ABOUT US

The Women's Cultural Alliance (WCA) formed in 2008, is a non-fundraising affinity group of the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples (JFGN) with over 1,600 members from Collier and Lee Counties in Southwest Florida. Our purpose is to enable women who share similar interests to participate in cultural, educational, and social events.

There are over fifty interest groups for members to enjoy. WCA also offers extensive programming, including a speaker series, bus trips, card and game activities, physical activities, study and book groups, special events, and more. Activities are offered year-round, with North and South satellite groups, a NextGen group for those age 65 and younger, and summer branches in other states. 

WCA is run entirely by volunteers. We are non-partisan and welcome women of all faiths. If you are new to Southwest Florida, membership in WCA is an easy way to become part of your new community. 

By Elaine Soffer, WCA Past President

The almost 30-year journey is a testament to what a group of women working together can accomplish. In 1994, the Brandeis University Women Naples Chapter (BUWNC) was founded by a group of friends whose mission was to create a volunteer organization to enable educated women to learn and socialize together. Several founding members, including Myra Freedman, Pauline Hendel, Bunny Levere, Judy Peltz(z’l), and Donna Wasser, were active in Brandeis groups in their former hometowns and created a Brandeis Chapter in Naples – a dues-supported, volunteer organization with programming led by the members. The agreement with Brandeis University included a commitment to provide financial support to the University Library in exchange for organizational support. The chapter's growth proliferated because of the increased development in Collier County during the 90s.

Within a short period, the chapter had many book clubs and study groups for theater, opera, art, movies, and current affairs. “Ladies who Lunch,” a social group that encouraged those attending to meet new people over lunch, was also offered. Some of these groups still exist today. The chapter treasurer sent the dues directly to Brandeis, and Brandeis reimbursed the chapter for expenses incurred. This system worked for several years until the national BUWC asked chapters to increase contributions to the University for other programs. The Naples Chapter objected to being asked to contribute additional money. In addition, the chapter could no longer meet in homes and needed help locating a larger program venue.

Two founding members of the Naples chapter, Donna Wasser and Pauline Hendel, had an idea to enable the existing women's group to continue. They approached Federation officers David Willens, the Director; Evy Lipp, Vice President; Rosalie Bogo, President; and the Federation Board of Directors, and shared their idea of having a social, educational, and non-fundraising women’s group that would operate under the Federation umbrella. The Board supported this proposition, and in September 2008, the Women’s Cultural Alliance (WCA) was welcomed as an affinity group of the Federation. Without Donna Wasser and Pauline Hendel and the foresight and hard work of all the women who left BUWNC to form a group with the Federation, the BUWNC would have ceased to exist, and there would not be a WCA today.

With Donna Wasser at the helm, the new chapter began. Women’s Cultural Alliance Donna transitioned from the last president of BUWNC to the first president of WCA in September 2008. One crucial policy confirmed that all women were welcome to become members. The following year, Donna and Jane Hersch served as co-presidents. From 2009 to 2013, under Jane’s leadership, WCA’s membership grew from 300 to more than 1,000. The speaker series originated during that period.

Elaine Soffer became President in December 2013. During her tenure from 2013-2020, the number of WCA offerings expanded to more than 100 unique programs, with members initiating new programs and study groups. Satellite groups WCA North and WCA South were formed to provide programming held geographically closer to our expanding membership. WCA created summer branches in nine areas so WCA members could “take WCA home” with them over the summer. Elaine led the effort to revise WCA’s Bylaws to include a succession plan, which had been one of her primary presidential goals. Under her leadership, WCA membership reached nearly 1700 members.

When COVID struck in March 2020, all in-person programming, except some outdoor activities, ceased. Active membership dipped to 1200. Ever resilient, WCA learned the new technique of Zoom and pivoted to virtual programming. Elaine convened a committee to explore and eventually implement an automated membership management system, which was the second of her presidential goals, confident that WCA would bounce back after the pandemic.

In September 2020, Elaine Soffer passed the presidential gavel to Patti Boochever. In March of 2021, WCA transitioned to a computerized membership management system and launched a website, wcanaples.org. In the summer of 2021, WCA expanded with the formation of the NextGen group, formed to attract members age 65 and younger. With co-presidents Darlene Mueller and Debbie Lurie at the helm, WCA remains the only affinity of its kind within the Jewish Federation of North America.