Alpine Woman’s Club Publicity and Social Media director Kathy Stewart said almost all of the philanthropic club’s annual events have all been canceled, postponed or modified due to COVID-19 restrictions, including installation of new board members this week.
“Everything is different this year. We always have a planned program each month, and September should have been introducing our new board members,” Stewart said, describing the familiar rituals of the centuries-old club.
“There’s always a planned agenda, we say the Pledge of Allegiance, recite our collect— that’s an inspirational poem written specifically for Women’s Club members— then we get down to business and talk about financials,” Stewart said.
In lieu of those familiar plans, Stewart said club president Rayna Pfau trained over 60 members to use the online Zoom application and the September luncheon was held online for the first time, ever.
Yearbooks with updated member contact information, revised bylaws and a current Board listing were then picked up Wednesday in a drive-through event at the old Town Hall building that is maintained by the club.
“The drive through was planned so we could all see our members in person even though it’s socially distanced. We have members from all over East County including Lakeside, Santee, Descanso, Japatul and it’s nice just to say hello,” Stewart said.
The drive through plan, she said, also allows everyone to see the improvements to the grounds that were done over the summer.
“Our Grounds Supervisor Abigail Allen replaced all the valves and wires for our sprinkler system, the sitting area sponsored by Alpine Kiwanis turned out to be a lovely spot, and all the landscaping is looking beautiful,” Stewart said.
The club will also be putting their newly acquired technology skills to work and hosting its first virtual fundraising meeting at the end of September. “We’re still not quite sure how to do it but we’re going to put together a GoFundMe page and add a donate button to our website. Normally, we rent out the Town Hall two to three times per month but we haven’t been able to do that with COVID,” Stewart said.
The rental money, she said, typically goes toward scholarships awarded each year to graduating seniors who live in Alpine.
“The craft fair that is going to happen in October is the first rental we’ve had since last March,” Stewart said.
She said club members have high hopes for the GoFundMe page because it has potential to reach friends and relatives all over the world.
The club will also be hosting a Triple Delight Yard Sale on Oct. 10 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. with three different houses open for shopping.
Although the club has canceled their usual December Holiday Homes tour due to concern over the ongoing pandemic, Stewart said she’s already looking ahead at next year and believes they will be able to host the Spring Attic Treasures sale.
“We really hope to have that one. It’s a great fundraiser, every year we raise more and more for both the scholarship program and the Town Hall.
This last year we gave more scholarships than usual because we felt there were more students struggling because of COVID but we haven’t been able to hold any of our usual events this year. We’re really optimistic that things will be better in spring,” Stewart said.
