FEDERATION OF AMERICAN WOMEN'S CLUBS OVERSEAS

The American Club of Lyon is a proud member of the FAWCO federation of American clubs. FAWCO is made up of more than 70 associations and clubs around the world with a total membership of almost 18,000 members situated in 35 different countries. FAWCO acts as a network of support for its members and covers issues important to American individuals and families living overseas: education, citizenship, voting, taxation, the environment, health and human rights – particularly childrens’ and womens’ rights.

FAWCO was founded in 1931 by Caroline Curtis Brown, then President of the American Women's Club in London, who believed that enlightened women, working cooperatively throughout the world, could do much to help achieve international peace. The federation's objectives, defined at a meeting of seven clubs in London, were to "work towards international goodwill and the preservation of world peace, to help one another solve problems common to them all and to aid women whose citizenship rights were being ignored or restricted."

We in Lyon adhere to the vision of Caroline Curtis Brown and her fellow countrymen, a vision which FAWCO continues to work towards today some 75 years later.

Being part of a network of 18,000 club members worldwide makes our own club stronger.

FAWCO Conferences afford our officers the chance to learn from the experience of other club leaders and gain useful skills through workshops and information seminars.

Thanks to FAWCO's many committees, our local club is kept abreast of issues impacting American families living abroad, from policy changes in Washington to procedures for obtaining citizenship rights for our children.

FAWCO members are eligible to apply for scholarships for financing a child's studies or their own continuing education. The FAWCO Foundation hopes to promote international understanding and good will by giving annual awards for study in the US or abroad, at high school, undergraduate and graduate levels.

Finally, FAWCO is a means to leverage our own club's impact in the world.

FAWCO is an officially UN recognized NGO (non governmental organization) with special consultative status to ECOSOC, the UN Economic and Social Council.

Our official FAWCO representative at the UN is able to weigh in on policy discussions on issues related to women, children, health, literacy and microeconomic development. As a member of the Conference of NGOs, FAWCO is a member of the Committees on the Status of Women, the Special NGO Committee on Human Rights and the Committee on HIV/AIDS.

In 2005 FAWCO joined the UN's campaign to end Malaria by starting a drive to donate state of the art mosquito nets to infected areas of the globe.

Every year the FAWCO Foundation awards thousands of dollars in Development Grants to projects nominated and selected by FAWCO member clubs. The Foundation Development Grants program takes into account the unique and local knowledge of individual FAWCO member organizations. Affiliated clubs, including the American Club of Lyon, can nominate worthy and reputable charitable activities known personally to them or even carried out by their members.

FAWCO also has a special Emergency Relief fund that can be activated by member clubs when a need arises. Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in the United States, the American Club of Lyon called upon FAWCO to activate the Emergency Relief fund, and FAWCO has selected Dillard University in New Orleans as the recipient of this aid.

FAWCO Conferences

Each year the American Club of Lyon participates in the conferences hosted by different FAWCO member clubs in different cities around the world. These gatherings are an occasion for FAWCO Club officers and members to exchange ideas, learn new skills, as well as an opportunity for fundraising activities for the FAWCO Foundation.

2006 marked the 75th Anniversary of FAWCO and a return to Berlin, the city where the first Conference was held. Amazingly, the Gala Dinner was held in the very same room as 75 years ago.

In 2007 the American Club of Lyon was proud to host the FAWCO Conference in Lyon. It was an incredible undertaking made possible by the efforts of many volunteers who all caught that famous FAWCO Fever.

FAWCO is a non-partisan, not-for-profit corporation registered in the state of New York.

For more details about FAWCO check out: http://www.fawco.org/

(American Club members may contact the FAWCO Rep to obtain a password for the member section of the FAWCO website)