Flower children and hippies will gather this Saturday for the Greenwich Bay Women’s Club’s 60’s Dinner Dance to celebrate more than 50 years of community service. Peace signs, sunflowers and bellbottom pants will be in style again for the celebration.

Judy Earnshaw, who lived in Warwick, founded the Greenwich Bay Women’s Club in 1964. Earnshaw and her friends, mostly stay-at-home mothers, wanted to do more to have a positive impact on their community and began meeting regularly. Less than a year later they held their first fundraiser, Clown Town, a tradition that continues today every spring.

Lynne Wolff, who has been involved in the club for the past 29 years, serving as a past president, and currently serving as correspondence secretary, said that the group never “spends a nickel on itself.” Throughout the past 50 years the club has hosted various fundraisers and volunteered to support local charities such as the House of Hope CDC, the Elizabeth Buffum Chace Center and promoting a different charities throughout the year. Currently, the Greenwich Bay Women’s Club is highlighting The East Greenwich Animal Protection League, The Tomorrow Fund, and Habitat for Humanity.

The club also sponsors a popular bus tour to New York City that helps the organization raise money, which has quite the waiting list.

Because the organization was founded in the ’60s Wolff explained the group thought it would make sense to “throw it back” for their 50th anniversary.

Since 1964 the state chartered, Greenwich Bay Women’s Club has grown, and now has nearly 40 members, membership fluctuating year to year.

Although the majority of members are from North Kingstown, East Greenwich, and Warwick there are no residency restrictions and some members come from as far as Connecticut.

Wolff said the club membership is made up of women from a wide range of ages. The group meets at night, on the second Tuesday of every month, so that everyone from professional women, stay at home mothers, and retirees among others will be able to attend.

“If a lot of people put in a small effort, it can make big change,” Wolff said.

Although the ’60s Dinner Dance is not a fundraiser, there will be a 50/50 raffle to go towards educational grants.

“We’ve helped so many organizations and we thought we should celebrate that, remind people about all the good we do,” Wolff said. “This will be a lot of fun and great for anyone who likes to dance and eat good food.”

The ’60s Dinner Dance celebrating more than 50 years of the Greenwich Bay Women’s Club will be this Saturdaybeginning at 6 p.m. and going until 10 p.m. at the East Greenwich Veteran’s Firemen’s Club, 80 Queen St., East Greenwich.

Chianti’s, which has a new catering venture, will be providing dinner. Tickets are $39 per person.  Checks may be mailed to GBWC, P. O. Box 67, East Greenwich, RI 02818.

For more information email Wolff at Lynnewolff@gmail.com.

The Greenwich Bay Women’s Club meets on the second Tuesday of the month starting at 7 p.m. at Atria Harborhill, 1259 Division St. The club’s next meeting being tonight. The next after that is December 8 and will be a Yankee Swap. Membership costs $35 yearly.

For more information on membership contact Membership Chair Jackierussell@cox.net or call her at 527-4105.