Northwood Woman’s Club Gift Creates New Callier Center Endowment

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Northwood Woman’s Club (NWC) has established the Northwood Woman’s Club Patient Care Endowment Fund with a $250,000 gift to The University of Texas at Dallas’ Callier Center for Communication Disorders. The endowment will provide access to clinical services for patients of all ages with speech, language and hearing disorders who otherwise would be unable to afford such care.

“The endowment is a tribute to the nine women who founded NWC 50 years ago and to the members who have held true to NWC’s mission for 50 years,” said Vaughn Gross, NWC 2018-2019 president. “We wanted to do something significant that will live beyond us into the next 50 years.”

A women’s civic organization that helps meet the philanthropic needs of the community, the Northwood Woman’s Club has supported numerous North Texas charities and typically funds multiple organizations each year. To commemorate its 50th year, NWC selected the Callier Center as its sole beneficiary and raised $250,000 that was matched by other gift funds at the Callier Center to create the $500,000 endowment.

“We wanted to partner with an organization that had high visibility and respect in the community,” Gross said. “Our members realized that this was an extraordinary opportunity to support Callier and to be associated with a multifaceted, well-known organization that makes a difference in people’s lives.”

NWC raised the funds by hosting a Divinely Decadent Birthday Bash Luncheon that was co-chaired by NWC members Rosemarie Ewton, Pam Meyercord and Beth Sutera. The event included a live auction, a concert and a raffle.

“This gift from the Northwood Woman’s Club will ensure that individuals with communication challenges will receive the necessary services to improve their ability to communicate with the world,” said Dr. Thomas Campbell, the Ludwig A. Michael, MD, Executive Director of the Callier Center and the Sara T. Martineau Professor. “We sincerely thank the leadership and members of the Northwood Woman’s Club for their continued support of UT Dallas and the Callier Center.”

In 2018 NWC awarded the Callier Center a grant for $40,500, which provided audiology and speech-language services for children in need who are deaf or hard of hearing through the cochlear implant program.

“Communication is critical,” Gross said. “If you cannot communicate, it is difficult to learn and participate in life. Giving people the tools to communicate opens doors and changes lives. It is a blessing to have this research, training and treatment institute in our backyard. The Callier Center is an asset for North Texas, a real gift for us all.”

In 1979 NWC began an enduring relationship with UT Dallas when it began providing scholarships to UT Dallas students.

“UTD was in its beginning,” Gross said, “and NWC decided to focus on raising money for women who wanted to get their degrees or who wanted to go back to school and couldn’t afford the financial commitment.”

NWC established the Northwood Woman’s Club Scholarship Fund and has awarded annual scholarships to approximately 100 students over the years, making NWC the second-longest consecutive giving organization to the University.

“Many of our members are former educators, and everyone is passionate about education,” Gross said. “We all know that education is how you lift people up, and that is why we have continued to support UTD.”

Since 1968 the Northwood Woman’s Club has awarded more than 300 grants to community organizations, and its 356 members contribute approximately 15,000 volunteer hours each year. NWC has given more than $690,000 to UT Dallas and more than $6 million to the community. The organization’s 2019-2020 president is Jan Folmar.