March 20, 2020

• President’s Message: Staying Safe & Staying Active
• Military Baby Shower Needs Your Support
• Reid Park Zoo Refunds 
• VA Clothing Drive Needs YOU!
• Youth On Their Own Needs Increase
• Community Connections: Homeless & Hospitalized Veterans
• Creating a Plan and Clarifying a Mission
• Upcoming Programs & Events – Save These Dates (see cancellations & postponements)

The Women of Quail Creek are a really hard bunch to keep down! Yes, the various activities have been impacted by the current health crisis but that hasn’t stopped members from finding creative ways to keep committee work going.

• The Scholarship Committee is still reviewing applications thanks to the wonders of technology for information sharing. Skype may be used as a means to interview candidates and even golf cart meetings are happening to exchange information from a safe distance.
• The Baby Shower Committee is still sewing away and planning for the May 16 event.
• The YOTO Committee is trying to find ways to support the many young students who are being additionally challenged during this time.
• The Programs Committee continues to explore and plan fun programs for when this isolation phase of our lives comes to an end.
• The Fashion Show Committee is wrapping up 2020, debriefing the good and the could be improved and is well on its way to planning for 2021.

We may not be in business-as-usual mode, but we are still moving forward safely and creatively.

Some of our members may be experiencing additional hardships and anxieties during this time. Let’s try to be sensitive to that and support each other in whatever safe way possible. Looking out for each other is what we do as humans.

If you know a member who needs an extra bit of sunshine or support right now, please let us know. There is a designated Sunshine role within TWOQC. Help us provide a bit of extra by contacting either president@womenqc.com or secretary@womenqc.com.

In this scary and crazy time of being unsure what is OK and not OK to do, one thing is for sure, we still need to support our military families who are out there trying to help us stay calm and wade through this chaos. Since most of Green Valley and Quail Creek are in lock-down it is becoming increasingly difficult to collect the donations we need to successfully execute the upcoming military baby shower. Please consider lending your support to this effort by dropping off donations of diapers, baby clothes or cash/checks to Karen Baker’s porch at 475 N Keyes Road. A donation box is there. The committee appreciates any help you can provide. Questions? Contact Karen at babyshower@womenqc.com.

Refunds from ticket sales from the Reid Park Zoo trip are currently on hold due to Robson’s ban on facilities use. If any members require urgent refunds, please contact Treasurer Nancy Jacobs at treasurer@womenqc.com. The Program Committee met last week and it is our hope that the Reid Park Zoo trip will be a reality in the future for interested members.

A message from Tessie Hagerich…

“As we begin planning for the 2020 VA Homeless Clothing Drive, I wanted to thank everyone in our community that has been so supportive to this wonderful and very necessary event each year. This year’s drive will take place on October 17, 2020 so mark those calendars! I have truly enjoyed being the chairperson of this fun event but this is my last year so it is very important to put out a request to all of you.

Please, please, please consider being the chair or co-chair with a friend. It requires some organization and communication skills, with only three meetings for preparation. You will be working with a great committee of women all dedicated to seeing that the clothing drive is successful. Also, the support from our board is incredible. I would love to have someone step up now so that we can work together this year. This fun and fulfilling event just celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2019, let’s ensure that the VA Homeless Clothing Drive continues. If you have any questions, please email me at clothingdrive@womenqc.com.”

The Coronavirus and closure of schools and offices is presenting YOTO with extreme challenges. YOTO is not staffing their offices regularly at this time. They are not able to receive donations to the mini-mall either in person or through Amazon shipments. To meet the needs of their 2000+ students during these difficult times, YOTO is working through school contacts to give additional stipend assistance and emergency grocery gift cards and bill assistance to its students, many of whom have recently lost jobs due to service industry closures.

This emergency support effort is projected to cost YOTO an additional $50,000 this year. If you or anyone you know is interested in making an additional monetary donation to YOTO at this time, you can do so through the website YOTO.org. For additional information, contact Sue Ann Obremski at yoto@womenqc.com.

HOMELESS & HOSPITALIZED VETERANS

The VA hospital is still operational but visitors are limited. Please check your supplies and see if there are any puzzle books, small jigsaw puzzles, board games or books you are no longer using and consider donating them to those who served our country. Westerns, thriller novels and anything to do with the military are the most requested book topics. Being hospitalized is bad enough but when one cannot have visitors, the days seem really long. These donations may be left at Peggy McGee’s (1908 E. Longspur) at any time. She will be going to the VA on March 27.

When things settle down a bit, they will resume taking donations for the homeless veterans but as you start your spring cleaning to give yourselves something to do, please look for unopened toiletries, disposable plates and cutlery as well as summer weight clothing for both men and women. Please remember that all socks and underwear must be new but packages may be opened. We will let you know when they will start taking these donations again.

Before the onset of social distancing, the Executive Board of TWOQC held several meetings to develop a strategic plan that spans three years of operations. During that planning, we announced a new mission statement that we have now revised a bit. The new revision reflects a more active nature of our organization. We hope you agree and will proudly share it with new women friends who may be interested in joining TWOQC.

We are a Community of Women dedicated to
Learning, Giving, and Engaging.

(♦) public event

• Mar. 30 – 9AM Field Trip: Reid Park Zoo CANCELLED
• (♦) Apr. 27 – 6:30PM Scholarships Recognition Program
• (♦) May 9-11 – Honor Flight#30 CANCELLED
• May 18 – 4:30-6PM Mystery Mixer
• (♦) June 6-8 – Honor Flight#31 CANCELLED
• June 29 – (time: TBA) Summer Luncheon
• July 27 – 6:30PM Event TBA
• Aug. 31– 6:30PM Ikebana Floral Arranging
• Sept. 28 – 6:30PM Tumacookery
• Oct. 26 – (time: TBA) Membership Gathering
• Dec. 8 – (time: TBA) Holiday Luncheon

FMM CONTRIBUTORS: Kathe A. (programs/field trip), Karen B. (baby shower), Tessie H. (clothing drive), Pat N./Peggy M. (community connections), and Sue Ann O. (yoto). PUBLISHING TEAM: President, 1st Vice President, and Webmaster.