HomeWho We Are

Our Club Today

Welcome to Washington International Club is a volunteer, not-for-profit social organization, dependent on the efforts of its members to organize its activities and events. There are no salaried employees. Organizational expenses are covered by the modest annual member dues.

The Club remains faithful to its original mission of providing a social and educational environment to foster friendships between women from the US and around the world.

Our Club motto is:
"Friendship through Understanding...Understanding through Friendship"

The Four Ps

Countries Represented by Our Members

Currently, we have over 400 members from 80 nations who share the desire for international understanding, respect and friendship in a peaceful world. Membership is balanced among native-born US citizens, foreign-born US citizens, and citizens of other nations and includes women ambassadors and wives of ambassadors accredited to the United States.

If you would like more information about membership, please click here.

Adair & Quilt

Photo: Member, Caroline Dimmers, holding up a photo of her mother, the Club's Founder, Marian Adair, against the ceremonial quilt celebrating representative countries

Activities

The Club supports a wide variety of activities, many of which take place at venues not normally accessible to the public at large. Most of these activities are pursued in the framework of our Interest Groups, which form the core of the organization. We also engage in joint programs with like-minded organizations.

Interest Groups

Art World: Trips to artists’ studios, museum exhibitions, private and public collections, performances, theater, music and many other artistic venues.

Cultural Expressions: Designs and presents enriching and informative programs with the understanding that each culture and country embodies unique history, traditions, heritage, and perspectives.

Designing Women: Programs dedicated to the total woman – design in-home décor, fashion and beauty, as well as floral and garden.

Garden Group: For those who love gardening and want to share ideas and skills, love visiting and learning about gardens, or simply wish to enjoy the colors and scents of beautiful flowers in bloom.

Gourmet: Food, fun, and friends through love of good food and good times. Strive to forge many new friendships and strengthen bonds with existing friends. Strive to showcase international and American cuisines - crossing the globe as well as crossing the regions of the USA.

Healthy Living: Programs to increase awareness of health conditions, prevention, and wellness, to preserve optimal health for our members. Our group meetings expand knowledge through expert speaker presentations and demonstrations.

Literature, Travel, and More: Programs that feature author presentations and travel destinations around the world hoping to inspire those who attend with material about people, places, and events that are new to them.

Telling Our Stories: Personal stories of members with different cultures and customs to gain insight into the individual through experiences that shaped the storyteller's life

Washington Behind The Scenes: Tours, often times "behind the scenes," at some of the DC area's most attractive, fascinating and out of the ordinary places

Language Groups

The Club also organizes Language Groups designed to give members the opportunity to enhance or maintain previously acquired language skills.

Each group is unique and functions according to the desires of the group. New members are always welcome.

We currently offer French (Advanced) - proficient French speakers meet in an to discuss French literature both classic and modern and German (Intermediate) - Intermediate German speakers meet over Kaffee and Kuchen to improve their conversational skills. .

Informal Activities

Many members also pursue other interests not covered by the aforementioned activities. Customarily, these activities and events are smaller in attendance than those of the Interest Groups and have no formal schedule. Informal activities groups are created as interests change and grow. Among these groups are Dinner Club, IInternational Money Makers, Let's Play Bridge, Sunday Brunch Around and Y Knot Knit.

Club-Wide Events

These include the Annual Meeting and Luncheon in May, Holiday Party in December and the Fall Tea in September which features a keynote speaker and cultural presentations.

We also engage in Club-wide events of interest to members: Embassy events, joint programs with like-minded institutions, and more.

The Beginning (1959)

Marian Adair, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, came to Washington, DC when her husband, Ross, was elected to Congress in 1950.

She recognized the need for an organization devoted to interaction between US women and those of other nations. She also believed that better understanding of other people could lessen conflict around the world. She understood and took to heart President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1958 initiative “People to People”, which promoted international peace.

Marian fulfilled her goal of creating opportunities for women to interact by founding, among many other organizations, the Welcome to Washington International Club (WTW). On April 13, 1959, its first meeting took place and as an indication of positive things to come, 135 women attended.

Fourteen special interest groups were chartered at that meeting – the Club was on its way!

Welcome Clubs International

In 1986, it became apparent that an “umbrella organization” was needed to provide support to members of Welcome to Washington International Club who upon their return to their home countries were forming clubs modeled on the original club in Washington. It was then that Welcome Clubs International (WCI) was created.

Since 1986, WCI has steadily grown to include sister clubs throughout the world: Asia, Europe, Middle East, North America, and South America.

To see a list of the sister clubs, click here.

Note: Welcome to Washington International Club and WCI are completely separate and independent organizations.