Monongahela Woman’s Club works for a better community

By ERIC SEIVERLING

eseiverling@yourmvi.com

The COVID-19 pandemic may have put a halt to many organizations and events, but it hasn’t stopped the Monongahela Woman’s Club.

According to club president Rosemary Bucchianeri, the club is still going strong and was just named as the Monongahela Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business of the Month for February.

Bucchianeri said the club is such a fixture in Monongahela, most people tend to overlook it.

“We’ve been around so long, I don’t think people pay attention,” she said. “But we’ve recently been able to have a social media presence, and that opens the community’s eyes to what we do.”

Founded in 1938 as the Junior Woman’s Club, the group’s original mission was to provide eyeglasses to local children.

In 1946, the group renamed itself the Monongahela Woman’s Club, and in 1952 it expanded its role beyond providing eyewear to children to include the educational, civic and social interest of its members and to advance the welfare of the community.

The club has 55 members who pay $30 in dues and attend meetings. It also has 15 community support members, who are individuals or businesses that make a financial contribution of $45 but don’t attend meetings.

Bucchianeri said the group’s motto is “A task worth doing and friends worth winning make life worth living.” Its members include professional women, stay-at-home moms, retirees, business owners and single women who range in age from their 20s to 80s.

“These people are members for life,” Bucchianeri said. “The club has been such an extreme support to the community and the members are generous people. A lot of friendships are developed over the years.”

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