Our Story

The WAC started its life from humble beginnings, as a small sewing circle in the home of Mrs Mary Lou Mettler. Soon after its creation, our small group had grown to become a club and started to offer services such as playgroups, exercise classes and a babysitting cooperative, with the aim of helping expats settle into their new lives. Following its overwhelming success, Mary Lou’s husband Ari Mettler, of Mettler-Toledo, offered the use of a company building, known as ‘The Barracks’. This soon became a hub of activity, allowing us to once again expand and host larger events, such as wine tastings, flea markets and soon became home to a pre-school and library. In 1997, the Women’s Activity Club became a Verein.

Today, we have grown to welcome over 100 members and their families from many countries across the globe. We also have an increasing number of Swiss members.

We have a diverse, welcoming and truly international community, who can identify with the process of relocating to a foreign country. Most importantly, we are a home away from home for families who are new to the area.

Our mission

The Women’s Activity Club is a non-profit organisation run by volunteers, located in Uster, Switzerland. We are dedicated to helping expat families settle into their new Swiss lives and integrate into the local community. We also warmly welcome all families who want to experience an international atmosphere and help their children learn English in an authentic, native-speaking environment.

Volunteers are still at the heart of the Woman’s Activity Club, with our Board of Directors and Chairpersons constantly expanding our great range of activities and resources. We currently offer fun activities for every member of your family.

We have worked tirelessly to create an education program called the Learning Tree Cooperative School. It is home to an English pre-school, great reading and writing classes for older children, ESL classes, an afternoon Explorers class for kindergarten aged children to develop their verbal and written communication skills in an English class environment and a Swiss-German Spielgruppe, providing non-native children the opportunity to learn the language before attending kindergarten.

We know how difficult, stressful and daunting it can be moving house, not to mention moving to a new country and experiencing new culture. Language barriers may seem to be a difficult hurdle and it can be hard to know how to immerse yourself in a new culture.

We pride ourselves on being more than a club; we are a community and a family. We are a multicultural and accepting home away from home for expats and anyone interested in joining our diverse community.

 
 
Volunteers at the WAC
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