The club was started in April 1997 by Georgia Stewart, the wife of the American ambassador who was also the first president. An executive board was established to manage the club and its activities.  Initially, IWCM was for expatriates to provide them opportunities for charitable work and insights into the life and culture of Moldova by inviting speakers to meetings and taking trips in the country.  

The International Women's Club of Moldova continues to seek out women who are generally new to the area and interested in meeting other women for fun and friendship!  We would like to help you feel at home here in Moldova, as you learn the 'lay of the land'.  This was the original goal of Georgia Stewart as she and others created this club, and it continues to be the primary goal of IWCM.  Please come join us for one of our monthly luncheons, or our General Membership meeting, which is  held on the first Tuesday of each month at the Leogrand Hotel. Come and find out about how you can become a member and join one of our numerous activity groups,  such as Afternoon Book Club, our Mom ‘n Tots group, Thursday morning Mah Jong, the Craft Group, Cooking Group, and other activities. 

If we don't offer a group that you would enjoy participating in, we are open to new ideas and suggestions!  In addition, we have an active Grants committee that is meeting monthly to further the many charitable works that IWCM is involved in and giving back to.  To further that cause, we organize and host every December our Annual Holiday Bazaar, as well as our Springtime Night of Art.  Both events are a great time for IWCM members and host community alike, while also a perfect fusion of fun and function, as all proceeds go to those charitable causes selected anew each year!

Our Grants Committee has evolved into an important aspect of IWCM.  Through the efforts of our two fund-raising events each year - the Holiday Bazaar and the Night of Art, we have supported such causes as delivering humanitarian aid to female prisoners in 2002, renovating a Breact Cancer Ward at the local Oncological Institute in 2004, and helping to establish a playground in the city center.  In 2002, when the IWCM raised funds to help establish this playground in the city center. it was through the dedication and hard work of two members, Meryl Lindstrom and Kristien Johnson (architect), who oversaw the opening of it in the spring of 2003.   It was the cooperative efforts of many non-government organizations which truly made this all possible.  Currently, this year we are focusing on giving aid and developing programs at several Moldovan children's homes and orphanages that will hopefully continue to benefit students, as well as lending support to the exciting Special Olympic Program that has begun in Moldova.

We are proud to say that throughout its ten-year history, IWCM has successfully involved local artists, organizations and companies as well as international organizations such as Peace Corps, UNDP, World Bank and UNICEF to share its work and vision for Moldova.  We hope to continue to contribute positively to Moldova in the future.

Come visit us at one of our upcoming events, and pick up one of our "Essential Guide To Moldova" booklets that has all kinds of useful information for your stay in Moldova, and all for a very nominal fee (yup, another fund-raiser)...and don't forget to say 'Hi'!

 

 

 

 

IWCM Presidents

 

1997 – 1998  Georgia Stewart
1998 – 1999  Audrey Harper & Katalin Hodicska
1999 – 2000  Ethel Perina & Lise Tejno
2000 – 2001  Ethel Perina & Lise Tejno
2001 – 2002  Pat Olsen
2002 – 2003  Sylvia Putman & Mehtap Ozge
2003 – 2004  Sylvia Putman
2004 – 2005  Samantha Healy
2005 – 2006  Molly Lamphear
2006 – 2007  Delphine Torres
2007 – 2008  Sara Kirby
2008 – 2009  Marcie Grafin Lambsdorff

2009 – 2010  Marcie Grafin Lambsdorff & Nazli Ŭlker

2010 – present Charla Chaudhry & Nazli Ŭlker