Last month, I started this new club after reading an article in the New Yorker. The article was about this mega-church and the way the guy who created it keeps his members engaged is by assigning them to "small groups." These small groups meet, talk and pray weekly, and this creates a bond with the larger church that they're all affiliated with. What caught my attention was that the people in these small groups tend to be much more involved in the church and to do much more community service than those who are not in the groups. My immediate thought was: It sucks that this kind of thing only really exists in a religious setting.

Then, I decided to do something about that. So, I started a club called (somewhat jokingly) The Good Girls Club. I decided to keep it all women because I feel like it's easier for a single-sex group to bond, even when they are strangers. And I just like all-woman groups. I guess it's my personal bias. It's basically like a book club or a knitting club, but for community service. Right now, we meet twice a month: once to plan and once to do a community service activity. I have invited various female friends to join. There are about 6 people in The Good Girls right now, although the first two activities were only attended by two other members and me.

It's been really fun so far. Our first community service act was to go down to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and help sort and box up food on a Saturday morning. That was a very satisfying project, because it involved hard work and you could really see exactly how you were helping people. It also really brought home how serious the hunger problem is in Los Angeles.

Our second project was making Valentine's Day cards for a hospice care company. We ended up making 240 cards, mostly because my friend Natalie had this amazing assembly line that cranked out gorgeous handmade Valentines (which I foolishly forgot to photograph). But, all three of us worked hard, and it was fun to do some goofy arts and crafts for a good cause. The volunteer coordinator at the hospice was super-excited to get the cards, and she gave me a big hug when I dropped them off. Again, it was a very satisfying project.

So, in two months, we've done two good projects. I guess I'd like it if we could do more, but we're all very busy women who are very focused on our careers and friends and relationships, so I think one project a month may be all we can handle for a while.

I'm not sure what we'll do as our March project, but I am excited to figure it out. I'll post about it once we've decided.

3 comments

1. Bridget on 12/05/2008 12:15:00 PM

   That's such a great idea! Any chance you need another good girl? I'd love to get involved. br1dg3t@gmail.com

    
2. Anonymous on 2/05/2009 01:11:00 AM

   I love this idea! would you mind other people starting groups with the same name?

    
3. Audrey on 2/05/2009 09:31:00 AM

   penelope, I would LOVE it if other people started Good Girls clubs in other cities and states. Be sure to let me know if you do it.