After more than 75 years of service to the Mahomet community, the Mahomet Town and Country Women’s Club (MTCWC) is ready to reach out to those in need again this year.
MTCWC kicked off its first meeting in mid-Sept. with their annual nut sale.
The money raised from the nut sale, which ends on Oct. 25, goes to help support a variety of Mahomet organizations such as Helping Hands, the Mahomet Area Youth Club, graduating senior scholarships, Smile Healthy, the Sangamon River Music Festival and to elementary students in the Mahomet-Seymour School District, among other things.
With a successful nut sale last year, the club was able to provide two scholarships to graduating seniors who planned to go to college. The club only budgeted for one.
MTCWC also puts money into an account for school social workers to draw from at their discretion each year to provide for student’s needs as they arise. The club donated new and used coats to Sangamon and Lincoln Trail last winter.
In a longstanding relationship with MAYC, they donate both money to the organization along with volunteers for the MAYC half-maration and 5K. MTCWC volunteers also serve guests at MAYC’s spring fundraiser.
Each October, the women from MTCWC donate two Saturday mornings to Helping Hands to sort donations and distribute food in the pantry. The club also collects paper products throughout the year. The food bank does not provide paper products to the pantry.
MTCWC teams up with the Mahomet Area Chamber of Commerce each December for Breakfast with Santa.
“It’s a really great event for the community,” MTCWC President Cheryl Zindars said. “The children get to see Santa in a less commercialized setting where parents get to take their picture.”
The women’s club provides games and treats for the children while they wait to visit with Santa.
While the 28-member group is active in providing for the community, Zindars said the club does not take much time each month.
“I’ve been involved in MTCWC off and on for 20 years,” she said. “I’ve been a steady member for 10 years. I worked full-time while raising kids, and I still had time to do the things I could do to help.”
Zindars said she makes sure meetings are finished within an hour and a half so members can get home to put their children to bed.
“I’m the President of MTCWC, and I don’t spend more than a couple hours or so throughout the month,” she said. It’s not a time intensive organization. It gives you an opportunity to really support your community and make friends.”
The inter-generational group of women feels social time is important, too. The women spend time sharing their lives at the beginning of each meeting over desserts. They also have a “Stitch” group, which meets for lunch once a week.
Zindars said the friendships she has formed over the years with MTCWC supported her while she was recovering from knee surgery 10 months ago.
“That’s the sort of things you can have with extended contacts and friends that care about you,” she said.
With this friendship and service mentality, Zindars hopes to double the club membership to 56-members through this year’s motto of “1 plus 1 equals 56.”
“My real desire is to see our club grow,” she said.
Zindars believes with a larger member-base for both service and fundraising, MTCWC will be able to serve more needs throughout the community.
With membership near 80 women in the 1960s and 1970s, MTCWC was able to form a library committee and fund, which led to the Mahomet Public Library. In 1982, MTCWC formed the “Friends of the Library.”
When the new Mahomet Public Library building went up in 2010, the club presented the Library Board with $10,000 to fund the clock tower outside the building. The club has continued to support the library through donations towards committees and computers.
The club, which meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Mahomet Public Library, also uses their meeting time to provide for the community. In January, they make Valentine gifts for residents in Bridle Brook and Glenwood.
Lindy Gault from Transform Fitness will speak to MTCWC about fitness during the Oct. meeting.
Before taking Dec. off, the club celebrates the holidays with an ornament exchange. Then in April, they take time away from regular business to have a party.
A longtime member of MTCWC, Zindars realizes as a member of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, MTCWC not only has on the Mahomet Community, but throughout the world.
“We want to continue to provide great things for the people of Mahomet, and our country,” Zindars said.
To find out more about MTCWC or to order nuts for the holiday season, contact Cheryl Zindars at ceilmsu84@gmail.com.
