Community Service
The MWA community service programs enable members to participate as a group using their skills and knowledge in making hand crafted items. These programs strengthen the chapter connections to other communities in a meaningful way.
Wig Stands
WIG Stands is a national American Association of Woodturners (AAW) Women in Turning initiative. “Our goal is to give back to our communities in this worthwhile effort, especially since cancer has likely impacted each of us, our family, and/or our friends.” MWA is partnering with local/regional groups who provide free wigs for distribution of the wig stands to get them to recipients in need.
AAW article on Hat and Wig Stands
Here are the two organizations to which MWA donates stands:
Beads of Courage
Beads of Courage is a national Arts in Medicine Program for children coping with serious illness, their families, and the clinicians who care for them. Artists make glass beads that are given to children to signify each procedure or event. Since the program began in 2006 Minnesota Woodturners have provided thousands of commemorative lidded boxes, hundreds of bead bags and hundreds of toys to children undergoing treatment for cancer and other serious illnesses.
Community Service Bowls
As chapter host for the 2025 AAW International Symposium held in St Paul, MN, MWA partnered with Fireweed Community Woodshop for the Community Service Bowl charity. Fireweed empowers women and marginalized genders through the art of woodcraft. It seeks to shift expectations of what a woodworker looks like through its staff, instructors and board, and to create role models for people historically excluded from the woodshop.
Karl Foord, an avid woodturner and MWA member, set a life goal of turning 500 bowls. Before he passed, he crafted 370 of these bowls, which is an impressive accomplishment. To honor Karl and his life goal, the members of the Minnesota Woodturners completed Karls life goal by challenging our members to turn 130 bowls. In the spirit of MWA community service commitment, the bowls were donated to the 2025 AAW Symposium Community Service Bowl charity.
