On May 25 the College Woman’s Club of Westfield proudly presented $40,000 in scholarships to five hard-working young Westfield women heading to college this fall.  The one hour zoom event included our 104th annual meeting, a year in review and the annual presentation of scholarships.  We thank all who attended and appreciate the generosity of our members, donors and sponsors.

Despite the pandemic, this was a busy year for the College Woman’s Club of Westfield.  We offered our series, “College in the COVID Landscape” in August with an expert panel of moms and our sponsor and friend, Attorney Rafael Betancourt.  We hosted an additional seven zoom calls covering: Standardized Testing, College Admissions, Financial Aid, Mental Health, Self Defense, 8-10th grade Head Start planning and College Scoops. Moderated by our own Elena Arida, the December Zoom call, “Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now” with panelists who are daughters of our members in college right now.  Special thanks for the Zoom series goes to member Susana MacLean of MacLean College Counseling for her expert guidance.  

In addition to the College Planning Zooms, we offered Zoom events for our members: American History (my own AJ Wargo was keynote speaker), Women of Clarity (Financial Planning for Women) hosted by member Mariella Foley and her team at Round Table Wealth Management, and Elder Care: Aging Gracefully thanks to member Liz Miller.  We hosted two book club conversations with the help of Pam Shaw, and Annemarie Puleio led us through a presentation on the history of the CWC.  We also launched a new initiative: The CWC Young Professionals Group.  Thank you to the young women who took ownership of this effort: Elena Arida, Devin Cash, Jessica Doyle and Molly Prybylski.  We held our first essay contest for female sophomore residents of Westfield entitled, A Letter to My Younger Self. The winner of the contest was Olivia Mazzola. Videos of all of the Zoom events can be found on our website.

We did our best to fundraise in this pandemic year as well.  We held a Winter Wreath sale and Spring Lily sale. Our third annual Trivia Night (via Zoom) was a great success, and we thank all who attended.  We thank our generous sponsors for their continued commitment to education: Triarsi, Betancourt, Wukovits & Dugan Law Office, College Funding Services, Roundtable Wealth Management, David Ellis Events, Branna Insurance, and Mark Harbaugh Sr. and Mark Harbaugh Jr of UBS.

I have had the great honor to serve as president this year alongside an incredible team of hard-working Board members.  It has been quite a year and I am proud of the impact this 100+ year old organization has had on the community.  We continue to walk in the footsteps of our founders and to enhance their legacy.  As we emerge from this difficult year, I hope that next year affords us the opportunity to provide more in person activities, with something that appeals to each of our loyal members.

The continued success of our mission depends entirely on your support throughout the year, our fundraising efforts and through our generous sponsors.  Thank you for your donations large and small. 

Sincerely,

Anne Wargo,

CWC President 2020-21

Click here to watch our end of year meeting, including the scholarship recipients for 2021.