Meet Your Neighbor: Colony Club president seeks new members to carry on the tradition
The 85th anniversary of the Colony Club is next year, but the warmth of the club’s president is available immediately.
Meet Your Neighbor and president of the women’s club, Ann Rinehart.
Beginning in 1940, the mission of the group has remained consistent. "Women’s fellowship and the welfare of the women and children in the area,” Rinehart said.
The club supports charities benefitting local women and children, such as The Domestic Violence Shelter of Richland County, Friendly House and DeWald Community Center at The Salvation Army in Mansfield, to name a few. Besides charitable giving, the club emphasizes fellowship with other women.
Various sub-clubs in the nonprofit appeal to current members — euchre, mahjong and bunco, as well as movies and lunching out. Last month, members went to Amish Country to shop, eat and watch an improv performance at the Amish Country Theater. This month, they’ll go to the Renaissance Theatre.
1950s and '60s were the Club's heyday
Young people in a different era turbocharged the charitable giving of the group. In the 1950s and '60s, there were around 300 women in the Colony Club, and they would collect around $20,000 to give to charities in the area.
“Now we’re down to 45 members, and we give maybe $3,000 to the local charities,” Rinehart said.
Monthly meetings and sub-clubs keep members active, but Rinehart is open to change.
"If we can get some younger people to join, they can change it to whatever culture works for them,” she added.
The group doesn’t have a website to promote itself but invites prospective members to e-mail colonyclub1940@aol.com. Reliant on word of mouth, the group has application forms at the library.
A community partner of Kingwood Center Gardens, the group met last month at the storied Mansfield estate. A speaker from the Ohio Attorney’s General Office talked about scams targeting senior citizens and how to avoid them. Rinehart said next month's meeting will be at Oakhill Cottage where they will learn about its history and take a tour. Lunch will be from Doc’s Deli.
Supporting local women and children remains its core mission.
“We really like Friendly House. We sponsor some camperships for the kids in the summer and get the neatest cards back from the kids thanking us,” Rinehart said. “DeWald Center (at Salvation Army) — the kids come there after school this time of year. They’ll give them something to eat and help them with their studies. And the Domestic Violence Shelter, of course, is one of our favorites.”
Correspondent Joe Di Lullo can be reached at muckrack.com/dilulloj or jp.dilullo0926@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Colony Club of Mansfield seeks younger members
