By Jim Newell

Review Editor

The General Federation of Women’s Clubs – Lake Orion (GFWC – LO) received 12 awards at the GWFC Michigan 124th State Convention from May 3-5 in Detroit, including the prestigious Michigan Club of the Year award for Category 1.

“It was actually a great surprise because there are so many clubs doing great work,” said Renee Miron-Alimpich, the club’s recording secretary. “To get Club of the Year is really a big honor for GFWC.”

There are 45 General Federation of Women’s Clubs in Michigan, with 1,577 members.

Each year, the clubs do a statistical report, including volunteer hours, and send those reports to representatives in Washington, D.C. The GFWC – LO, which currently has 19 members, amasses approximately 8,000 volunteer hours annually.

“You have all these women all across the United States doing volunteer projects. It’s a way of saying to Washington, ‘These women are important and doing things that count,’” Miron-Alimpich said.

The club earned awards for:

• GFWC Michigan Club of the Year

• 1st place in the Southeastern District

• 2nd place International Outreach Community Service Program

• 2nd place Advancements Membership

• 2nd place Advancements Communication and Public Relations

• 2nd place Advancements WHRC

• 3rd place Home Life Community Service Program

• 3rd Advancements Leadership

• 3rd place Education Community Service Program

• 3rd place Arts Community Service

• Honor Score Gold Award for the Southeastern District

• Honors 100 percent Reporting

General Federation of Women’s Clubs is an international women’s organization founded in 1895 dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service, according to the GFWC.

The GFWC – LO is a community service club for civic-minded women of all ages.

The club holds monthly meetings September through May at the Orion Township Public Library. The next meeting is at noon on June 13 at the library, which the club founded in 1926 as the Lake Orion Library.

The club’s community service and contributions include annually awarding a scholarship to one Lake Orion High School senior and an annual MY Leads scholarship to a high school sophomore; assisting the Orion Township Public Library, Red Cross, HAVEN and other volunteer groups; donating supplies and making lap robes for the Veterans Hospital; and Guiding Harbor, a residential facility for abused adolescents, located in Belleville, that includes residential care, foster care and supervised independent living.

The club also volunteers at library and community events, such as the Dragon on the Lake festival.

While the major interest of GFWC Lake Orion is the Orion Community, the club supports state and international projects, contributing to the GFWC Michigan Arts Scholarship, the GFWC Michigan Education Foundation and the Michigan Youth Leadership Scholarship.

For more on the GFWC – Lake Orion, visit their webpage at orionlibrary.org/gfwc/, find them on Facebook or email dbgeppert@yahoo.com.