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Lending A Helping Hand

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By ELAINE MARKOWITZ Tribune correspondent

Published: December 15, 2007

Updated: 12/13/2007 04:56 pm

RUSKIN - Elegance emanates from the stately old home off U.S. 41 in Ruskin, bespeaking an earlier time when afternoon breezes ruffled lacy curtains on open windows.

Formerly the residence of George McArthur Miller and his wife, Adaline Dickman Miller, the home was deeded to its current residents, the Ruskin Woman's Club, in 1940. A visitor entering the home during this holiday season soon notices that elegance prevails.

A table covered in a white lace cloth holds a silver tea service. Another displays homemade cakes and cookies on glass and silver platters. The women, too, seem elegant - tastefully attired in holiday colors and cordially greeting old and new members.

The club is about more than elegance, though.

One recent morning longtime member Phyllis Elsberry spoke proudly of the women's efforts to reach out to the community.

"We are volunteers in action," she said.

Other women briskly picked up on her theme, highlighting some of their favorite projects. Among them are raising money for scholarships, adapting clothing for soldiers returning from Iraq and empowering women who are victims of domestic violence. Those are only some of the club's good works.

"We are empowered as a group," said club President Sonja Council, "to do a lot of good for the community."

A member of the Florida Federation of Women's Clubs, the Ruskin organization has made scholarships a priority. One favorite project is the American Cancer Society's Reaching Out to Cancer Kids program. Money raised helps children who have beaten cancer and want to move on with their schooling.

"We sponsored dinners to raise money for them," Council said. "Last year we had a chicken-and-dumpling dinner, and this year it was Spanish bean soup and Cuban sandwiches."

Council said more than $3,000 was raised through the two efforts.

"We also contribute about $10,000 a year for scholarships to local students," she said. The money is to be used for a Florida college or trade school.

Adapting clothing for men and women returning from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan is another ongoing project. The effort, part of a national program called Sew Much Comfort, is headed by Carol Fegot.

"The problem is finding sewers," Fegot said. "We've put ads in local papers to get seamstresses."

The women have prepared kits to give sewers, each kit including labels, Velcro buttons and other materials that meet national specifications. The committee has a quality-control expert to inspect finished products.

Fegot and her volunteers recently contracted with a clothing factory in Tampa to make items as well.

"Sew Much Comfort is very particular," Council said. "There can't be any rough edges or points."

Other seemingly minor items, such as using buttons and snaps, can be major hurdles for injured soldiers.

"Snaps don't work because some people don't have any fingers," Fegot said.

Among the most popular pieces of clothing are soft cotton basketball shorts with side seams made of Velcro for easy removal and casual slacks with one leg wider than the other. The wide leg camouflages apparatus such as a metal brace. Short-sleeved shirts also are made with Velcro sides to ease putting on or taking off.

"We received a letter from one soldier," Fegot said, "who thanked us for helping him feel like a person again." The soldier could move in the new clothing without feeling conspicuous because of damaged or missing limbs.

About a dozen of the 35 to 40 active club members work on the clothing project.

Other clubs have been inspired by the Ruskin women.

"Under the auspices of this club, federated clubs in Lutz, Plant City and Land O' Lakes also have gotten involved," said committee member Judy DuFault of Apollo Beach.

The club has sent more than 600 pieces of clothing to the national office.

The Ruskin club also has a particular interest in women's needs.
Elsberry said the general federation has programs that empower women and deal with domestic violence.

"We do a lot for the Mary and Martha House in Ruskin and The Spring in Tampa," she said.

Both of those organizations work to shelter and counsel women who are victims of domestic violence.

Council said the group does charitable work regularly, whether they are raising money for favorite projects, or reaching out to a family in need. Several such situations arose recently.

At a recent Christmas play was a Wimauma family of eight children whose mother was murdered in 2006. The children are in the care of their aunt Kimala Achor.

"We are trying to help them get on their feet," Council said. "We presented a check to them and a gift card to each child."

The club also helped a single mother of three in Apollo Beach who lost her home to fire. The club presented her a check as well.

But the giving doesn't stop there. The club also assists other organizations such as Camp Bayou, the Hacienda Girls Ranch in Melbourne, Special Olympics, the Ruskin Senior Center and the SouthShore Regional Library. In recent years the women also planted flowers and shrubs in the medians along U.S. 41.

Council said the significance of the club hit her when she attended her first state convention in July 2006.

"When I saw what women could do I was blown away," she said, expressing awe at how much money women could raise to help those in need.

"I saw the big picture, and we were a part of it," she said.

For information about the club, call Council at (813) 634-1656.

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