Inspiring Women Winter 2017

A Club Inspires:
There are FAWCO clubs of all sizes and shapes across the world. A Club Inspires is a feature
where you will learn more about one of them. This time we are pleased to share with you one of
the FAWCO clubs based in Region 5 : Munich International Women’s Club. Over to them...
Our three-person FAWCO Rep team at the Munich International Women’s Club in Southern
Germany is excited to present our club to Inspiring Women. Our team shares a love of our small
but vibrant cosmopolitan city and of our not-so-small and lively international club.
Although we three, Caroline Pekarek, Aurora Silvestri and I (Cecily Garver), are all Americans,
we represent a club with members from over 30 different countries. MIWC is an associate
member of FAWCO with approximately 220 members, roughly composed of 25% Americans,
25% Germans, 15% Brits and 35% other nationalities. We are also a mix of lifers and expats,
ranging in age from mid-30’s to mid-80’s (I’m guessing here).
Our club structure is fairly
typical of IWCs with an
E x e c u t i v e B o a r d
consisting of President,
Vi ce-President a nd
Treasurer, and a larger
Committee with about 12
positions, such as
Hospitality, Activities and
Finance. One thing worth
highlighting though, is
how our Team structure
plays into our Committee:
a Team of at least two,
and often of four or five
members rather than just
one individual, holds
each position on the
Committee. Not only
does this structure lighten the load on each member, it also gets us to “Yes” more easily when
recruiting for leadership.
We are sometimes asked whether a Committee of over 50 members, 20-30 of whom attend our
monthly Committee meeting, isn’t burdensome in the decision making process. It is not.
Perhaps the nature of our club as open, transparent and with a sub-culture of "the-more-themerrier"
plays a role.
It follows perhaps that the MIWC is primarily a social club. Founded in 1990 by a small group of
Brits and Americans looking for others with whom to share their expat experiences, today we
continue to do just that. Our club motto “Camaraderie, Culture and Charity” reflects our
primarily social and cultural nature, yet still highlights our charitable disposition.
We are a registered not-for-profit organization and, German law stipulates that we support a
primary German charity. The MIWC has designated Frauen Helfen Frauen (Women Help
Women), a local shelter for women and their children who are escaping domestic abuse. We
also support various other charities, primarily through NEEED and the FAWCO Target Project.
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