by MaryAnne Block
The St. Joseph Women of Today invites any and all women to two upcoming open events to get acquainted with the civic-minded projects that organization does year-round in the immediate area.
The first is a group social and craft event starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 23 at St. Joseph’s Millstream Park. The other is a “Friendship Day” scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1 at Grilled Cravings, located at 118 First St. NW in St. Joseph. Women can just show up at those events. No registration is required.
Women from any area can join the St. Joseph Women of Today chapter. All women are welcome and encouraged to check out the group, whether singles, mothers, empty nesters or retired, regardless of ethnicity.
The St. Joseph Women of Today offers a win-win opportunity for women and their cities. They perform a variety of projects while building friendships, growing in confidence and developing leadership abilities.
Yet these women do not “toot their own horns.” They are content to remain somewhat in the background.
The group’s most visible activity is the annual spring Bike Safety event. This year they awarded 10 new free bicycles (an increase from six last year) and 100 helmets. Some activities (and there are more) include creating Birthday Boxes every April for the St. Joseph Food Shelf, making tie blankets for the Cancer Society, and the Founders Day free root beer floats at Coborn’s grocery store on July 3 of every year.
The St. Joseph chapter will take over the Wobegon Trail Benefit Spaghetti Feed as of next May. That event had previously been coordinated by the Avon Women of Today, but the baton is now being passed to the St. Joseph Women of Today.
The current St. Joseph chapter president is Jenise Teske of St. Cloud. She has many years of experience with Women of Today (WT), including serving as state president in 2023. Recently, she shared some background with the Newsleaders. The origin of WT began as “Mrs. Jaycees” wives of Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce members) back in the 1940s. The group’s name changed in 1995 to “Women of Today.”
Each chapter functions independently, selecting projects that best fits their specific city. There are currently chapters in 13 states. Minnesota itself has 17 chapters with more than 900 members statewide. The central Minnesota district has seven chapters, including the towns of St. Joseph, Avon, Melrose, Alexandria, St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids and Rice.
The mission of the non-profit St. Joseph Women of Today is to provide members with the opportunity to serve their local areas, learn from the experiences within the chapter, plus the personal benefits of making new friends while having fun and growing confidence and leadership skills.
“We occasionally have a ‘Meet and Greet’ on a random Saturday morning so those interested can come to learn more,” Teske said. “We always have room for more ladies. We want the local chapter to continue to grow and benefit women.”
Inquiries can be sent to President Jenise Teske by email at saintjosephwt@MNWT.org.
Jenise Teske
