The volunteers in The Woman’s Club of Colorado Springs always find clever and fun ways to raise needed donations for nonprofits and organizations in the community.

Their Triple T Party is a 12-year, one-of-a-kind tradition of “Tiaras, ‘Tinis, and Tampons.” Yes, a party that by evening’s end will have brought in more than 10,000 feminine products for women in need. A focus because feminine products aren’t available for free to women with limited means, except through some nonprofits and schools.

That explains why partygoers arrived at Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame with boxes and bags of products that created impressive stacks on entry tables on June 10.

It was also time for the 140 attendees to don tiaras, sometimes on their cowboy hats, and visit the martini bar and food tables. Then, time to shop at tables of a dozen vendors with clothes, Western hats and boots, glitter for their hair, specialty boutique items and more.

A tradition was a parade of women wearing tiaras while guests verbally voted for their favorite sparklies.

There were cheers as women tried the ring toss for bottles of wine. The Bingo scavenger hunt led folks around the room to find answers to a variety of questions, including about the Woman’s Club, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Since 1904, The Woman’s Club of Colorado Springs, started in 1902, has been a member of The General Federation of Women’s Clubs and the national organization’s history is a delight. New York journalist Jane Cunningham Croly started her own women’s club in 1868 because she wasn’t allowed to go with other writers to a dinner for novelist Charles Dickens in 1868. After all, she was a woman and it was for men only. Croly’s new women’s club, Sorosis, had a motto of “Unity in Diversity” and by 1890 went national.

The local Woman’s Club started with meetings in local homes but always with the tradition of fundraising for community needs, helping start local libraries and advocating for changes like women’s suffrage. As they were “Living the Volunteer Spirit,” they educated themselves on the local nonprofits they would help through donations and volunteerism.

Mary Beth Wiliams of the local Woman’s Club is an officer of the national organization.

One longtime favorite project of the local club is an annual fashion show luncheon and an iconic drawing for major themed baskets to win.

For information: gfwc-wccs.com