The Woman's Club of Whitehall was founded in 1959 by Dorothy Rummel, but the club's national federation has a beginning dating to the late 1800s.

According to the General Federation of Women's Club's (GFWC) website, "Jane Cunningham Croly formed the General Federation of Women's Clubs in 1890, to support clubs throughout the nation and further their efforts at providing education, improved working conditions, health care, scholarships and other reforms."

Lilly Kernechel, the international chairperson of the Woman's Club of Whitehall, said one of the reasons why Croly formed the GFWC was because she as well as other women were denied access to hear Charles Dickens speak in New York City in 1869.

"The men were all going to listen to [Charles Dickens], and he told the men, we don't want any women. So what [the women] did was put up a blanket, and they took chairs and they sat in the back so they could listen to Charles Dickens," Kernechel said.

The Woman's Club of Whitehall founder's daughter-in-law, Martha Rummel, said the club was started because "women wanted something to do outside their home for whatever reason, and she saw the need for that. She then checked into it and got some people together."

Each year, the club has a theme that the Pennsylvania state president picks. The Woman's Club of Whitehall then follows that specific theme in its fundraisers for local organizations.

"Two years ago, it was the food bank," Hackett said.

The current theme is ending domestic violence. During the Christmas holiday, the club donated personal care items, winter accessories and money to Turning Point of Lehigh Valley, a shelter for victims of abuse.

"We are a community-based service club," Hackett said.

"We are a charitable organization," Kernechel added.

Although the name of the club includes the town of Whitehall, Rummel said those interested in joining the club can live in any town.

"We have several members who are not of Whitehall," she said.

And the club is always looking for new members, Hackett said, especially younger women to carry on the mission and purpose of the organization.

The Woman's Club of Whitehall meets September through May on the second Monday at 7 p.m. at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church on MacArthur Road.

For more information on the Whitehall Woman's Club, call 610-264-5626.