Our Charities
The activities the Destin Woman’s Club organizes and participates in benefit the following various local charities:
Food For Thought Outreach
Once every two years the DWC membership chooses a non-profit organization to be the recipient of our fundraising efforts for two years. In 2023, the DWC voted that Food For Thought Outreach would be this non-profit.
Established in 2010, Food For Thought Outreach started as a small family project to serve food insecure students in one school for one year. With a $300 budget, Founder Tiffanie Nelson partnered with her son’s school to begin providing critical access to food to children in need. Over the past eleven years, Food For Thought has grown into the go-to organization for fighting childhood hunger in Walton and Okaloosa Counties. The organization has grown to meet the ever-changing needs of the community and currently provides weekly access to food to over 3,000 food insecure school aged children across 32 school locations.
The DWC Assistance Fund
The DWC Assistance Fund, formally known as the Mary Kirkpatrick Assistance Fund, serves to aid and assist the needy in our area. This fund seeks to fill the gap between public assistance and self-sufficiency and strives to help in such a way that those in need may further help themselves.
The DWC provides such help to needy families that includes grocery store/gas/department store gift certificates and/or gift cards and full or partial payment of rent, utilities, medical expenses or child care. Typically requests come from DWC members, local community organizations such as Harvest House and from local church organizations.
The DWC Assistance Fund can also help provide food during such Holidays as Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas to the needy in conjunction with other local charities. Donations from the Assistance Fund have also been used to help Fisher House and Shelter House.
Click here for detailed overview and DWC contacts
Fisher House
In recognition of the special sacrifices of wounded or ill service members and their families, the Fisher House Foundation donates “comfort homes” so that families may face medical crisis together. Fisher House of the Emerald Coast is located on Eglin Air Force Base in Northwest Florida and provides a home away from home so that our military families can be together during treatment for serious illness or physical/occupation therapy. The House is within steps of the Eglin Air Force Base Hospital and Veteran’s Clinic.
Since 2007, the DWC has raised over $36,000.00 in proceeds for the Fisher House of the Emerald Coast, Inc., which provides housing facilities for injured soldiers and their family while they are going through the rehabilitation process. This is a non-profit organization and not funded by the military.
The Carol & Bob Winsett Memorial Scholarship
Since 1994, the DWC has provided a self-perpetuating Scholarship Fund at Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC). This scholarship enables women to return to college, helping them provide a better future for themselves.
As of 2014, the Scholarship Fund was renamed The Carol & Bob Winsett Memorial Scholarship Fund, in honor of Carol Winsett. Carol was a dedicated Chair of this fund for many years until her passing in 2013.
Specific requirements and criteria for the scholarship recipients are stipulated by the Northwest Florida State College. The Scholarship Fund shall be utilized to provide a scholarship award to offset tuition and book expenses for a woman attending Northwest Florida State College. The scholarship recipient shall be a resident of the greater Destin area limited to Okaloosa and Walton county areas.
Northwest Florida State College Scholarship Director(s) submits the approved scholarship award recipients’ names to the (DWC) Scholarship Fund Chair and/or the DWC Club President on an annual basis.