Health and Wellness – explore the various opportunities for awareness and advancement in nutrition, disease prevention, and physical and emotional care.
Latest Initiatives
- Children’s Hunger Project Lunch Packing Event at Riverside
Celebrating CBWC Women’s Service at Sunday packing event at Riverside Presbyterian Church
Today, we are proud to celebrate the amazing women of the Cocoa Beach Women’s Club who gave their time and energy to make a difference in our community. At Riverside Presbyterian Church in Cocoa Beach, these dedicated volunteers joined together again to pack lunches for The Children’s Hunger Project — ensuring local children in need have nutritious meals to take home.
A heartfelt thank you to each woman who showed up today. Your service is a shining example of the CBWC mission in action, and your kindness will ripple far beyond the walls of the event.
Together, we make a difference. 💙
- November General Meeting – Guest Sherri Mahaffey
What a wonderful morning at our November general meeting! The room was beautifully decorated, the fellowship was warm, and we had the pleasure of hosting a truly special guest: Sherry Mahaffey (Community Paramedic for the Cocoa Beach Fire Department).
Special Guest: Sherry Mahaffey
We were honored to welcome Sherry Mahaffey as our guest speaker. As the lead of the Community Paramedic Program for the Cocoa Beach Fire Department, Sherry brings decades of experience — starting as a volunteer firefighter in 1988, becoming a medic, and, after a 34-year fire-service career, stepping into the community paramedic role.
In her presentation she:
- Shared the mission of the Community Paramedic Program: providing in-home wellness checks, health and safety screenings, daily-living support, and equipment/resource connections especially for our elderly and mobility-limited neighbors.
- Offered poignant anecdotes of how a simple call, home-visit or resource referral made all the difference: preventing unnecessary hospitalizations, reducing isolation, and strengthening community bonds.
Members were visibly moved — many remarked how aligned this work is with our club’s values of service, compassion and community uplift. Lots of questions asking about volunteering.
The club also collected food for Matthew’s Hope (127lbs). Many had shipped via Amazon directly, some members left after the meeting and purchased more supplies, directly dropping them off. Others generously donated over $1000 in cash.
Clare Jones also introduced a motion to donate an extra $1000 to their cause.
Clare Jones-I move that we allocate $1000,00 to Matthew’s Hope Brevard to support their food pantry program, which provides essential groceries and meats to local families in need. The funds will be taken from the miscellaneous reserve areas of the foundation budget, with an additional $250 to come from the Foundation account as an extraordinary item.
This contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a current donor, effectively doubling our impact and helping Matthew’s Hope Brevard continue addressing food insecurity in our community.
Second by Carol Kruse, Motion approved was approved unanimously by the club.Marge Jones, President took all the donations to Matthews Hope and presented them with check for $2000.
We’ll see you Thursday 4th December for our Christmas meeting when we will have fun with our Holiday Gift Auction.
- Children’s Hunger Project Lunch Packing Event
Celebrating CBWC Women’s Service at Sunday packing event at Riverside Presbyterian Church
Today, we are proud to celebrate the amazing women of the Cocoa Beach Women’s Club who gave their time and energy to make a difference in our community. At Riverside Presbyterian Church in Cocoa Beach, these dedicated volunteers joined together to pack lunches for The Children’s Hunger Project — ensuring local children in need have nutritious meals to take home.
Their teamwork, compassion, and joyful spirits filled the room, proving once again that when we come together, we can accomplish great things. Every bag filled represents more than just food — it’s love, care, and hope for a child’s future.
A heartfelt thank you to each woman who showed up today. Your service is a shining example of the CBWC mission in action, and your kindness will ripple far beyond the walls of the event.
Together, we make a difference. 💙
- March General Meeting & New Members
Lot’s of members joined us for a fantastic presentation from Christina Slotin, Herbalist and owner of Herbal Cottage, in Cocoa Beach.
Christina’s practice embodies a Planetary approach to herbalism. This unique perspective integrates diverse herbal and therapeutic traditions, drawing from:
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Ayurveda
- Western Herbalism
- Traditional Mexican Medicine
Through her dedication and extensive training, Christina aims to provide comprehensive and personalized care for her clients.
We finally got to celebrate in person Wendy Gordon’s District 6 Volunteer of the Year award.
Wendy now continues on to the Florida GFWC Convention.
We welcomed two new members Nancy Berkley – sponsor Kelly Malik, Cara Seidel – sponsor Sue Ann Petrie.
Welcome to the club!
For Woman’s History Month, President Marge Jones prepared a little game for us.. if you’d like to try it, here it is!
Answers at the end!
Who is a former First Lady of Florida and GFWC President?
Who was a Florida Journalist and Environmentalist with a Florida school named after her?
Who is this Florida born woman who earned the Distinguished Service Medal and trained female pilots?
Who is in the Florida Hall of Fame and first female Florida Cabinet member and first female Florida Senate President?
Which woman doctor and astronaut flew on the Space Shuttle Endeavour?
Who is a famous Florida environmentalist with a park named after her in Cocoa Beach?
Who is the famous columnist with the highest recorded IQ before Guinness Records stopped the category?
Who was the first female Major League Baseball General Manager- with the Florida Marlins?
Who was a Florida Medicine Woman and Folk Heritage Award winner?
Scroll Down for answers!
Next meeting 4/3/2025
Answers
Who is a former First Lady of Florida and GFWC President? 8
Who was a Florida Journalist and Environmentalist with a Florida school named after her? 1
Who is this Florida born woman who earned the Distinguished Service Medal and trained female pilots? 4
Who is in the Florida Hall of Fame and first female Florida Cabinet member and first female Florida Senate President? 3
Which woman doctor and astronaut flew on the Space Shuttle Endeavour? 5
Who is a famous Florida environmentalist with a park named after her in Cocoa Beach? 9
Who is the famous columnist with the highest recorded IQ before Guinness Records stopped the category? 6
Who was the first female Major League Baseball General Manager- with the Florida Marlins? 7
Who was a Florida Medicine Woman and Folk Heritage Award winner? 2
- Community Service Programs
GFWC COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAMS (CSP’s)
Arts and Culture
The GFWC Arts and Culture Community Service Program inspires members to promote and support arts activities in their clubs, schools, and communities. By engaging in projects related to music, literature, dance, drama, and other arts, club women aim to make the world a more beautiful place. GFWC Florida Clubwomen actively design and support arts initiatives, fostering creativity and cultural enrichment in their local communities. As Edgar Degas said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”Environment
The GFWC Environment Community Service Program promotes environmental awareness and protection. It encourages activities like recycling, litter cleanup, wildlife support, energy conservation, and tree planting. GFWC Florida Clubwomen actively engage in local conservation
projects, fostering environmental stewardship and enriching their communities.Education and Libraries
“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey.
Literacy is a fundamental right and essential for participation in society. GFWC has a long history of supporting education, having established over 474 public libraries and 4,655 traveling libraries in the 1930s. Libraries remain crucial, with 90% of Americans recognizing their community impact. GFWC Florida Clubwomen continue this legacy by designing and supporting local educational activities.Health and Wellness
The GFWC Health and Wellness Community Service Program educates members on health and wellness issues affecting individuals, families, and communities. It provides resources for clubs to create projects promoting healthy lifestyles, disease awareness, prevention, and treatment. The program also addresses hunger, inadequate housing, homelessness, and financial difficulties. GFWC Florida Clubwomen actively design and support health and wellness initiatives in their local communities.
Civic Engagement and Outreach
Civic and social responsibilities are essential to our lives. The GFWC Civic Engagement and Outreach Community Service Program connects members with projects and activities related to these responsibilities, including citizenship, supporting military personnel, emergency preparedness, and crime prevention. GFWC Florida Clubwomen design and support civic engagement initiatives in their local communities.
Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention
The goal of GFWC’s Signature Program is to increase awareness and prevent violence against women worldwide, with a focus on human trafficking. GFWC Clubwomen create awareness campaigns to educate communities about human trafficking. We also advocate for legislation to hold traffickers accountable and oppose laws that decriminalize human trafficking.
Cocoa Beach Woman's Club 