Environment

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Accomplished by 16 members over 9 volunteer hours. This was an informational initiative to inform members about the local recycling center. The recycling center is working towards being self-sustaining. 

In May 2024, the recycling center holds a tree distribution day which coordinates with Arbor Day. The center distributes trees to the public to plant in their yards or other areas of need. 
6 volunteers / 25 volunteer hours wrapping the tree roots for transport to their new homes. They also sold raffle tickets for a fire pit and chairs, of which the proceeds would be donated to the recycling center. A representative of the Bureau of Land Management was present to help with planting instructions as well as the types of trees. The community benefited by having more trees in the area (50 trees were given out) that will survive Wyoming climates as well as provide homes for birds and other creatures, shade, and beauty. Trees also store Carbon Dioxide, which helps clean the air. $100 was donated to the center from the sale of raffle tickets.

Women's Club of Sweetwater County demonstrated their commitment to the environment stewardship by participating in a city-wide cleanup event. The club adopted a section of highway near the exit ramp to the city. Cleanup is twice a year, May and October of 2024. 15 volunteers spent 26 hours collecting trash. Each month they collected about 12 large bags of trash and a grocery bag filled with compressed aluminum cans. The aluminum cans were gathered on behalf of the Humane Society and the members enjoyed a team building breakfast after each cleanup. Cleaning the adopted area showed community involvement, made the area welcoming for residents and visitors, and protected the local plants and animals from harmful substances the trash.

In February and March 2024 six volunteers over the course of 15 hours helping the local library with their seed library. The local library started the seed library project four years ago. Through a seed grant from the Burpee company, the library collected a variety of seed packets. This past year they had 28 varieties of seeds which included vegetables and flower seeds. The volunteers created 488 small packets of seeds. The volunteers made small envelopes from the library scrap pile, added the seeds and a picture of the seed packet was attached. The library was able to replenish their seed library, provide seeds for the gardening community to add beauty to their landscape and provide pollen for bees and other pollinators. The seed packets are free to any member of the community. All they need to do is fill in a form with their name, number of seed packets (limited to 12 per person), and the names of the seeds taken.

Rooted in Cheyenne Spill the Tea for Trees Event, was completed in April 2024 by 10 volunteers over 8 hours: The fundraising event was to benefit this tree planting program to support a more divers and resilient urban canopy and cultivate more livable neighborhoods. Two four member teams competed in a race to carry a cup of tea over an obstacle course. The team with the most tea left in their cup, and completed the obstacle course in the fastest time were the winners. The club also had a table with information about GFWC and the Civic League, as well as provided a $50 gift card to be raffled. The event helped raised awareness of the organization's dedication to community improvement through volunteer service and the tree planting program. 

The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens provide agriculturally sustainable plant production, as well as educational opportunities. The Gardens start annual plants to be transplanted within the gardens and throughout the city of Cheyenne. Their goal is to build a prefabricated growing structure to protect the immature plants. In April 2024, 8 volunteers spent 6 hours collecting $800 to donate towards the effort. This will help the Gardens to leverage private contributions to help fund the remainder of the project. The long-term benefits include protecting delicate plants from adverse weather conditions, extending the growing season, and enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the city of Cheyenne.

Involved supporting the Laramie County Conservation District's project to improve recreational activities, water quality, support wildlife habitat improvements and grazing benefits on the city-owned Belvoir-Ranch. Specifically installing fence to protect riparian pasture, construct man-made beaver dams to stabilize banks, improve wetland conditions, install stock pipeline from the reservoir to a solar pump station to improve grazing distribution and range condition. The Conservation District was invited to apply for a Community Grant from the club. The review process involved an evaluation by club members over two meetings, followed by a presentation from the District Water Specialist. The specialist outlined the project, its community impact, and future for Belvoir Ranch. Approval was given to support the effort. $5000 was given to the Conservation District to create trails for outdoor recreation and improve the described areas. The project began in the summer of 2024 and is expected to be completed by summer of 2025. 30 volunteers spent 120 hours on project.

​The Women's Club of Sweetwater County donated balls and books to the Child Development Center to be given to new mothers with developmental information and contact numbers.
1 volunteer / 5 volunteer hours. 

​Also, at the GFWC Wyoming Spring Convention, representatives from the USDA Forest Service spoke to the assembly about their careers in the Forest Service. Discussion followed regarding reforestation after forest fires experienced in Wyoming. The outgoing State President had spearheaded a 2-year project to plant more trees in Wyoming. For their final project, GFWC Wyoming members proposed a fundraising initiative to support tree planting efforts through collected donations. The assembly voted in favor. Twenty volunteers spent 10 hours collecting donations from around the state. In May 2024 $160 was collected and donated to the Forest Service. These trees will restore fire-damaged forests and offer homes, food, and shelter for wildlife. Visitors will enjoy the forest's beauty.

Recycling Socks
GFWC- Wyoming State Woman's Club held its annual Spring Convention in Laramie, Wyoming in April 2024. Attendees were asked to bring clean old socks to the meeting. Smartwool, is a Colorado based company that creates performance wool ski socks, as well as other Merino wool products. Smartwool has partnered with Material Return, a circularity platform which aggregates post-production and post-consumer textiles and creates new raw materials to remake new finished goods by local partners. Material Return makes sure socks become a new product rather than ending up in a landfill. At the annual meeting 436 socks were collected. The socks were sent to Smartwool in their Take Back Bags via FedEx at no charge or dropped off at the Smartwool Take Back Box at Jax, a local outdoor gear, farm & ranch store. The benefit of doing this was that fewer hard to decompose socks did not end up in a landfill and the materials were refashioned into useable products that could be purchased by consumers. Thirty women volunteered by bringing socks and thirty hours were spent counting sorting, packing and shipping the socks to Material Return.

Rooted in Cheyenne is a non-profit organization dedicated to planting trees throughout the city of Cheyenne. Since 2017 they have planted over 1400 trees to create a more diverse and resilient urban tree canopy and cultivate a greener, healthier Cheyenne. They hold tree planting events and educational opportunities. The Women's Civic League of Cheyenne (WCLC) supports these events. The tree planting events take place in May and September each year. The WCLC organized lunch for all volunteers in May and September of 2024. In May 2024, a total of 137 volunteers participated in the planting of over 75 trees. The WCLC provided a hot meal for the volunteers. Seventeen women dedicated 46.5 hours to cooking, baking, and serving an excellent lunch. In September 2024, the WCLC provided a catered lunch for 75 volunteers who planted over 50 trees in Cheyenne. Twenty-one women dedicated 52.5 hours to cooking, baking, serving, and cleaning up after the meal. Additionally, they raised $100 from items sold at lunch, which was donated to Rooted in Laramie. The WCLC effectively communicated to volunteers its mission of community service through volunteerism. They raise funds and contribute their time with a positive attitude. An essential aspect of their work is enhancing Cheyenne as an attractive place for residents to live, work, and play.