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About us

 
AWG is a group of American and English speaking women founded in 1986 by Dora Taylor and  based mainly in Languedoc-Roussillon in the South of France.
We also have non-resident members  who live all over the world.
 
AWG is a non-profit, non-political, and non-sectarian organization.Our group is composed of Regular, Associate, and Honorary members:
  • Regular Members are women who are either citizens of the USA, or wives, daughters, or mothers of US citizens.
  • Associate Members are English-speaking residents of the Languedoc-Roussillon area who are not eligible for Regular membership. 
  • Honorary Members are those who have provided exceptional service to the AWG.

 

AWG Structure:

Our Association is an association Loi de 1901 déclarée à la Préfecture de l'Hérault. Its comprises Board Members and Administrative members. 

 

What's unique about AWG? 

AWG's membership in the international American organization, FAWCO (Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas), which holds United Nations NGO status, affords us the opportunity to be active in the promotion of women's and children's rights, and in protecting the environment, and gives us a stronger voice on the world scene than we would have as individuals, or as an individual club. 

Mission Statement:the mission of AWG is to stimulate the exchange of ideas and interests between the American/Anglophone and French communities of Languedoc-Roussillon by:

    • Promoting friendship and sharing the American language and customs with members of the French community
    • Helping women adapt to a new or different culture while still maintaining their own
    • Encouraging understanding and good fellowship through social and cultural activities and service to the community

 

Fundraising and Philanthropy

AWG is a member of FAWCO (Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas) which supports numerous scholarship and other philanthropic activities throughout the world.  We are, for the most part, foreigners living in France and feel strongly about contributing to a local effort to improve conditions here.  

Our fundraising activities are divided between international projects, under FAWCO's auspices, and local charities. Over the years our fundraising has gone toward an association providing guide dogs for the blind, one that helps bring children needing operations from underdeveloped countries to Montpellier for medical treatment, and another which operates a center for battered women. This year AWG has chosen to support the Resto Bebes de Montpellier, a special activity within the Restaurants du Coeur Association.   

We make our fundraising fun.  Dinners are organized at members' homes. These are warm social evenings where everyone has fun in aid of a good cause. We respond to major disasters with special fundraising events - e.g., Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, U.S.A.  in 2005.

 

History

 Who could have predicted the results when in May 1986 a small postcard notice appeared on the bulletin board at the American Library in Montpellier? Four American women gathered at that first meeting, where they shared their experiences as expatriates of the United States.These four drew others who had lived abroad, were married to French citizens, were connected in some way to the university, hospital or medical community, or telecommunication and computer industries located here, or anglophones who wanted a place to continue using that language.
Thus it began, and quickly became large enough to be included as a sister club to more than seventy other such clubs around the world known as the Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas (FAWCO). In its short history, Montpellier's AWG-LR, as a non-political, non-sectarian organization, has increased its membership more than tenfold and now offers a wide selection of activities, all of which reflect the lifestyle of this part of France. These include groups that focus on hiking, gardening, cooking, art and historical tours, educational workshops, book club, family and children's activities, and community service projects to connect with the larger French community.