(ATLANTIC CITY, NJ) -- The New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs (NJSFWC) will hold its 2024 Annual Convention May 6-8 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. The convention will be attended by hundreds of clubwomen from 174 local federated clubs across the state, who will gather to vote on key organizational issues, support motions for legislation, and celebrate New Jersey women of achievement. This year’s theme is “Federation: A Sisterhood of Friendship.”
NJSFWC is proud to welcome New York Times bestselling author Martha Hall Kelly as a guest speaker. Martha’s debut novel Lilac Girls became a New York Times bestseller the week it was published in 2016 and then went on to sell over two million copies and publish in 50 countries. The novel is based on the true story of 72 Polish women who were imprisoned and experimented on at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp and how Caroline Ferriday, an American philanthropist brought them to the U.S. for rehabilitation and the trip of a lifetime. Martha followed Lilac Girls with Lost Roses about Caroline’s mother, and Sunflower Sisters about Caroline’s great grandmother, which also became Instant New York Times best sellers. The Golden Doves, which returns to WWII is now available in paperback wherever books are sold, and her upcoming novel The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club arrives spring 2025.
Kelly will speak during the opening business session on Monday, May 6 at 1:30pm.
“We are thrilled to Martha Hall Kelly to our annual convention. Her writing on women’s history and advocacy is perfectly aligned to the values and volunteer spirit of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs,” said NJSFWC President Shirley Holly.
The New Jersey State Federations of Women’s Clubs (NJSFWC), a volunteer community service organization, was founded in 1894 and is headquartered on the Douglass College campus in New Brunswick, NJ. The NJSFWC founded the New Jersey College for Women, now known as Douglass College (Rutgers), in 1918. In 2020, the organization, with a membership of over 6200, reported almost 16,963 community service projects involving over 320,119 volunteer hours and $2.3 million in cash and in- kind donations. The NJSFWC is a member of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC), which is headquartered in Washington, DC, and is the largest and oldest women’s volunteer community service organization in the world.
