Beth Hart, foreground right, a member of the Welcome Club of Lawrence, leads members in a tai chi class earlier this month. Club members meet on Mondays and Thursdays for the class at First Baptist Church, 1330 Kasold Drive.

Sharon Ochsenhirt, historian with the Welcome Club of Lawrence, participates in a tai chi class. The club offers a variety of activities for Lawrence residents wanting to meet people in the community.

When Carole Milton moved to Lawrence from San Francisco in May 2006, she was looking for a place to call home.

“My Realtor mentioned there was a Welcome Club, and it sounded like a good place to start. I went to a meeting, and the ladies were so nice, it just drew me in. I felt a part of something,” says Milton who, after demonstrating her leadership as a board member and fundraiser, is now president of the Welcome Club of Lawrence.

According to the group’s historian, Sharon Ochsenhirt, the Welcome Club was incorporated in May 1999 as a social organization for new or established women of the Lawrence community.

“We organize social activities for the continuing enjoyment of our members, and we support charitable and civic projects with our time and fundraising,” she says.

Ochsenhirt says predecessors for the group are the Welcome Wagon Club of Lawrence, founded in 1985, and an even earlier Lawrence Newcomers Club whose scrapbooks date back to 1966 and indicate it was primarily a group for couples.

But aside from gender, there are no limits to the Welcome Club’s appeal.

“There are women of all ages, from 20-year-olds to 80-year-olds,” says Milton. “It doesn’t matter if you’re new here or have been here for a long time, or how far you are from Lawrence. We have members from Topeka to Tonganoxie. They’re all a part of the community.”

For Beth Hart, the social activities of the Welcome Club provided the sense of community she was looking for when she moved to Lawrence from Eureka.

“I participate in just about everything, from playing bridge to mahjong,” she says. “I go to the luncheons, and I’m in charge of the adventures.”

Milton says being active in the Welcome Club has given her a unique opportunity to learn about her new community.

“Being a newbie, I still rely on past presidents quite a bit,” she says. “But this group gave me the closeness I needed to feel comfortable here.”