The Club is an all-volunteer non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization and is a member of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC), an international women’s organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service.
In 1903 Rose Wilson, editor of the Sarasota Times newspaper, founded the Town Improvement Society, the forerunner of the Woman’s Club. At that time, Sarasota had a population of less than 800. They added sidewalks to Main Street, lanterns to the train station and started the first public library.
The Club was founded in 1913 with its clubhouse constructed in 1915. On January 18,1985 the clubhouse at 1241 North Palm Avenue was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The clubhouse is now home to the Keating Theater, the mainstage of Florida Studio Theatre. There is a historical marker recognizing the history on the site.
In 1920, two club members, Alice Guenther and Rose Wilson, were the first women in Sarasota to register to vote. In future years, the Club helped started a hospital, maintained the public library and planted 181 trees on Main Street to honor 181 residents who marches off to war.
Now, over 100 years later, the Club has a Philanthropic Trust that was created after the sale of the second clubhouse, which allows the club to support local organizations throughout the year.
A scholarship fund was created in 1986, and every year scholarships are awarded to female students.
The support of the public library has always been a focus of the Club. The interest from the Clubs’s Sarasota County Library Fund, established by the family of a member, allows the Club to continue the commitment to literacy.
The community service areas are Arts and Culture, Civic Engagement and Outreach, Education and Libraries, Environment, and Health and Wellness. The GFWC international Signature Project is domestic and sexual violence and prevention.
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