Meet the Atlanta Woman’s Club

Today we’d like to introduce you to  Cimi Douglass, President of The Atlanta Woman’s Club.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In 2008, I hosted an executive business luncheon event at The Wimbish House, which is owned and operated by The Atlanta Woman’s Club. Once I stepped through the doors, I immediately was transported back in time when horse drawn carriages was the means of transportation down Peachtree Street. At that meeting, I met one of its members who gave me a brief overview of the house and its owner. The Atlanta Woman’s Club is one of oldest non-profit woman’s organizations in Atlanta, organized November 11, 1895. It is a non-profit philanthropic organization made up of professional women of all ages, races and religions who share a common goal: to work together to improve our local community, socially, physically, culturally and educationally. Their mission was easy simple to graph they encourage their members to be active and involved within their communities. I was invited to one of their meetings to learn more about the Club and immediately connected to their mission. I’ve been a member since 2008 and volunteered in almost every committee, and today I am honored to be its President for a two year term.

The Atlanta Woman’s Club is a member of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC).  GFWC is an international women’s organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service with 100,000 members in affiliated clubs in every state, the District of Columbia, and more than a dozen countries.  The Atlanta Woman’s Club was the first GFWC club in the State of Georgia founded in 1895.  Our 122-year-old club was built by a dynamic force of independent and caring women with strong leadership in our community. The ladies of the Atlanta Woman’s Club built its foundation with purpose and strong leadership within a diverse range of community projects. Today, nothing has changed, our members are indeed a dynamic force, capable of carrying on the legacy and tradition of shinning the light on community needs while giving back to our community for many years to come.

We credit our longevity to our hardworking, determined group of women and successful growth to the quality and character embodied in every single member. We’re an organization with a strong purposeful commitment to our community which fosters a Club culture of personal growth, empowerment and teamwork while giving back to our communities. We promise to provide inspired volunteer opportunities with heartwarming and rewarding benefits. All of this is historically documented and evidenced from our work to establish the Atlanta public kindergarten system, mobile libraries, the farmers market, and the establishment of Hartsfield International Airport to name a few.

Our Club headquarters is a beautiful Victorian-era home nestled proudly among Midtown’s dramatic corporate skyscrapers, stylish hotels and trendy restaurants, and celebrated cultural arts venues. The Wimbish House provides a magical backdrop for the most momentous of occasions. The fees from the rental of our club are used to contribute back to the community. If you have a need for an event facility, please contact karin@thewimbishhouse.com. For more information, please visit: http://www.thewimbishhouse.com.

The founder of the club – The Atlanta Woman’s Club was formed in 1895 following a meeting of the Cotton States Exposition in Piedmont Park. The council of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs was in held Atlanta and Mrs. Rebecca Douglas Lowe, our founder, was present at this meeting.

Following the meeting at Piedmont Park in the fall of 1895, Mrs. Lowe gathered together a group of interested ladies in her home. That was the beginning of The Atlanta Woman’s Club.

Our first home was in Mrs. Lowe’s home. The Club then moved to the McGhee Opera Building in downtown Atlanta, which we knew as the Lowe’s Grand Theatre. In 1910 the Club purchased its first home, which was the Christian Science building located on West Baker Street at the intersection of Peachtree Street and West Peachtree. It was a colonial home originally, which the ladies endeavored to restore. The Atlanta Woman’s Club remained in that home until 1920 at which time we moved into our current home, The Wimbish House.

For more than 100 years, the Atlanta Woman’s Club has played a historical and pivotal role in Atlanta’s History. As quoted by former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Roslyn Carter in their foreword in “A Light on Peachtree: A History of the Atlanta Woman’s Club – “Many in Atlanta may not realize that our city and the state of Georgia could have faced a very different history had it not been for the successful advocacy and funding of several important projects undertaken by the Atlanta Woman’s Club, most notably with the inception and development of the Atlanta airport…”

The Atlanta Woman’s Club has made significant contributions and noteworthy accomplishments during our earliest years in the first two decades of the 20th century.

Early AWC members helped to establish the following in the 1st two decades of the 20th century:

Atlanta’s kindergartens, by financially supporting and lobbying to incorporate kindergartens into the public school system.

A mobile library in cooperation with the Southern Railway Co. to get a lending library into rural areas.

Tallulah Falls School, founded in 1909 to bring education to Appalachian children, flourishing today, and in 2009 celebrated its centennial.

The 1st art gallery in Atlanta, located in the Wimbish House.

The “Sweet Auburn Curb Market,” Atlanta’s Municipal Market–still a favorite and very successful operation after nearly 75 years–to help farmers sell their produce to Atlanta residents.

The building of a technically advanced and acoustically sound auditorium which hosted numerous operas, plays, concerts, and recitals greatly enriching Atlanta’s cultural life, especially in the over 4 decades prior to the building of the Woodruff Arts Center

The planting of 1,000 flowering peach trees along Peachtree Street from the Wimbish House, at 14th and Peachtree, all the way to Oglethorpe University

The Mayor’s Memory Grove in Piedmont Park to honor all of Atlanta’s mayors, a grove that still stands and provides beauty and shade to the park’s visitors

The Atlanta Airport, now known as the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and today the busiest airport in the world. AWC was a very important “player” in the planning and building of the city’s first airport. Regular air service in Atlanta began at Candler Field in May 1928 ensuring Atlanta’s continued and increasing importance as a transportation center.

A reputation for being a focal point of civic and social events, but, more importantly, for members’ dedication to making a difference in the lives of people in our local and global community.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Historically speaking with regard to The Atlanta Woman’s Club, no, they have had many obstacles along the way, one in particular was a horrible house fire. The Wimbish House is on the National Register of Historic Places and designed by noted architect Walter T. Downing. The house was under-insured and Insurance did not cover all costs to rebuild the historical home, so the club members worked hard to raise enough money to rebuild the home. One member in particular, Mrs. Lucy Willard was one of the main contributors towards this effort. With much appreciation to Daisy Luckey Auckerman, Lucy Willard and Sarah Helen Killgore, past president’s during that timeframe who led the charge to rebuild the house, along with all of its members -they managed to rebuild and preserve one of Atlanta’s most treasured historical gems. Peachtree Street is in constantly evolving with dramatic corporate skyscrapers, trendy restaurants, stylish condominiums and apartments, but The Wimbish House stands proudly as a reminder of the life on Peachtree Street at the turn of the century.

The Atlanta Woman’s Club – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are known for being a volunteer organization. The Atlanta Woman’s Club mission is to encourage our members to become interested, involved citizens of the community by engaging in charitable activities that benefit the community as a whole. We accomplish that mission by meeting every month to discuss service opportunities, the needs within the community, and educate and raise awareness of various other nonprofits that you may not see on billboards. Atlanta is filled with wonderful nonprofits that are doing incredible things within our community, we want to make sure that our members are educated about specific needs and/or charities.

I am proud of our members – we have a wonderful diverse demographic, a few that are late 80’s to mid-90’s and still attending, women who are retired, a growing number of young professionals, entrepreneurs, etc. I am constantly in awe of their dedication to this organization. We are all volunteers and it warms my heart to see busy women, carving out time out of their busy schedules to serve others and lend their talents for the greater good.

I am also most proud of this organization because after 120 years, we are still here and still evolving. In 2014, we created a new program entitled “A Seeded Event.” Because we are a nonprofit that assists the community, we created this unique fundraising program to assist other nonprofits. We invite and extend applications to organizations with goals consistent with the mission of the AWC. Specific instructions about our application process are provided to those organizations selected to apply. Invitations are extended at our discretion and on a very limited basis. If an organization is selected to partner with AWC’s “A Seeded Event” program, we will assist with hosting the event and provide our event facility, The Wimbish House free of charge. If appropriate and reasonable, we may also provide the seed money to engage various vendors for the event. Our fundraising committee will assist with promotion of the event through our website, email blasts, social media, etc. We create a constant contact landing page so that guests can easily RSVP and pay for tickets and/or sponsorship directly through our web site.

We partner and work together on marketing the event using the charities mailing list, either by mail or email. Our fundraising team will pay expenses and collect all funds received, and a report will be provided to the charity at the conclusion of this process showing all the expenses paid by AWC on the charities behalf as well as the donations received. Costs of the event will be deducted from the funds collected and the charity will receive the net proceeds of the fundraiser. Some may ask us, so what’s in for you? Our answer – we’re living our mission to engage our members in volunteer activities, we are using The Wimbish House for community goodwill and we’re fundraising to assist other nonprofits so they can achieve their mission and goals within the community.

We are a nonprofit that assists other nonprofits.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I attended a career coaching seminar once and that question was asked of us, I heard some women say it’s when they get that big promotion, or a certain salary, become partner in a firm or corporation, own their own business, etc. I couldn’t identify with any of those things – success to me personally – is knowing that at the end of each day, I did my best and I made a positive impact on those around me.

With regard to The Atlanta Woman’s Club and how we define success – I would say the same thing. Our goal is to make a positive impact within the community we live in.

Contact Info:

• Address: The Atlanta Woman’s Club
  1150 Peachtree Street, NE
  Atlanta, Georgia 30308
• Website: www.atlwc.org
• Phone: 404-870-8833
• Email: president@atlwc.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atlwomansclub/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAtlantaWomansClubEst1895/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/atlwomansclub?lang=en
• Other: http://www.thewimbishhouse.com/

Image Credit:
Atlanta Woman’s Club

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