The FWCWT and our members are committed to passing the traditions, techniques, and skills of woodturning on to future generations.
Through schools, churches, and community outreach programs, members of the FWCWT volunteer to educate, mentor, and coach individuals seeking to learn or improve their woodturning skills.
Each month, our members are given the opportunity to advance their skills and knowledge, through demonstrations and videos provided at our club meetings, by local and internationally known turners.
The FWCWT offers personalized coaching and mentoring programs for individuals just starting out, or for experienced turners seeking one-on-one instruction from some of our more advanced members, to hone a specific skill.
Individuals looking to learn about woodturning are encouraged to come as a guest to our next club meeting to learn more. Visit the Calendar page for the dates and times of our scheduled meetings.
We also conduct Sawdust sessions; which are informal classes where up to six people can work on a lathe alongside the instructor while he/she demonstrates the steps. We have two sessions scheduled for this summer: Making a Cocktail Smoker and Sharpening your wood turning tools.
As we hone our skills for wood-turning, we more importantly give back to the community by supporting and contributing to the following four charities. FWCWT Members would love to have you join us in this effort, thereby enriching our community with our talents.
Patients undergoing treatment for cancer at Moffitt often lose their hair as a result of the chemotherapy treatments used to curtail the cancer. Many of those patients choose to wear wigs to lessen the emotional impact of their treatment, but have no means to store those wigs at night or at other times when not being worn. FWCWT members make wig stands as a part of our monthly challenges and donate them to Moffitt to offer them for free to patients undergoing these life-saving procedures.
Fantastic Wig Stands donated by club members.
The Beads of Courage program was begun by Jean Gribbon, PhD, RN in 2003 at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital as a program to provide children undergoing treatment for cancer with tangible “medals” in the form of glass beads for their many battles (procedures) in their individual “war” with cancer. It is now an active program in more than 300 children’s hospitals in at least eight countries. It is supported by the International Society of Glass Beadmakers. To provide containers for the beads in their bedrooms and hospital rooms while treatment is progressing, the children need a container in which to store the beads they receive for the treatment steps that they undergo. FWCWT members make turned wood lidded boxes that are donated to All Children’s hospital in St Petersburg, FL to help address that need.
Beads of Courage boxes donated by club members.
Each year in the spring, SVDP Cares sponsors an event call Empty Bowls to raise funds that go to feeding the homeless in Pinellas County. The event is hosted by the Clay center of St Petersburg and is on April 1 in 2023. Tickets are $25.00 per person and each paid attendee receives an “empty bowl” in recognition of their contribution. Many of the bowls are made by clay artisans from the Clay Center; however, FWCWT members make and donate bowls for the event as well. In 2022, FWCWT donated 20 hand-turned wooden bowls for the event. Our goal for 2023 is 40 bowls. More information about the empty bowls program is available at https://www.svdpsp.org/annual-events/empty-bowls/
Fantastic Bowls donated by club members.
Each year, the Arc Tampa Bay Foundation holds what is called “The Festival of Trees”, an event that showcases hundreds of Christmas trees that are decorated for sale to homeowners and businesses in the area. Attendees pay a small fee to attend the event and may purchase a pre-decorated tree for delivery to their home for the holidays. Beginning in 2022, FWCWT members have turned and donated ornaments to be placed on a tree for sale during the event. At the 2022 event, our tree included 119 hand-turned ornaments and was the first tree sold, generating more than $500 to benefit Arc’s programs.
The Arc Tampa Bay Foundation has been providing services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 1958. The Arc Tampa Bay is headquartered in Clearwater, FL, with 3 day program sites, 18 group homes and 1 apartment complex located throughout northern Pinellas County. Over 250 individuals receive services on a daily basis from The Arc Tampa Bay.
Fantastic Christmas Ornaments donated by club members.
