Local Women's Group Promotes Friendship, Charitable Giving:

The women of the Dunes just want to have fun.

At least that what Siouxland Friends and Neighbors Vice President Jessica Lederman says. The locally based women's group prides themselves on being "A Women's Welcoming and Charitable Organization" according to their website, siouxlandfriendsandneighbors.com.

Kick-Off Party

SFN will host their Annual Kick-Off Party on Thursday, Sept. 4 at the Country Inn & Suites breakfast room in Dakota Dunes. The event will begin at 6 p.m. and last approximately two hours before the ladies head to Graham's Grill to socialize.

All women in the Siouxland area are invited to the Kick-Off to learn more about SFN, according to Lederman. The president of their Board of Directors will welcome the women, and Interest Group leaders will each speak about their activities to potential new club members.

"There will be tables all set up. Each interest group leader puts together a little display with sign-up sheets for hosts," Lederman explained.

New members may join the group and pay their annual dues of $30 at the Kick-Off also.

"Every week there is just about something to do with Siouxland Friends and Neighbors," Lederman noted. "It's such a fun group. I think this is my fourth year of being a member. It's great to get to know people who live right next to you. Or maybe their kid goes to school with your kid, and you never knew."

More than Meetings

SFN hosts a variety of interest groups that gives area women a chance to socialize and get out of the house.

A monthly newsletter, distributed to members via email or postal mail, outlines each month's activities. Some of the interest groups focus on creativity while others allow significant others the chance to socialize with the group.

Interest groups range from the Scrapbooking Club and the Movie/Book Club to Bridge Club and Bunko. The ladies also schedule playgroups for moms and their children, and the lunch club frequents the local restaurants.

"We have a Lunch Bunch. You pick a place to eat that's new to the group. We're at a different restaurant each time. Kids are welcome to come," Lederman explained.

Husbands and significant others are encouraged to attend Gourmet Club, which hosts dinner parties and TGIF, a fun Friday night gathering where members socialize with appetizers and drinks.

And when the women want a night out with just the girls, they can choose to attend the newly formed interest group "Girls Night Out." The group hopes to take in shows at the Orpheum, go bowling and even schedule nature walks.

Helping the Community

Some of the discussions at SFN gatherings focuses on the groups charitable giving.

Each month SFN allocates up to $200 of their dues to local charities and organizations that the women deem helpful in the community. The group also organizes an annual fundraiser to help one specific group in need.

Past recipients of the SFN charitable giving program have included Friends of North Sioux City Library, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve, Jackson Recovery Center, Support Siouxland Soldiers and Women Aware.

Another facet of SFN is their Helping Hands program. When a member of the group needs a little extra help with errands, meal prep or childcare after a surgery or illness, SFN is there with a helping hand. Last year the group provided meals to families arriving home with a newborns, and to ladies recovering from knee surgery.

A Welcoming Committee was formed this Spring. As families move to the area, a representative from SFN will contact them to let them know about the group. The new family will be reassured they already have a network of friends ready to make their transition a little more smooth.

Local Roots

Started in the mid-1990's, SFN was a way for women in the area to socialize and make friends. After the influx of Gateway executives, many women found themselves uprooted and planted in a new community without many friends or knowledge of the area. SFN allowed these women a chance to explore their new surroundings with other women.

"Bloom where you are planted" has been the groups motto ever since its inception, and remains their philosophy today.

"I know, as a mom, it's hard sometimes to get out of the house, to get out and at least get to talk to adults for a little while," Lederman explained of the group that allows her to socialize on a variety of levels.

"At the biggest year, I think it was almost 130 women involved," Lederman commented. And she hopes the comradery and variety of activities will allow the group to keep growing.

She says the group has made not only her, but also her husband and two children, feel welcome in the Dunes community.

Since Lederman's husband Dan has a hectic schedule as a bail bondsman in Sioux City while running for the State House of Representatives, the group has provided some much needed social breaks for the family.

And for Lederman, the group has been a way to make friends in the community. When she moved to the area, she was worried there wouldn't be any other young mothers.

"They've all either been through what I'm going through, or they are going through what I am going through now. A lot of it is the comradery that you get, being with other women," Lederman noted.

***This article was originally published in the North Sioux City / Dakota Dunes Times by Sedgwick Publishing.***