History of The Saturday Club: 2010 to Present

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2010 to Present

“We are in a historic time, a time of economic uncertainty, challenged with taking the steps to ensure our Club’s future while respecting the traditions of the past. Our Club was founded by a group of women with great courage and we continue to be ‘women with a purpose’.”

– Jeanne Dechiario , President 2010-2012

• ‘The Warbler’ began distribution  via email in 2010.
• In 2010, the boiler was replaced with an energy-efficient gas heating system made possible by a generous donation by a benefactor of the Club.
• The 125th Anniversary celebration took place in 2011 with an evening Gala and a luncheon ‘Strawberries & Champagne’ Reception at the Clubhouse.
• Club branding was streamlined and updated with the creation of the digital Clubhouse logo and the Mountain Laurel logo.
• The TSC Shuffle 5K & Kids Race began in 2016 as a community-wide fundraising event; in 2021 the event was hosted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In 2016, the first annual Handbag Bingo was held at the Clubhouse. The event has since moved to Berwyn United Methodist Church due to the size and popularity. In 2021, it was held outdoors in the parking lot of the Clubhouse on socially-distanced individual chairs.
• In 2017 the President-Elect role was created. Future Presidents would commit to serve as President-Elect (1 year), President (1 year) and Past President (1 year).
• The Member Directory and volunteer sign up sheets were moved to a digital platform in 2017 with the revamping of our website.
• Social outings during this time period included craft nights, floral arranging classes, parenting seminars, author tours, interior design workshops, local shopping events and fitness classes.
• Progressive Dinner was replaced with an annual ‘member social’ in 2018.
• Hands-on volunteer service efforts in recent years have benefitted WePAC, Radnor Memorial Library, Gemma Services, Jared Boxes, Gift of Life Family House, Angels in Motion, the Drueding Center, Cradles to Crayons, the Baby Bureau, Home of the Sparrow, the Ronald McDonald House
• The ‘TSC Members Only’ Facebook group was created in 2019 to serve as an online social platform for members to connect and share club-related information.

“We enthusiastically welcomed a new decade in 2020 and then everything quickly changed on March 12 when schools closed and the world as we knew it shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  During summer planning meetings prior to the new club year, it became apparent that this would be far from a typical year for The Saturday Club.  Health restrictions and capacity limitations required us to rely on digital platforms for membership meetings, suspend clubhouse venue rentals, depend more on charitable drives instead of hands-on service projects, reconfigure the club calendar and overhaul logistics and participation for all fundraising events.  It was quite the challenge, but it was also an opportunity.  Our inability to host large in-person events inside the Clubhouse made us more fully appreciate smaller scale opportunities to be in person with one another as a community of women volunteers.   Our own struggles made us more empathetic to those of others in our community and made us want to do more for people in need.  The philanthropic spirit, determination, brilliance, and grace that I witnessed during this challenging year has convinced me that there is a very bright future ahead for The Saturday Club in the post-pandemic world.”

– Audrey Groseclose, President 2020-2021

• During the 2020-2021 club year, Membership Meetings were held virtually over Zoom, an online video-conferencing platform, due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which limited the ability to meet socially in large groups. Our digital footprint grew and oftentimes the club hosted over 50 people at virtual Membership Meetings.
• Because of health restrictions and capacity limits imposed during the pandemic, Cotillion and the Bi-Annual Consignment Sale were canceled for the first time since their inceptions. Clubhouse venue rentals were also suspended.  Holiday Market and Bingo were moved outdoors and set up in the Clubhouse parking lot. Hosting Holiday Market outdoors allowed for more neighborhood participation and higher sales for vendors. Handbag Bingo also received the new moniker Ladies’ Charity Bingo to reflect a more expansive selection of prizes.
• During the 2020-21 club year, two new Ways and Means fundraisers were introduced featuring socially-distanced photograph opportunities: Santa on the Steps and Easter Bunny on the Steps.
• Auxiliary Fundraisers was launched in the 2020-21 club year as a way to complement cornerstone Ways and Means fundraising efforts. Auxiliary Fundraisers consisted of partnerships with local businesses on virtual workshops that included a parenting class, a wreath making class, and a cookie baking and cocktail mixology class. The last Auxiliary Fundraiser of the year, a barre bootcamp, was hosted outside in the parking lot of the Clubhouse. Additional partnerships with local bakeries selling seasonal kits also served to boost fundraising for the club.
• The Annual Fund was reintroduced specifically to boost funds available to award through the Annual Grant program.
• In the fall of 2020, volunteers gathered at socially-distanced ‘scanning stations’ in the parking lot of the Clubhouse to scan 135 years of archives. Key archives and historical engraved silver pieces were later displayed in an archives cabinet that was purchased to showcase the club’s history.
• Community Outreach service projects benefited Off Their Plate, Reach Out and Read Greater Philadelphia, Philabundance, Philadelphia Children’s Foundation, the Drueding Center, Camp Sojourner Girls’ Leadership Camp and Interfaith Hospitality Network of the Main Line. In 2020-21, Community Outreach projects initiated as charity drives but later pivoted to outdoor, in-person projects that utilized the Clubhouse parking lot.
• Meeting Meals, through which the club partnered with local caterers who offered menus for Membership Meetings and donated a portion of the sales to the club, replaced Tea Table for virtual meetings.
• The budget for the 2020-21 was created in a quarterly format and reforecasted midway through the club year to allow the Board of Directors to have a better understanding of the club’s financial landscape.
• The Saturday Club’s 135 year history was digitized and uploaded to the organization’s website in February 2021.