Taryn Ashby
The Gainesville Woman’s Club (GWC) will host a Legacy event on Sunday to recognize and thank its Legacy Society members and highlight capital campaign contributors.
The Jan. 22 event is scheduled from 3-5 p.m. at the GWC Clubhouse, located at 2809 W. University Ave.
“Around the end of the pandemic, we were struggling to save the clubhouse due to financial woes, so we put an invitation out to the community to support us financially and to join the legacy society in a financial contribution to preserve the legacy of our clubhouse,” said Legacy Campaign chair Lynn Read in a phone interview. “We received overwhelming support and raised nearly $50,000. So, the January 22 event is a small social for our legacy donors from last year and this year to thank them for their contributions and helping keep the clubhouse open and updated.”
The GWC serves as a venue for weddings, reunions, conferences, civic club meetings, non-profit fundraisers, theater and dance productions, arts and craft festivals, UF football parking, and many other activities.
In total, these events have accumulated more than $1 million in funds that the GWC has put back into Alachua County for libraries, parks, schools, scholarships and more.
Through the GWC’s 2022-23 Legacy Society Campaign and Capital Campaign, it has established the club as a community treasure, and due to the campaign’s success, GWC can begin renovating its over 60-year-old clubhouse.
The GWC invites the community to become a Legacy Society member with their contribution.
The club also offers individuals a unique opportunity to be a part of the Legacy of the Clubhouse by sponsoring a room within this historic Clubhouse.
Patrons will receive recognition with signage and with acknowledgment on social media, the website, and all other GWC promotional materials, and will be invited to the annual reception to recognize their contribution.
“We must try to keep up our 62-year-old clubhouse,” Read said. “So, the people who decide to sponsor a room end up helping the club with renovations and repairs, upgraded windows and doors, upgraded the kitchen. It makes the clubhouse more energy-efficient and keeps the facility updated for all the people who may want to rent.”
The following are the current naming opportunities (support would be for a 5-year term):
- 20th Century Meeting Room $10,000
- Front Porch Reception Area $5,000
- Reception Atriums (2) $5,000
- Clubhouse Stage $10,000
- Breezeway Entry $5,000
- Clubhouse Office $10,000
- Clubhouse Kitchen $10,000