WE'RE HERE TO HELP

The Widowed Persons Association of California is a non profit, nondenominational community service organization dedicated to helping widowed people overcome grief and learn to live and laugh again.

WPAC was organized in Sacramento in 1985 and by 1988 grew to more than 800 members in the Sacramento area. In 1987, the state WPAC office was established to help other communities set up WPAC chapters.

All the people who work for WPAC and who have made WPAC the largest and most successful organizations of its kind in the nation are widows and widowers. We know what it means to lose a spouse and how long and how hard seems the road to a new and independent life.

We're here. . . to listen, to lend a hand, to let you talk or cry or rage. We know the grieving process well because each of us has lived through it, too. The motto of the WPAC is "A grief shared is a grief diminished" because we have discovered that widowed people need, more than anything else, the companionship and understanding of those who have also loved and lost----and lived to become strong and vital people.

We're here to help.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Members of WPAC maintain very busy social calendars! A monthly dinner or luncheon meeting is one-tenth business and nine-tenths socializing . . but that's only the beginning!

Each chapter offers a variety of social and recreational opportunities for it members. Pot lucks are popular with many people, as are informal weekly dinners at local restaurants.

Card-players usually find plenty of other WPAC members who enjoy a game of bridge or pinochle, and those who enjoy theater and opera or symphony performances may get together to form a group. Most WPAC members like to travel and it's fun to plan a trip for a weekend or even just a one-day outing.

Social activities vary from chapter to chapter and depend very much on the involvement of each member. Everyone who belongs to WPAC is encouraged to contribute to the organization by working on a committee, hosting a get-together or serving as an officer or activity chairperson. Most WPAC members find that helping out with chapter activities is a good way to get acquainted, learn a new skill or develop a new interest.

The best part of WPAC is certainly the new friends one makes: friends who will call when you're lonely, drop by if you are blue, laugh with you, cry with you, lift your spirits and enrich your life.

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

Membership in WPAC is open to all widowed persons. Prospective members are welcome as guest at three WPAC chapter functions while deciding whether or not to join the organization.

Each WPAC chapter sets its own membership dues. Dues are payable each year on January 1st and include both local and state charges. (New members joining after July 1st may pay half-year dues.)

All dues go entirely to support the operating expenses of the organization: printing, mailing, telephone cost, office supplies, etc. All officers and committee chairmen of the local chapters and the state Board of Directors serve without salary.

Each member of WPAC receives a monthly newsletter which contains the next month's calendar of activities and social events for the chapter, items of general interest and announcements of special events. Every member also receives a copy of the WPAC Bylaws and Standing Rules and a complete roster of members for a local chapter.

For more information contact:

Widowed Persons Association of California, Inc.

Chapter # 5

P.O. Box 710

Tracy, Ca. 95378-0710

or

W.P.A.C. STATE OFFICE

P.O. BOX 60619

Sacramento, Ca. 95860-0619

(916)-972-9443

THE PURPOSE of W.P.A.C.

Is to provide a support Group for Widowed men and women of all ages, and promote a wide range of social activities through which widowed persons have the opportunity to make new friends and find redirection in their lives.

"A grief shared is a grief diminished"