Edgewood
About Our Chapter
NCL, Inc., Edgewood Chapter is a group of mothers and daughters who have come together in a commitment to community service, leadership development and cultural experiences.
Members shall reside in San Mateo, Foster City, Redwood Shores, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, Emerald Hills and Half Moon Bay. Like all NCL, Inc. Chapters, Edgewood aims to foster the mother-daughter relationship by serving its communities together.
LOCATED ON THE PENINSULA IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
We are focused on building a vibrant network of mothers and daughters who can laugh, learn, grow and support one another both in the face of hardship and during times of celebration. We are committed to developing strong women leaders who can go out in the community and make a difference. We are proud to work side-by-side with a wide variety of philanthropies in the San Francisco Bay Area to try to help them accomplish change, both big and small. We welcome members who are determined, inclusive, compassionate and giving–together we hope to do great things.
OUR CHAPTER HISTORY
The Edgewood Chapter was formed in November of 2015 by nine Board Members, one Expansion Advisor Chair and 25 mothers whose Ticktockers were in the classes of 2019, 2020 and 2021. We were incorporated in California and received our Federal Tax Exemption 501(c)3 (officially a 501(c)(3). In 2017, we became an officially chartered National Charity League chapter. Today, we are close to 200 members strong and growing.
We are committed to building a chapter that helps develop formidable mother-daughter relationships and leaders who can serve and make an impact in their communities for generations to come.
Current Presidents:
2023-2024 Michelle Farrell and Allison Kumar
Past Presidents:
2015-2017 Michelle Stulbarg, Founder
2017-2018 Michele Bilafer, Founding Board
2018-2019 Laura Parks, Founding Board
2019-2021 Jessica Mattioli
2021-2022 Heidi Malden & Andrea Celetano
2022-2023 Martha Phillips & Charysse O’Donnell
Join Our Chapter
Interested in joining our chapter? Membership opportunities are dependent on chapter openings.
If you know someone in our chapter, talk to her about getting started, membership obligations and our membership drive timeline. If you do not know someone in NCL, you are invited to complete this Membership Inquiry Form.
For any questions regarding Membership, requests for transfers or assistance with connecting as a Sustainer, email us.
Each year the Edgewood chapter opens a new class of rising seventh graders and fills spaces in grades 8-10 that have become available through attrition. Our recruitment season is open from January 15th – February 15th, for membership beginning June 1st. If you are interested in learning more about participating in NCL with Edgewood, please complete the membership interest form prior to February 15th. NCL is designed as a small group leadership program whose membership is in part based on the availability of space in the daughter’s grade level. To maximize each girl’s experience, class sizes are limited and we are unable to offer rolling admissions.
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MEMBER
Membership in the National Charity League comes with responsibilities. We expect every member of the Edgewood Chapter to make time for what matters – for ourselves, our daughters, our chapter and our community. Through our efforts, we strive to strengthen our mother-daughter relationships and nurture the development of formidable women leaders, who will serve and impact their communities, today and long into the future.
Mothers–We want our mothers (Patronesses) to lead by example and inspire our daughters to be the confident, well-rounded, socially-aware agents of change we know they can be. We expect every member to attend meetings throughout the year, fulfill their job commitment to help run the chapter, and volunteer their time in service of our partner philanthropies. We know that life can interfere with plans, and commitments can ebb and flow, so we strive to support and reinvigorate members through our chapter’s community, programs and engagements.
Daughters–Our daughters (Ticktockers) go through a six-year program designed to inspire and empower them to succeed and make a difference within their communities. They too are expected to attend meetings, hold a position within their class, and volunteer. During the course of their membership, they will be encouraged and given many opportunities to take on leadership positions, go out of their comfort zones and make new, enduring connections with their peers, as well as other members of the extended NCL community.
These expectations and responsibilities are organized in the three pillars of NCL – Community Service, Leadership Development and Cultural Experiences.
Mothers and their daughters (grades 7-12) participate in a program that embraces:
Community Service
We understand and serve communities in partnership with local and national nonprofits. Each NCL, Inc. chapter promotes social awareness by considering the local community’s needs and selecting appropriate non-profit organizations to support through different volunteer activities.
We work with the following philanthropies:
- Alzheimer’s Association
- American Heart Association
- American Red Cross
- AYSO VIP
- Blue Star Mothers of America – San Mateo chapter
- Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Disaster Response
- Each Green Corner
- First Step For Families
- Friends of the Redwood City Library
- Habitat for Humanity
- Healthy Cities Tutoring
- Learning Home Volunteers
- LifeMoves
- My New Red Shoes
- National Day of Service – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service – January 15, 2024
- One Life Counseling
- Operation Gratitude
- Peninsula Ballet Theatre
- Peninsula Food Runners
- Peninsula Humane Society / SPCA
- Peninsula Veterans Center
- Samaritan House
- San Mateo County History Museum
- Save the Bay
- Second Harvest Food Bank
- Street Life Ministries
- Surfrider Foundation – San Mateo Chapter
- There With Care
- Villages of San Mateo County
The Edgewood Chapter is honored to work with a variety of non-profit organizations who are working to serve and address the needs within our communities.
Members have access to our philanthropic calendar, which provides volunteer opportunities that anyone can sign up to do. We also try to incorporate philanthropic activities into some of our meetings, taking advantage of our numbers to make light work of big tasks.
Every year, every class chooses an organization to work with, scheduling volunteer events they can enjoy as a group or with others who are important to them (parents, extended family, special friends).
A SAMPLING OF SOME OF THE PHILANTHROPIES WE WORK WITH:
- Alzheimer’s Association
- American Heart Association
- American Red Cross
- AYSO VIP
- Belmont Park & Recreation
- Blue Star Mothers of America – San Mateo Chapter
- Department of Veteran Affairs
- Each Green Corner
- First Step for Families
- Life Moves/Maple Street Shelter
- One Life Counseling Center
- Operation Gratitude
- Peninsula Ballet Theater
- Peninsula Food Runners
- Peninsula Humane Society
- Redwood City Library
- Samaritan House
- San Mateo County History Museum
- San Mateo County Veterans Services
- Save the Bay
- Second Harvest Food Bank
- Street Life Ministries
- SurfRider Foundation – San Mateo Chapter
- There with Care
- Twin Pines Senior Center
- Village Harvest
Leadership Development
We build capable, courageous leaders through opportunities to learn, reflect and develop. Our leaders become successful in their education, career and communities by learning the necessary skills during their NCL experience.
Examples of skills developed include:
- Confidence
- Consensus building
- Team building
- Conflict resolution
- Event planning
- Parliamentary procedure
Our Chapter Board of Directors:
Our daughters (Ticktockers) are given a number of opportunities to build essential leadership skills that they will use as they go forward in life. Every member has a chance to serve as an Officer of their class and drive decisions around programming and activities that shape their experience.
The goal is to give each Ticktocker a safe and supportive environment in which she can develop her leadership expertise and build her confidence. Over their six years with NCL our daughters will develop the vital skills they will rely on to motivate a team and accomplish their goals.
Lifeskills developed in our chapter include:
• Written communication
• Public speaking
• Interviewing
• Goal setting
• Timelines and budgeting
• Delegation and motivation
• Project management
Cultural Experiences
We preserve National Charity League traditions and core values, while appreciating the growth that comes from connecting with different communities and cultures. We continually strive to build stronger ties with our communities and the individuals within them. It is through this understanding that we grow and develop broader worldviews that will shape and support our lives.
- Traditions – We celebrate the richness of our history through traditions that honor the past while serving the future.
- Values – We embrace values that make us strong as an organization of mother-daughter leaders.
- Community Connections – We build connections through experiences that impact our communities.
- Etiquette – We encourage and mentor kind, respectful and gracious social conduct.
As our future leaders, we want to give our daughters a well-rounded view of life, so they can develop different perspectives and appreciate different people’s contributions to our culture. Each class, each year, has a cultural focus and life skills building emphasis they will be able to draw upon throughout their lives as they navigate the world. We try to provide a balance that both honors the past and serves the future.
Some cultural areas of focus include:
• Outdoor and exercise
• Symphony and ballet
• Musical theater
• Museums and gardens
• Stage art and comedy
Some life skills they will explore:
• Conversation skills
• Nutrition
• Positive self-image
• Navigating friendships and peer pressure
• Stress reduction
• Internet safety
• Assertiveness
• Dating and personal safety
• Budgeting and money management
• College choices and career options