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The organization, which is celebrating its 130th anniversary at its annual ball on Dec. 14, was started by teen girls in the summer of 1889 to meet the needs of less fortunate children during the holidays. Pictured is the 2019 Holly Ball committee. They are, from left, Sandy Renner, decoration committee; Pamn Baker, Holly Ball co-chairman; Sue Lee, decoration committee; Barbara Hoeft, Holly Ball chairman; and Connie Russell, Holly Club president.
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The girls lived in Joliet. And the Holly Club's first president was 13. Luritia “Rue” Winterbotham Carpenter, who grew up to become a pillar of Chicago’s arts community, was one of Holly Club of Joliet’s founders – and the organization’s first president. She was 13 at the time.
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In an email, Holly Club member Deb Strahanoski wrote, "They gathered at a friend’s house on Eastern Avenue in Joliet and decided to help the people [including children] Santa was going to miss. They brainstormed to find a fundraising project they could manage on their own." And then this group of eight girls raised enough money to deliver "holiday gift baskets to neighbors in need and to patients at St. Joseph Hospital," according to the Holly Club website. "Like many civic organizations today, Holly Club is a 501(c)(3) organization generating close to $50,000 a year to give to the less fortunate of the Joliet community," Strahanoski wrote.
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The mission of Holly Club remains the same 130 years later: to raise funds and distribute help where need is greatest. Strahanoski said Holly Club often becomes a tradition in families, with mothers and adult daughters belonging at the same time. “It’s a club not associated with a national or international organization,” Strahanoski said. “For 130 years, it’s been focused on the community in the area of Joliet…we have a very narrow mission. If you had to compare it, it would be similar to Visitation and Aid and to Childerguild; those are two that has the same Joliet focus.”
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Connie Russell, Holly Club president, said the organization hosts just two fundraisers a year: the annual ball and a lawn party in the summer. In deciding where to donate the funds, Russell said members look at the current needs in the community. “The nice thing about Holly Club is that we want to give back to the agencies that are most in need with regard to children,” Russell said.
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The club recently held a coat drive to benefit students at Laraway Elementary School in Joliet, Russell said. “We’ve given out 98 coats, hats and mittens to them," Russell said. "We also do holiday gift cards to families of needy students in District 86 in the amount of $50.” According to the Holly Club website, charities have also benefited from the Winterbotham Fund, established as a gift in memory of Rue Winterbotham Carpenter, the club’s first president, and the Lambrecht Fund, established with a generous gift from member, Patricia Kassis Lambrecht and her husband, Thomas.
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Over the decades, members of Holly Club have broadened the organization’s focus from Christmas food baskets to a wide range of local charitable needs. The Holly listed some of the projects its tackled through the years on its website at at hollyclubjoliet.org: • Rallying community interest in the benefits of public health nursing.
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• Supporting Silver Cross Hospital in its expansion and development. • Writing letters and folding bandages for casualties in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. • Giving emotional support to the elderly. • Starting the first school lunch program for Joliet’s most needy children in the years before governmental bodies accepted this responsibility.
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• Sensing first responders’ need for trauma counseling in the wake of the 1990 tornadoes in Crest Hill and Plainfield, launching a psychosocial services program later expanded to serve family members of rape victims. • Providing winter coats, hats and mittens to Joliet School District 86 children in need. • Recognizing the importance of education by presenting nursing and volunteerism scholarships. Holly Club also has an ongoing involvement with local charities bringing direct assistance to our community residents, the website also said.
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IF YOU GO WHAT: Holly Club Ball "Sentimental Journey: WHEN: 6:to 10:30 p.m. Dec. 14 WHERE: Union Station, The Grand Ballroom, 50 E. Jefferson St Joliet TICKETS: $175. Includes cocktails, dinner, dancing (Carlo Isabelli Orchestra). Black tie optional. Call 815-905-1889 by Dec. 10. INFORMATION: Visit hollyclubjoliet.org.