It's WHRC Wednesday! We're in the midst of National Women's Health Week, and since GFWC has been a long-time advocate for improving women's health, we could pick just about any decade to find something to share. The wheel of chance spins... and we land in the 1930s, when GFWC was making a major push to educate women about cancer detection and prevention. In this era, under the leadership of GFWC Presidents Grace Morrison Poole (1932-1935) and Roberta Campbell Lawson (1935-1938), we went hard in the fight against cancer. To us, it was literally a battle: partnered with the American Society for the Control of Cancer (ASCC), we created the Women's Field Army, with state-wide "Commanders" working with women and women's clubs. The GFWC Division of Public Health for 1935-1938 created a new Cancer Education Program, which stated firmly that women must educate themselves about, and take measures to prevent, "the outstanding menace to women in the prime of life" because "the preservation of the health of women ... is the greatest single guarantee of national stability." In our archives, we saved a clipping from the ASCC magazine circa 1938 with a photo of GFWC members receiving awards for their work. The caption read, "Four of the five women honored by the Board of Directors of the American Society for the Control of Cancer at their annual dinner on March 4th at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City [are pictured here]. Reading from left to right: Mrs. Harry W. [Viola M.] Smith, Commander of the New Hampshire Division of the Field Army; Dr. Anna C. Palmer, eighty-two-year-old President of the Cured Cancer Club; Dr. C.C. Little; Mrs. Edith A. Ritchie, Georgia Commander who received the medal first since the dinner was on her birthday; and Mrs. Gustav [Lillian H.] Ketterer, Pennsylvania Commander. Mrs. F.H. [Eleanor B.] Clausen, Wisconsin Commander, also received her award but because her plane was delayed by bad weather, she arrived three hours after the picture was taken." (Who can relate to that problem? Poor Eleanor!) There's more to know, as always; I was particularly interested in 82 year old Dr. Palmer, who founded the "Cured Cancer Club" in 1938 as an 18-year breast cancer survivor, helping to show women that the diagnosis was no longer a death sentence. I'll link to an article about the ACSS, GFWC's Field Army, and Dr. Palmer in the comments if, like me, you'd like to know more. 📷 "Awards for Distinguished Service," 1938. PRO 1935-1938 f.51 #clubwomeninhistory #WomensHistoryisAmericanHistory #clubwomeninaction #NationalWomensHealthWeek #LivingTheVolunteerSpirit (fb)

Calling ALL Clubs to Register for 2025 GFWC International Day of Service on Saturday, September 27! This year's GFWC IDS theme is United to End Domestic & Sexual Violence. One of the areas of focus is Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). It is responsible for 2 million injuries annually. Consider making this topic of domestic and sexual violence your club's focus. In tomorrow's issue of "News & Notes" there will be a list of project ideas. Be sure to check it out: https://www.gfwc.org/news-notes/ Also, if your club has not already registered, please do so and be recognized on the weekly listing posted on GFWC's website: https://www.gfwc.org/gfwc-international-day-of-service/ To register, visit: https://memberportal.gfwc.org #GFWC #GFWC_HQ #GFWCAdvocacy #IamGFWC #LivingTheVolunteerSpirit #gfwc2025ids #endsexualviolence #EndDomesticViolence #endchildabuse (fb)