Gail Paserba

Transition will be the theme of Gail Paserba’s two-year term as president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs Pennsylvania.

Paserba took office in May, the third woman from Butler County to hold the statewide office, the others being M. Clair Swope from 1978 to 1980 and Ida Findley from 1980 to 1982.

The Butler resident automatically took the post after being elected vice president in 2010. The group represents 3,000 members across the state.

“My responsibility is to give guidance and leadership to clubs throughout the state, along with my other officers. I don’t do this alone,” said Paserba. “Every summer we have what we refer to as our summer leadership conference.” This year’s conference will be July 27 and 28 at the Toftrees Golf Resort in State College.

2-year themeHer theme, or project, during her two years in office, which will be followed by clubs statewide, Paserba said, is helping foster children transition into independent adulthood.To that end she has contacted Joyce Ainsworth, director of Butler County Children and Youth Services, and asked for guidance.Ainsworth said she plans to have Paserba attend a quarterly meeting of county children and youth services officials from across the state in October.“It’s to let them know that women’s clubs in their counties will be approaching them,” Ainsworth said.Locally, Ainsworth said, Paserba will meet this month with the dependency court subcommittee that deals with adolescent foster children.“I really liked Gail’s approach,” said Ainsworth. “She didn’t say what she could do for us, she asked what we need the women’s club to do.”Ainsworth said aid could be fundraising ideas to club members mentoring adolescents.Ainsworth said in Butler County at any one time about 35 adolescents are nearing their exit from the foster care system.“GFWC is unique in the sense that we are able to adapt to the needs of the area,” Paserba said. “This area is blessed to have Lighthouse and the Mars Home for Youth that another county, say Lackawanna County, may not have.“With the guidance of Children and Youth Services agencies, we hope to meet the needs of those collective counties,” she said.Usually when a teen is in a group home, Paserba said, there is a meeting time with discussions on different topics.“It would be our goal to go into this setting and lead discussions on the importance of manners in the workplace, how to interview for a job, how to open and maintain a checking account,” said Paserba.“When you have teenagers in the system, they’re not in a foster home, they’re in a group setting. There is no consistency of a parent in your home. There aren’t lessons you learned at your mother’s knee; how to set the table, how to keep a checkbook, how to use a credit card,” she said.“If you haven’t learned table manners and you are on a job interview and they take you to lunch, you are most likely not going to get that job.”Paserba said in the past she was case manager for foster-care children.“My theme is that children hold our future. As a former social worker, now as an accountant, I want to be able to say how many are set up in apartments, how many are in secondary schools, trade school, community college and college,” she said.“I am realistic enough after being a social worker, that if we have one success that will be a big deal, but we want to help all of them,” she said.But it’s not just foster children facing change, said Paserba, so are the women’s clubs themselves.The pace of modern life, two-job households and changing child-rearing methods are all combining to sap women’s service clubs of members.

Overscheduled“When I was bringing up my kids, you could send your children outside to play, but now because of the fear of evil, you can’t. I understand it’s a safety issue,” she said. Today, mothers are shuttling between their jobs and their overscheduled children’s piano lessons, soccer games and play dates, she said. They don’t have the time to join a women’s club.She said clubs have adapted to meet the needs of those women.Now clubs are conducting meetings by Skype for instance, or using gotomymeeting.com, Paserba said.“We have the benefits of electronics, why not use them?” she asked. “We are trying to adapt this organization to meet the needs of younger members.”

‘Kind of oasis’Paserba cited Butler Downtown and the Butler Symphony Association as two groups that have benefited from having younger members. “They are blessed with young members who have made a commitment to this community. I think we are kind of an oasis in the desert right now,” she said.She cited the Mars and Saxonburg women’s clubs for providing volunteer hours and financial support for their community libraries and the Penn Township women’s club for providing scholarships for Knoch High School graduates.