Junior Women Are Merging With the Woman’s Club

The idea of the Palisades Woman’s Club and the Palisades Junior Women’s Club becoming one has finally come to pass. The two organizations have officially merged and will celebrate with an inaugural members tea and board installation on Sunday, April 15. Because the Woman’s Club already holds nonprofit 501(c)3 status, the club will be known as the Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club (PPWC) and will operate as a multi-generational, philanthropic organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in the community through education, recreation, beautification, community service and charitable causes.   Both organizations have played an important social and philanthropic role in the Palisades for more than 85 years.   The Juniors were part of the Woman’s Club until 1976, when they split off and directed their activities exclusively to raising money for other nonprofit organizations benefiting the community. Their 2011 Holiday Home Tour raised $111,000, which was distributed among 36 local organizations.   The Woman’s Club has always been engaged in community outreach, but with a bricks-and-mortar clubhouse, the group has also been able to offer a myriad of member activities, including teas, fashion shows, a literature group and musical programming’all of which will continue.   Thoughts of merging have come and gone for years, but it was only last summer that the Junior Women formed a committee to research the feasibility. Members included club vice president Tricia Grossman (now president), boutique chair Kristin Sibson and Cindy Leuty-Jones. Once the Juniors voted overwhelming to move forward with the merger, Woman’s Club president Trish Bowe, Cindy Heydt and Jean Aroeste joined the merger committee.   The structure of the new club will include an executive committee, directors and committee chairs. Leadership positions are filled by former Juniors, with Woman’s Club veterans serving as advisors.   ’We advisors will be running the club in terms of the fiscal responsibilities,’ says Bowe, who is familiar with both club cultures as a member of each. ‘Since the Juniors have never owned an asset, we will be helping them during the transition period from April 1 through December 31.’ Membership is open to all. Dues for PPWC members in good standing as of December 2011 will remain $40 a year. Any new member will pay $200 (with an exemption for those over age 70, who will pay $65 annually). In addition, new members will be required to serve on club committees, fulfill community service hours and home-tour hours and purchase home-tour tickets.   The new organization will continue with all the activities of both clubs. Evening meetings will be held on the first Tuesday of every month, except July and August, and the luncheon meetings will be held on the second Tuesday.   The first project the new organization plans to tackle is to restore and reinvigorate the historic clubhouse on Haverford, which, once completed, will serve the community as an event location available for rent and a venue for community happenings. Currently, the monthly expenses for the clubhouse are $6,000.   Necessary basic upgrades in utilities and structural improvements top the list, says president-elect Grossman, who intends to launch a capital campaign to cover the costs. There will be interior design upgrades’new flooring, upgrades in the kitchen, window treatment, and a new sound system. The landscaping will also be refreshed. The club is inviting members and the community with expertise in the building trades, architectural design and landscaping to come forward. Others who can provide in-kind or financial support for design, marketing and printing are welcome.   Grossman and her husband, Dave, and their two children, ages 9 and 5, have lived in Pacific Palisades for seven years. A former elementary-school teacher, she says that she welcomed the assistance and expertise of those who have helped with the legal and cultural transitions involved in the merger.   ’We know what we have is so important that we couldn’t move forward without the proper knowledge,’ Grossman says, adding that the committee has been well advised by Ranlyn Hill, founder of Benevolent Vision, a firm specializing in a wide range of consulting services for the philanthropic community.’   Grossman and Bowe told the Palisadian-Post that the response from both sides has revealed advantages beyond the power and vitality that comes with a larger group. For many Juniors, working with the older members (several of whom are in their 90s) is an honor.   ’We don’t want to lose these women’s experience,’ Grossman says. ‘I am honored to be working alongside them.’   She added that she has talked to several women who had dismissed the idea of joining the Juniors, feeling that they were too old. ‘Times have changed,’ Grossman says. ‘The name Juniors used to connote a woman 25 or 30; now women aren’t having babies until they’re 35. There came a divide between the older group and the Juniors. Not any more.’   Membership inquiries are welcomed and can be directed to theppwc@gmail.com