Also, as in past years, the DWC will sponsor a collection of grocery store gift cards to benefit Our Daily Bread, the local nonprofit organization that provides food and assistance to Northern Virginia families experiencing financial hardship.  Your gift card donation will be distributed to the families in January.  Please bring gift cards of any denomination to the DWC meeting on Sunday or mail to us at the above address.  We will be accepting these until Dec. 31st.

Questions?  Please email us at cliftonwomendems@aol.com.

The DWC is hosting a Summer Pool Party at the home of one of our members.  The party is for members only and will held be on Sunday, August 7th from 2-6 p.m. Bring your bathing suit and an appetizer or dessert to share!  For more information and to RSVP, contact DWCEvents@aol.com

Also, the Fun Bunch will be carpooling to Gilligan’s Pier Restaurant, located on the Potomac River in Maryland on Sunday, August 21st at 3 p.m.  to enjoy a dinner and outting with DWC members! Check out their website at www.gillianspier.com.  Contact Doreen at  doreenrchristian@gmail.com with questions and to RSVP.

Hope you can make these fun filled events!

June 14th is Flag Day and the week beginning on June 12th is National Flag Week.

As President Obama writes:  When the American flag soars, so too does our Nation and the ideals it stands for. We remain committed to defending the liberties and freedoms it represents, and we give special thanks to the members of the Armed Forces who wear our flag proudly. On Flag Day, and during National Flag Week, we celebrate the powerful beacon of hope that our flag has become for us all, and for people around the world.

To read more of the President’s remarks on this subject click here.

The DWC Book Club will meet on the following Sundays from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.   You must be a DWC member to attend these lively discussions, which are held in the homes of DWC members.  For more information and to be added to that list, please contact us at CliftonWomenDems@aol.com

• June 12

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver.

• July 10

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani.

• September 11

Little Princess: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan.

• October 2

A departure from the usual – we will watch the movie Iron Jawed Angels and discuss at a member’s home.

Please join the DWC Fun Bunch for events in June and July!

June 4th at 12:30 (rain date June 5th), the Fun Bunch will carpool to the 30th annual Virginia Vintage Festival at Bull Run Regional Park in Centreville.  You may sample the wines from local vineyards, bring a picnic or taste what the vendors may provide.  Please RSVP with your town name to cliftonwomendems@aol.com.

On Sunday, June 26th, at 1:30 p.m.,  there will be a guided tour at the National Portrait Gallery.  Contact cliftonwomendems@aol.com if you want to attend and for details.

July’s event will be a lunch at a Falls Church French cafe, followed by a visit to Julia Child’s kitchen at the Museum of American History at 14th St. and Constitution Ave in Washington on July 23rd from 11:30 – 4:00 p.m.  This event will be led by Doreen Christian.

To become a member of the DWC Fun Bunch or for more information, please contact Doreen Christian, your CFB (Chief Funny Bunny) at doreen.christian@yahoo.com.

Photo is from May sailing outing.

May is Military Appreciation Month and DWC encourages our members and the community to become involved with the national Joining Forces program First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden have established to honor and support military spouses and families in our own communities by committing to an act of kindness.   When service men and women serve, their families serve with them and the  DWC  thanks them for what they do for all of us.

Check out the website which explains the program and encourages volunteerism in many areas: http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces/

First Lady Maureen McDonnell has established a similar program in Virginia called Serving Our Service Member Families or S.O.S.  Check out:  http://www.sos.virginia.gov/

Recently, interested members of the DWC met to form a new just-for-fun group.  Calling themselves the “Fun Bunch,” the group brainstormed a list of more than fifty activities to engage members–from A (antiquing) to Z (bird walks at the zoo).

The Fun Bunch will schedule one organized outing each month.  Planned events will require an RSVP to participate.  Other events, “Spontaneous Bursts of Pleasure” (SBOPs), may occur more frequently.  Some ongoing group activities may evolve as well.

The first event was held on April 16th at Bull Run Regional Park for a Walk through the Blue Bells. Member Caron Silva discovered this through friends and an article in Southern Living magazine. It was indeed beautiful and a perfect spring day for the walk which was followed by a wonderful lunch at Rosemary’s Thyme in Clifton.

For the May event, the Fun Bunch has planned a two-hour sail in Annapolis aboard a 78-foot schooner. In June they will attend the Vintage Virginia Wine Festival, and in July will tour Julia Child’s kitchen at the National History Museum.

An informal knitting circle has begun, a board games night will soon be underway and several members are planning to learn mahjong.

All questions and replies for the Fun Bunch should be directed to Doreen Christian, who has stepped up to be the “Chief Funny Bunny.”  DWC members interested in being included on the Fun Bunch email list, contact Doreen at cliftonwomendems@aol.com.

The DWC book club will meet on Sunday, May 15th to discuss Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks and on Sunday, June 12th to discuss The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver.

DWC members are invited to participate in these lively discussions which are held in the homes of DWC members from 3 to 5 p.m.

Contact CliftonWomenDems@aol.com for more information.

The Democratic Women of Clifton will host a meeting on Sunday, April 10, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Clifton Community Hall, 12641 Chapel Rd., Clifton.  The guest speakers will be representatives from Dominion Resources, Inc., and the Fairfax County Master Gardeners Program.  The Dominion representative, Travis Cutler, will speak about the growing energy demand in Virginia, how Dominion intends to accommodate that growth, and what customers can do to conserve more effectively at home to achieve lower energy use and savings.  The Master Gardener President, Elaine Homstad, will speak about good gardening practices for conserving natural resources.  She will offer practical tips for home gardeners on composting, water conservation, cultivation techniques, and eco-friendly gardening methods.

This meeting will be open to the public. Contact cliftonwomendems@aol.com for more information.