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National Garden Clubs (NGC) is a not-for-profit educational organization with its headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It is composed of 50 State Garden Clubs and the National Capital Area, 6,500 member garden clubs and 204,143 members. In addition, NGC proudly recognizes 447 International Affiliates from Canada to Mexico and South America, from Bermuda to South Africa, Australia and Japan, as well as 149 National Affiliates within the United States. The purposes of NGC are: To co-ordinate the interests and activities of the State Garden Clubs with similar organizations in the United States and abroad To aid in the protection and conservation of natural resources, to promote civic beautification and encourage the improvement of roadsides and parks To encourage the establishment and maintenance of botanical gardens, arboreta and horticultural centers for the advancement of science, enjoyment and education of the public To advance the study of gardening, landscape design, environmental issues, floral design and horticulture and assist deserving students through college scholarships in these fields of endeavor To co-operate with other organizations furthering the interests of horticulture, conservation, environmental protection and beautification. The first garden club in America was founded in January 1891 by The Ladies Garden Club of Athens (Georgia). On May 1, 1929 thirteen federated states became charter members at an organizational meeting in Washington, D.C. In 1935 the National Garden Clubs obtained space for a Headquarters at Rockefeller Center, New York City. Following fund raising from 1953-1957, a permanent Headquarters building was dedicated May 10, 1958 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.