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Newcomers welcome
Though they're new to the area, members of the Warrenton Newcomers Club are eager to pitch in and help out the community.The group, which holds a monthly coffee meeting at the Fauquier/Warrenton Visitor's Center off Main Street, got together Wednesday to create blankets for Fauquier Family Shelter Services. Designed for children staying at The Haven Emergency Shelter in Warrenton, the blankets will be delivered later this month. The group also collected food for the Fauquier Food Bank and toys for Toys for Tots, explained the group's vice president Mary Koralewski.
Cheers erupted as the first blanket, featuring Disney star Hannah Montana, was held up for inspection. Friendly and outgoing, the women greeted one another with smiles and hugs, chatting as they sipped coffee or worked to assemble the fleece blankets. While philanthropy isn't the club's primary goal, the women clearly enjoyed the project.
The coffee meeting held at 9:30 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at the Visitor's Center allows the women to pursue their main objectives — making friends and getting to know the area, said club founders Faye Foster and Jan Vos. Veterans of many moves and Newcomers clubs in other areas, the pair met in 2004 and decided that the Fauquier area needed a group.
“We started meeting at Jan's house for about the first six months,” said Foster, pointing out that the group grew from a handful of early members to its current roster of about 65.
A worldwide organization, Newcomers Club promotes fellowship through group activities, making it easier for new residents to feel at home. Membership is $25 annually and is limited to women who have lived in the area for less than five years.
“I had belonged to clubs everywhere I have lived, but here there was nothing,” said Foster, who moved from New Mexico in 2004. Vos, who came to the area from Philadelphia the same year, was a also a Newcomers Club vet and both women still keep in touch with friends they made in the other groups over the years.
“I just came back from a big party where the Philadelphia club was celebrating a 40-year anniversary,” Vos said.
The club offers a jumping off point for new residents, allowing them to pursue activities that appeal to them. There's plenty from which to chose.
The monthly coffee features guest speakers, who cover a wide range of topics from skin care and herb gardening to fitness and area history, the women explained. Other club activities are organized at members' homes or other appropriate locations.
Chit Chat, a monthly newsletter, is packed with activities for club members — from book club and Bunco to gardening, knitting, and wine tasting. There is a Lunch Bunch that gets together for a mid-day meal at a local restaurant and a Girls' Night Out group that enjoys drinks together.
“We promote local businesses,” Foster pointed out. “We help assimilate people and give them information about local activities, businesses and restaurants.”
The group is diverse, with its youngest member in her early 20s and its oldest in her 80s. They come from all backgrounds and many of them have lived all over the world, Foster and Vos said, adding that members must be new to the area to join, but can continue to participate even after they've lived here for more than five years.
“The energy is wonderful,” Vos said. “Everyone is so eager to make new friends.”
While the club is for women only, they do host evening events for couples, Vos said.
“It's really interesting because our husbands become friends too. They love all of the evening things we do,” Foster added.
As their friends talked and laughed in the background, Foster and Vos highlighted the fellowship that is the group's mission.
“You're lonely when you come here and the friendships that you form here are ...,” started Foster.
“Lasting,” chimed in Vos.
“Yes, lasting,” Foster agreed. “You don't have to be lonely. If you get up in the morning and you want to do something, check the newsletter and pick an activity or call up another Newcomer and go shopping.”
For more information, call (540) 347-7720 or email warrentonewcomersclub@gmail.com . Prospective members may participate in two activities before joining the club.
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