The Woman’s Literary Club of Leeds is celebrating its 96th year in existence. The club is part of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, a national/international civic club. While this local group may be small in numbers, these ladies have big hearts and a huge list of accomplishments with the work that they do on a regular basis.

When people think of a literary club, they assume it’s all about reading books. Well, that’s only part of what the Woman’s Literary Club of Leeds is all about. Of course, they are encouraged to read, but their main focus is all about charities and what their members can do for others.

The club met for their March meeting last week at Leeds Arts Council. Leeds Fire Chief Chuck Parsons spoke to the group about health, home and fire safety. Parsons shared information about the new Community Connect portal that will be available soon in the City of Leeds where residents will be able to add pertinent health information such as medicines, allergies and health issues which could greatly impact response time and treatment options whenever a resident might have an emergency.

The Leeds Police Department has been setting up this program since November, 2020 and look forward to launching in the near future. The Chief also talked about safety issues such as a caution to clear paths and reduce throw rugs in the home to reduce fall risks and trip hazards.

Other safety concerns include the fact that many people overload electrical strips, put throw rugs over cords and have cell phones in bed plugged into the charger. All of these things increase the risk of fire and most house fires happen between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. while residents are asleep.

After the speaker presentation, club members had a full agenda to discuss the different charities and organizations that they support in various ways. Some of those national and international charities include Heifer International, St. Jude’s Research Hospital, UNICEF and Operation Smile while they also support local charities that include Leeds Outreach, The Red Barn, Ann’s New Life Center, Leeds Jane Culbreth Library and the Leeds City Schools libraries.

Last year, their annual book drive resulted in 700+ books which will be delivered this year to Leeds Primary School. The club sponsors a child each Christmas through Leeds Outreach and encourages club members to support the Outreach and Backpack Buddies on their own. The club also presents two $500 scholarships each year. Plans are to interview students soon to choose the next deserving students of these scholarships.

Recent projects include donations of $125 to The Red Barn, $100 to Ann’s New Life Center toward their new sonar machine and in December, 26 teddy bears were collected and delivered to Leeds Police Department. Proceeds from their money jar collected at each meeting go to Heifer International which is an organization working to end world hunger.

Current fundraising efforts to raise money for their different charities and organizations include their annual plant sale which has just launched for this year. Various plants are currently available for purchase with competitive pricing and these plant sales are for a great cause.

For more information about the Woman’s Literary Club of Leeds or about the plant sale, please contact Jo Ann Malone, Club President, at 205-531-2132.