South Baldwin County not only boasts beautiful beaches, but it is also home to hosts of families from all over the country.

Because many people move to the area later in life, sometimes it’s hard to get involved, but the Baldwin Newcomers Club seeks to connect women of all ages and origins, said Charlene Doody, the president of the club, which has about 300 members.

“It’s not really limited to being new,” Doody said. “It’s for anyone who lives in south Baldwin County. It’s open to any women at any age.”

Robbin Kimball moved to Orange Beach after retiring from a successful career as a nurse practitioner.

“Work was my hobby,” Kimball said. “Joining things like this was something I had never done before. But I found out it was a nice way to get involved in the community and get together with other people.”

Doody said bringing women together from all over the country who have diverse skills and work backgrounds creates excellent networking opportunities.

“They lend that expertise to what we do, and that’s really fantastic when we’re putting on events and things,” Doody said. “The club is a conduit to get the people together and to share their interests and talents for the betterment of the county.”

The skills and expertise of the women are also useful in the club’s community service and fundraising efforts.

Through fundraising, club usually has about $25,000 a year to allocate to charities in the area. Doody said she would love to increase fundraising and be able to donate more money to more charities.

The club has a luncheon meeting the first Tuesday of every month except July, and each meeting features a guest speaker who talks about something relevant to the community. Doody said 85 to 120 women usually attend the meetings.

In addition to the monthly luncheons, the club has small groups who get together and do just about anything—Bunco, kayaking, hiking, biking, wine tasting, card playing, prayer groups, writing groups and more.

Doody said members can be as involved as they want to be.

“You can make as much of it as you want,” Doody said. “You can just come to the luncheons each month and say hi to 10 people and go home, or you can get very involved in four or five groups, set up special stuff for yourself—there’s some people who have something on their calendar every day of the week.

Although the club’s main function is social, Doody said she believes it serves an important role in the community—connecting women and sparking lasting relationships.

“Just to have opportunities to meet other women and to build relationships with other people in the community is very important,” Doody said. “You just never know down here—there’s been some very hard times with the BP oil spill and the hurricanes and everything—and having friends goes a long way in sustaining yourself through these times.”

For more information about the South Baldwin Newcomers Club and how to get involved, visit http://southbaldwinnewcomers.org or contact Charlene Doody at charleneob@aol.com.