MOLONG’S Country Women’s Association is getting ready to celebrate 100 years of being part of the local community.
The branch officially reaches its centenary in December, but members will celebrate early with a garden party at the Molong Showground pavilion in November.
For CWA member, Tori Wood, the occasion will have an extra special meaning. Tori has been involved with the CWA for almost 15 years, after being introduced to the organisation through her husband’s grandmother and aunt.
Her husband’s grandmother also turned 100 this year, and the family will be bringing her along to the centenary celebration.
“Hopefully she’ll cut the cake for us,” Ms Wood said.
While the CWA might traditionally be associated with scones, craft and cups of tea, Ms Wood said there was much more to the organisation.
“As much as people think we’re just scones and chatter, we’re not,” she said.
“We raise money for our local community. We raise money for the disaster relief fund that is a state CWA project. And we’re all about friendship.”
Ms Wood currently holds the agriculture and environmental role within the branch, which involves learning about different plants, animals and environmental issues.
This year, members have been looking at escaped garden plants, wattle seed and the black cockatoo.
The branch also holds regular craft days, with members getting together to work on projects and prepare for events.
And it is that social side of the CWA that has become particularly important to some of its members.
The branch has organised excursions and cultural activities, including a visit to a flower farm and a trip to the museum at Manildra, while members also attend events hosted by neighbouring branches, including Cumnock’s annual international day.
For Helen Williams, president of Molong CWA, the organisation provides an important way for people to become part of the community.
“It means friendship, communication, getting to meet new people, helping the community,” she said.
“A lot of us were new to the area and older, so you don’t have kids that have that communication. It was a way of having some kind of connection to the community.”
That sense of connection has helped the branch through difficult periods. In 2014, Molong CWA was down to just four members and facing the possibility of closing.
A group of younger women joined and helped breathe new life into the branch, with membership growing to 18 within a year.
The branch is once again hoping to encourage new members, with five junior members now among its ranks.
There is no age requirement, with the branch welcoming junior members as well as women of different ages and backgrounds.
The CWA year runs from October to September, and women who join now receive two months free. Members can contact the branch through its Facebook page or come along to a meeting.
The branch has also continued to raise money for people in need.
A recent trivia night at the Molong Bowling Club filled the room, with people dressing up and enjoying an evening organised by CWA members.
The event was such a success that members are hoping to make it an annual fundraiser, with future events potentially supporting medical research or a local person who needs a helping hand.
The centenary celebration itself will be about recognising the women who have kept the branch going for the past 100 years.
There will be no special awards – members simply want to celebrate reaching the milestone together.
“For a community organisation to still be going 100 years after they started is a big achievement in itself,” Ms Wood said.