About

The Woman’s Club of Red Bank

a 501 (c) (3) Non-Profit Organization

The Woman’s Club of Red Bank clubhouse, The Anthony Reckless Estate, was constructed ca. 1870 for one of Red Bank’s leading citizens, New Jersey Senator Anthony Reckless. The Club purchased the property in 1921 for its headquarters, community meetings, and events. You can learn more about women club federations below and about the history of the club and the Reckless Estate.

Today, the Woman’s Club of Red Bank continues to support literacy through community service engagement, preserving the historic clubhouse for future generations to enjoy and providing a strong network for personal and professional development.  This is done through events, community service, membership, fundraising, and preservation.  

We have a membership, community partners, and sponsors.

MISSION

Supporting literacy through community service engagement

Preserving our historic clubhouse for future generations to enjoy

Providing a strong network for personal and professional development

Members of The Woman’s Club of Red Bank are invited to member meetings, committee meetings and tasks, and events to socialize, network, and meet & greet. Check the calendar or join our email list (sign-up on right) to get updated on member meetings and events at the Woman’s Club. More information about membership benefits and how to join on our JOIN page. Find even more information about What We Do (programs and events), our online directory, our “wish list” of projects, and committees.

JOIN if you enjoy preserving historic architecture, supporting the local community, or promoting the personal and professional development of women in the area.

BOARD

History | Committees | Community Partners | Sponsors | Wish List

Why are we called the Reckless Women?

The obvious reason is our love for our beautiful clubhouse, the Senator Anthony B. Reckless Estate. The not so obvious reason is our creative and innovative ideas and programs to help raise money for those issues that are close to our hearts. For example, our Reckless Steamy Nights partnership with the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation enables us to raise money for our education and literacy programs as well as have fun.

more about the history of our clubhouse and our Historic Preservation mission and committees.

The Founding Members of the Woman’s Club Of Red Bank

The women who founded our club overcame many obstacles. They did not have the right to vote. They had little, if any, control over their property, earnings or bodies. They were not allowed to serve on a jury. They were not permitted to run companies, achieve higher education degrees, or even protect themselves from domestic violence. Yet they were able to purchase and maintain our clubhouse as a place where they could teach people how to read!

General Federation of Women’s Clubs

The Woman’s Club of Red Bank is a member of the General Federation of Woman’s Clubs.

The General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC.org ) is an international organization, i.e. it is one of the world’s largest and oldest women’s volunteer service organizations. GFWC works locally through thousands of clubs in the United States and globally in more than 20 countries. The members support the arts, preserve natural resources, promote education, encourage healthy lifestyles, stress civic involvement, and work toward world peace and understanding.

The Mission: The General Federation of Women’s Clubs is an international women’s organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service.

Each local chapter benefits from membership, service, material, and program support from state and national Federation levels.

The GFWC headquarters in Washington, DC, a National Historic Landmark, houses the Women’s History and Resource Center, a collection of books, periodicals, and records devoted to women’s history and women in volunteerism.

Among the many achievements of our members, GFWC is credited with turning the tide in favor of the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 (an effort initiated by a New Jersey club woman, Alice Leakey of Cranford); founding 75% of the public libraries in the country in the 1930′s; and campaigning in the 1960′s for seatbelts in all cars and streetlights on neighborhood streets. GFWC’s traditional support for libraries was evident in the fulfillment of its commitment to America’s Promise by raising and donating over $13.5 million in books and materials to public libraries and public school libraries (1997-2002).

NJ Federation of Women’s Clubs

The Woman’s Club of Red Bank is also a member of the New Jersey Federation of Woman’s Clubs.

The New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs, (NJSFWC.org ), is the largest volunteer women’s service organization in the state of New Jersey.

The NJSFWC is a member of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, GFWC, which provides opportunities for education, leadership training, and community service through participation in local clubs, enabling members to make a difference in the lives of others, one project at a time. There are approximately 12,000 members in 228 general clubs, 55 junior clubs, 16 juniorette clubs, and 18 evening membership departments located throughout New Jersey.

Since their inception, women’s clubs’ members have frequently been described as privileged, white-gloved women with too much time on their hands. Just the opposite is true. Each member has inherited a history of activism on the community, state, national and international level. Now more than ten years into a second century of community service, we look back with pride at the many accomplishments of our clubs and their members, and know that activism is just as alive and spirited today.

• The NJSFWC was founded in 1894 when approximately 150 women from 36 clubs throughout the state first met collectively in Orange, NJ. In one day, the delegates drafted and adopted a constitution and bylaws, and elected state officers.
• In 1918, the NJSFWC founded the New Jersey College for Women (now Douglass College). The state Federation continues to support Douglass College in the form of scholarships to Douglass students and building fund donations.
• The efforts of the NJSFWC led to the formation of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission to oversee the preservation of the Palisades.
• In 1964, approval was granted by Rutgers University for the NJSFWC to lease land on the Douglass College campus for a NJSFWC Headquarters building. Fifty percent of the funding for the building and its furnishings came from the collection and redemption of trading stamps.
• NJSFWC Bi-Annual Fund Raising Projects – Every two years, members throughout the state support a defined special project with fundraising, in-kind donations and public awareness campaigns. Examples of these projects include the Valerie Fund when $226,658 was raised; Canine Companions for Independence, raising almost $190,000; and most recently, the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and its state-wide affiliates, contributing $140,000 in cash and more than ½ million dollars in goods and services.
• In 2003, the Federation was named the Grassroots Organization of the Year by the Highlands Coalition.
• The New Jersey Library Association granted its “Library Champions Award” to the NJSFWC in 2004, recognizing the federation for the role that it and individual clubs played in the establishment of public libraries in the state, as well as the group’s continued support of libraries.
• The Federation, NJSFWC, received widespread recognition for its letter writing campaign to state and Federal legislators which helped secure passage in 2004 of the Highlands Water Protection and
• Planning Act to protect water quality for more than one half of New Jersey’s population.

Learn more about the Woman’s Club of Red Bank, membership, committees, and how to join.