making trips back and forth to Naples for the exchange of books. In 1988, the club funded a lovely gazebo for the library, which now stands at the Marco Island Historical Museum. MIWC spearheaded the movement for beautification of the island and created the youth center, which metamorphosed to the present-day YMCA. The early members of MIWC donated and restored the garden features and flagpole of the Marco Island Cemetery. MIWC donated funds for medical equipment for the Marco Island Health Care Center, including a defibrillator for the ambulance service.

Let’s fast forward to today. MIWC continues to support the community by embracing causes from our past and new initiatives as well. In 2025, the Marco Island Woman’s Club Charitable Foundation donated a total of over $30,000 to the Marco Island Academy, Marco Island Youth Baseball Inc. (for the restoration of the Tyler Beck Memorial Field at Tommie Barfield Elementary School), the Shelter for Abused Women and Children, the Marco Island unit of the American Cancer Society, NCH Urgent Care Marco Island, MI Center for the Arts, MI Historical Society, the Marco Island branch of the Collier County Public Library, YMCA of Collier County, Marco Dementia Respite, Little Pink Houses of Hope, Camp Able, MI Beach and Coastal Resources, Our Daily Bread Food Pantry, Meals of Hope, American Legion Post 404, and the Marco Island Cemetery.

Perhaps the most remarkable accomplishments of the Marco Island Woman’s Club stem from our dedicated support of higher education for students living on Marco Island. In 1988, a generous donation from MIWC member Signe Gleich launched the MIWC Education Foundation. In 2011, former member Verne Cabooris left a sizable donation to the club. In May of that year, a four-year scholarship was established in her honor. Evelyn McDowell joined the club in 1984 and two years later became President. She was involved with many committees and most of all relished her time on the Scholarship Committee. In 2022, Evelyn’s estate made a generous bequeathal to the MIWC Education Foundation, and a scholarship was formed in her honor.

Each year, revenue from our fundraisers and the interest income from the invested endowment funds are used to support our scholarship program. Since 1989, MIWC has awarded over $850,000 to more than 240 recipients. This year, the MIWC Education Foundation, under the direction of MIWC Education Chair Anne Marchetti, will give $20,000 to four college students continuing their previously awarded Verne Cabooris and Evelyn McDowell scholarships, and an additional $50,000 to fourteen well deserving Marco Island high school seniors. Under the direction of MIWC member Debbie Rago, renewable scholarships totaling $9,350, funded by our Charitable Foundation and by Les and Katy Matthews in memory of their beloved grandmother, Betty Cioffi, will be awarded to two previous recipients of our one-year scholarships. These monetary amounts make it a grand total of $79,350 to twenty amazing students for the 2025-2026 school year.

How do we do this? We work hard with a mission to give back! Our annual Fashion Show is our main fundraiser, accompanied by other revenue enhancers. We are deeply grateful for the sponsorship and support from local businesses and other generous individuals of our community.

We thrive with the opportunities to donate our time as hands-on helpers at various community events like Meals of Hope, our annual Beach Cleanup, the American Cancer Society Imagination Ball, Camp Able, Little Pink Houses of Hope, and more. This year, we even initiated a program called Little Pink Letters of Love, providing welcome notes for breast cancer survivors and their families who will attend the Marco Island Little Pink event in June.

On May 19, 2025, MIWC was honored with a Proclamation from the Marco Island City Council in recognition of our contributions and service.

But it’s not all work for us! From October through May, we meet on the first Wednesday of each month at Naples Lakes Country Club for a delicious lunch and informative program. Our 2024-25 luncheons featured presentations about breast cancer awareness, our burrowing owls, human trafficking, the Marco Island Shell Club, Tommie Barfield, and Habitat for Humanity. Special interest groups include book clubs, a stitchers group, a theater group, cards and games, and even a travel club. The summer months bring the occasion for casual gatherings at Marco Island restaurants, and even a private showing of Downton Abbey at Marco Movies in September!

Now that you know who we are, wouldn’t you like to join us? Membership is available to all women who live on Marco Island, seasonal or full-time, whether you own or rent. Please join us in the spirit of goodwill and friendship!