Waterville Area Women’s Club members met in May at Alden Camps in Oakland, Maine, for the annual closing dinner. In addition to raising more than $10,000 for the 100 Women Who Give event earlier this spring, the club voted to approve $20,000 in donations to local organizations that support women and children in the greater Waterville area. Members also voted on a new 2024-25 slate of officers, and learned about a new girl-centered leadership club at the local high school.
Girl Up
Messalonskee High School senior Isabel L’Italien, co-president of the school’s Girl Up chapter, was the keynote speaker. She and faculty advisor Alicia Wolfe shared the organization’s mission and current projects. Girl Up is a girl-centered leadership development initiative founded by the United Nations Foundation. It’s dedicated to supporting adolescent girls’ education, health, and safety, and engages, trains, and mobilizes girls and young people of all identities to be leaders.
The Messalonskee High School chapter of Girl Up has been meeting for three years and provides a space for girls and others to be supported and heard. One of its major initiatives is Project Period, supplying menstrual products in the high school’s female and unisex bathrooms for individuals who may not be able to afford them, simply forgot, or were surprised by the appearance of their period, providing dignity for anyone having their period. The group is raising funds to continue Project Period at the high school, and possibly at the middle school in the future. WAWC presented Isabel and Alicia with a $700 donation to support Girl Up’s Project Period.
$20,000 Given in Community Donations
Every spring, Waterville Area Women’s Club’s Executive Committee considers applications for donations from local charities and service agencies that benefit women and children in the greater Waterville area. At the 2024 annual meeting, the club voted to grant a total of $20,000 in funds to the following organizations:
- $5,000 to the Waterville Public Library for a new Story Walk path
- $2,200 to Camp to Belong Maine to reunite two siblings separated in foster care with a week of summer camp
- $1,200 to Woodfords Family Services preschool for a classroom smartboard
- $1,000 to the Alfond Youth & Community Center‘s Camp Tracy scholarship fund
- $1,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine, which creates and supports one-to-one mentoring relationships, for its work at Williams Elementary School
- $1,000 to the Children’s Discovery Museum of Central Maine towards its new exhibit hall
- $1,000 to Mount Merici Academy for fencing for its Cub Care
- $1,000 to the Oakland Public Library for children’s programing
- $1,000 to the Pine Tree Society’s for its Nature Trail project at Pine Tree Camp for children and adults with developmental and physical disabilities
- $1,000 to Shine on Cass, which educates, inspires, and empowers youth to make their world a better place through, kindness and volunteer charitable activities
- $1,000 to the Waterville Area Soup Kitchen, which provides appetizing, nutritious meals in an accessible, welcoming setting
- $1,000 to Waterville Creates Youth Arts Fund, which provides youths free access to performances, theatre camps, plays, concerts, art classes, and more
- $700 to the Girl Up chapter at Messalonskee High School for its Project Period
- $600 to Literacy Volunteers of Kennebec, which helps adults improve reading, writing, and related literacy skills
- $500 to the Family Violence Project, which works to end domestic abuse in Kennebec and Somerset counties
- $500 to Sunset Home of Waterville, a non-profit assisted living facility
- $300 to Androscoggin Home Healthcare for library items
2024-25 Club Officers
Club members voted in the 2024-25 Executive Board members. We’re thankful to the following women who’ve chosen to give their time, energy, and talents to serve:
- Alisa Johnson, Executive Director
- Danielle Martin, Treasurer
- Stacy Whitcomb-Smith, Secretary
- Allison Puiia, At Large Member
- Gretchen Roy, Historian
- Kerry Smart, At Large Member
Executive Director Handoff
After 10 years of outstanding leadership and service as the club’s Executive Director, Helen Bell-Necevski has stepped down and handed her gavel over to Alisa Johnson, the new Executive Director. Thank you, Helen, for your warm and wonderful leadership and inspiring commitment to supporting women and children through local charities and service agencies in the Greater Waterville Area. And congratulations and thank you to Alisa for stepping up to this role.
Serving the Greater Waterville Area since 1887, Waterville Area Women’s Club and its volunteer members annually support a variety of area charities and service agencies that benefit women and children in literacy, food security, mental health, and other concerns.
Waterville Area Women's Club 