"YOU MATTER!" MEMBERSHIP APPRECIATION TEA IN COLUMBUS

Member Appreciation Tea Group Photo

One of WFWP Ohio's projects this year is to recognize our WFWP members and to show them that their donations are appreciated and helpful for our programs throughout the year. Many of our members are hard-working women who have no time to attend meetings or local events. Nevertheless, their contributions of heart, prayer, and funding are essential and so much appreciated.

Many WFWP members in Columbus work together in a complex of stores, so we decided to have a "Members Tea" there during their lunch break. So on March 25, we hosted 30 members at a tea at Belle's Bread Japanese Bakery & Café, a popular café with a large meeting room in the back. We planned the meeting to coincide with the members' half-hour lunch break.

The tables were beautifully arranged, with prepared table settings. Parents were encouraged to bring their children, and a side table was prepared for the children to eat and play together. The children were all thrilled, as were their parents, who finally had a chance to listen to a WFWP program.

The program started with prayer, after which Mrs. Marcia Schlichting expressed her heart of appreciation to the members who had gathered so they could feel how valuable their membership and attendance is for all our activities in Columbus. Mrs. Nataliya Grishina, WFWP Ohio chairwoman, gave an overview and assessment of this year's activities to date. Mrs. Grishina and Mrs. Margaret Kim talked about how to attract members, which everyone found very helpful. People were relaxed and happy, and the Belle staff was quite helpful.

Mrs. Annette Yamakawa showed a video of a newscast from Japan of the Japanese prime minister visiting the school in Mozambique that WFWP sponsors. It was wonderful for our members to see the positive effect WFWP is having in Africa in providing education to students there.

We were fortunate that we booked the meeting room for an extra hour, so those people who could stay longer could sit and chat together over another cup of coffee. We gave each member who came a gift bag with a WFWP brochure, WFWP pen, and a beautiful broach. Fortunately, we had extra gift bags for guests who happened to come.

One guest commented, "I was very impressed with the table set-up, the welcome/sign-in, and the tasteful display of cakes and coffee. I thought the kids' table worked well. I also really appreciated the timeliness of the event. I honestly expected it to go longer, even though the invitation said half an hour. So it was nice that everything ran smoothly and quickly, providing time for members to talk afterward."

Ohio Chapter Board Members

Group Photo

Ohio Co-Chairwoman Nataliya Grishina