MANSFIELD — A long-standing tradition will come to end, May 1 at Westbrook Country Club.
The Mansfield chapter of the American Association of University Women will hold its final meeting at 6 p.m.
The club, which gave scholarships to women seeking higher education over the past 84 years, plans to disband after celebrating their journey and remembering the leaders who made the organization possible.
“We have given thousands and thousands of dollars to students and non-traditional students,” said Mary Ann Sweat, a three-time president and member of the AAUW for nearly 50 years.
The organization is disbanding because members are too old to handle the responsibilities of the organization, she said.
“There has to be a president and a financial officer,” Sweat said. “And we don’t want the responsibility. A lot of people are not adept to do the technology the positions require. We didn’t know what to do, so we voted to disband.”
This year, the Mansfield Branch gave away its assets as scholarships. Sweat said the group awarded Richland Foundation’s Women’s Fund $2,000. Another $3,600 went to women attending either The Ohio State University at Mansfield or North Central State College. Two girls at Mansfield Senior High School were awarded $300 each and students with the leadership conference were given $600.
Scholarship money was raised at an annual book sale held in October at the Red Cross building in Mansfield. Sweat said the book sale effort was another reason members voted to disband.
“It is almost impossible for us to complete the book sale now,” Sweat said. “There was a lot of set up and take down. We raised about $3,000 to $4,000. That’s a lot of many and you can see all the set up that is included in that.”
