The Woman’s Club of Seal Beach hosted a popup on Sept. 7 as part of an arts and crafts sale at the Seal Beach pier, which sold plants provided by the LBCC horticulture department.
All proceeds from the event went towards scholarships for LBCC horticulture students, among other local schools and charities.
Hosted by the Seal Beach Lions Club, the event ran from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. and was populated by many local artists selling their work, such as jewelry, paintings, and other handcrafted accessories.
Celebrating their 101st year since their founding, the Woman’s Club is the oldest club in Seal Beach.
Standing near a Seal Beach jazz band, the Woman’s Club’s popup tent saw a lot of foot traffic, and had a variety of plants for sale including succulents, plumerias, and ferns.
“We get our plants from LBCC, the VA hospital, and H&H nursery, but most of the plants come from LBCC,” club member Marilyn Bittle said.
Every member of the club was asked to either bring in 3 plants for the event, or to make a donation.
Bittle mentioned that she is also a member of the Seal Beach Lions Club, and stated that there is a lot of overlap in membership.
One of the most important aspects, according to Bittle, is later getting to see the impact their donations had directly.
The club usually receives thank you notes and sometimes directly hears from representatives of the charities showing where their money went, which is a big encouragement for them to continue hosting the event every year.
The tent had been set up around 6 A.M. and by 1 P.M and they had made approximately $2,000, receiving good sales since the morning according to Bittle.
Kathy Briles, a newer member to the club, spoke on why LBCC was chosen as a donation recipient.
“We donate to LBCC because we always have. We’ve been running this event for about 20 years, and it’s just become tradition,” Briles said.
A local organization, the Woman’s Club makes a point of donating to the community and other local institutions, such as Seal Beach Animal Care, the Mary Wilson Library, Youth Center Music, and the McGaugh School media center.
Lois Miller, the recently elected president of the club, was also present to help with the event.
“We believe in the trades, and horticulture is part of that, so we do our best to donate to what we believe in.” Miller said.
Miller also mentioned that the plant sale is one of the biggest sources of revenue and advertisement for the club every year.
Another big source of revenue for the club is their elections, which they hold in spring.
This year’s election brought approximately $8,000 for the club, and all of the profits were donated to local charities.
The Seal Beach Woman’s club is “always recruiting” according to Miller, and “men aren’t excluded.”
This long-standing local club choosing to donate to LBCC students year after year continues to be a great help to many students in the horticulture program.