September 2025 Newsletter

Written By Kalmia Club

Women empowering women through personal growth, friendship, volunteerism and service

Bylaws Greeter/Refreshment Committee Lists Member Directory

President’s Message

April Showers certainly did bring May Flowers!!  I want to thank our many volunteers who make our club so special.  Wow, we have a lot going on.  Enjoy the newsletter!  

Announcements

Welcome new members!

Jane Doe1, Jane Doe2, Jane Doe3

We need volunteers for …

Blurb about this item.

Upcoming Events

Oct 1 - New Member Social

Nov 5 - Groovin 60s Dance Party Fundraiser

Featuring live music by the Croce Fab Five | BYOB | Lite bites & nonalcoholic beverages | 60s dress suggested | 50/50 cash raffle | Art action of works by Jen Chase and _____

Doors open 6:30pm, Music 7-10 pm

$50 advanced tickets / $60 after October ___ and at the door (if not sold out).

~ Please visit our Events page for tickets or more details. ~

This Month’s Meeting and Program

Welcome Back Social

Mon, September 8, 2025, 6:30pm

We welcome back our members, old and new, and kick of the program year….

The topic will be …… !

Program Chair: Member Name

This month’s donation:

blurb about any special donation projects.

Reminders:

  • IMPORTANT: Please review the minutes from the previous meeting for approval: [insert link to minutes stored on GoogleDrive]

  • Don’t forget to check in when you arrive.

  • Place monthly Food Pantry donations on left side of stage.

  • Wine is always appreciated.

Membership, Committees, and Outreach

September Birthdays

Lucy Mahalchick, Katherine Marriott, Deb Monigan, Michelle Rago, Alison Shelofsky, and Deb Wean

Happy Birthday! 

Wishing you a healthy, joyful, prosperous year ahead! 

Committee Updates

Committees are the backbone of the Kalmia Club. Members are highly encouraged to join at least one committee. Review our list of committees here. To sign up, please email Lucy Mahalchick (mahalchick4@gmail.com). Thank you!


Archivist Update 

The archival closet has been organized, the safe unpacked, and the large file cabinet has been relocated from the stage to the closet.  A member of the grant committee will soon be loading software on our laptop, so Kathleen Harris can start scanning all the documents. Anyone who would like to help with our archives, please contact esbnanny@gmail.com

Clubhouse Committee 

The clubhouse committee will be reaching out to its clubhouse committee members to help out with landscaping and general housekeeping in preparation for the June garden tour.  Anyone wanting to help can contact me, Nora at n.blinderman@comcast.net

In addition, we will be creating a list of general maintenance duties to keep the building clean and safe for our renters and members.

Community Outreach Committee 

The Community Outreach Committee will meet at 6:30pm before the May meeting. We are collecting monetary donations for the Lambertville Library’s Children’s Library this month. There will be a donation box on the right side of the stage (where monthly donations are always collected) for cash and checks. Thank you!

Fundraising Committee 

Our next event will be on Friday, May 2nd - a Sip and Shop from 5 to 8 pm at the clubhouse. The owner of Attachments & Sage will bring super-comfortable and in-fashion Archie sandals, great bags, classic summer women's wear, the makings of "permanent" bracelets, other jewelry and fun and useful gifts. It is a great way to stock up on hostess gifts, baby shower gifts, and Mother's Day presents.

The Groovin' 60s Dance Party has been rescheduled for Saturday, November 8th, 2025 so please mark your calendars for this fun dance party celebration. 

Garden Tour Committee 

There will be no committee meeting prior to the regular club meeting in May. Please see the announcement at the top of the newsletter regarding donations for the private reception to honor our garden hosts.  We wouldn't have this fundraiser without them!!

Grant Writing 

Kalmia’s Archival Preservation Plan - supported by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) grant - is progressing beautifully. You may have noticed that the front storage closet has been transformed into our very first archive room. It now holds a rich collection of photographs, documents and memories that reflect our proud 125+ year history. 

Kudos to Nora Linderman who purchased all the equipment needed to create an environmentally suitable and secure area. And many thanks to archivists, Karen and Edie and their committee, for collecting, organizing and filing the materials in archive-safe resources to ensure their long-term preservation.

But the work is not done! Earlier this year, the grant committee submitted a change in scope to the grant, requesting - and receiving - approval to purchase a new laptop computer. Moving forward, archives can be stored, cataloged and digitized in a secure and centralized location for all to access and enjoy!

The funding for this project was made possible through the sponsorship of the General Mercer Chapter, National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. Our continued thanks for their support!

***

We are very grateful to the following organizations for their generous support of our preservation projects!

  • New Jersey Historic Trust and the Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund - for the sponsorship and funding of our Preservation Plan.

  • General Mercer Chapter, National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution - for the sponsorship and funding of our Archival Preservation projects.

Membership Committee 

Let me know if you have any membership questions or needs.  

- Lucy Mahalchick (mahalchick4@gmail.com)

Program Committee 

The committee's work is mostly done for this year. Communications will continue via e-mail through June. Program ideas are welcome from any members.

Publicity Committee

We are promoting the Sip and Shop Pop-up Fundraiser and the Gardens Tour. As always, please help us spread the word by sharing our social media posts. 

Attn: Event Organizers  

Use the online Publicity Request Form to submit your requests. Please submit your request 7–8 weeks prior to your event start date. 

Website Committee 

The Events page was updated to include the Sip and Shop Pop-up, and the Garden Tour page was set up to receive online payments.

Donations to our Local Food Pantry

Kalmia members help support the Delaware Valley Food Pantry year-round with donations collected at each of our monthly meetings. Drop off donations at left side of the clubhouse stage. Donations can be monetary or pantry items:

  • See a list of needed pantry items.

  • A cash donation jar is also available at the clubhouse. Monetary donations are helpful because food pantries are able to negotiate prices and consequently get as much as 4 times the value of the dollar.

  • Many thanks to Lillian Laney for delivering our donations. 

Join a Kalmia Cluster

A great way to make friends, Kalmia Clusters are small groups of members with special interests who get together to have fun beyond our monthly meetings! Sign up for one or more. We have many options to choose from: Game Night, Book Club, Evening Walking Cluster, Garden Field Trips, Gourmet Dinner Cluster, & Members Helping Members! Check out our cluster-sign-up sheet to see what is available: Kalmia Clusters 2024.docx. 

Having trouble signing up, or have another cluster idea? Email Cluster Coordinator, Nancy Campbell (nmcmom16@aol.com) 

More Kalmia News

April’s Program Summary

Many thanks to Mary Anne Borge from Lambertville Goes Wild who helped us get ready for spring by sharing her secrets of butterfly gardening. As you can see from the photos, she had our full attention! Thanks to Program Chair, Polly Anderson. She put this program together under short notice. The originally scheduled program was canceled.

The Annual Kalmia Blood Drive

The annual Kalmia Blood Drive took place on April 9 at the Elks Club. Thank you to Ree Gallagher for organizing this event and all who volunteered to help. Special thanks to everyone who donated blood. You are literally life-savers!

Spring Cookie Sale

Our Community Outreach volunteers didn't let the rain dampen their spirits as they ushered in the season with our Spring Cookie Sale on April 11 and 12. We brought in over $1,300 for our scholarships!!! Great job and many thanks to all who baked and braved the weather to man the cookie stands. Don't you love how cheerful they look!  

Photo: Cheryl Cvetan, Jill Slack and Barb Hencheck

Federation News

The Kalmia Club is a member of both the NJ State Federation of Women's Clubs (NJSFWC) and the international General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC). In this section we share some of the good things the Federations are doing for women!

GFWC Advocacy & Impact

GFWC 2025 Legislative Priorities - Based upon our GFWC Resolutions, the GFWC 2025 Legislative Priorities guide our efforts to communicate with elected officials in-person and via our GFWC Legislative Action Center.

Legislative Action Center (LAC) - To participate in the impactful advocacy of the GFWC, sign up at the Legislative Action Center (LAC), a powerful tool to alert you to GFWC advocacy issues on both a state and national level. 

Contact Your Legislators - Send correspondence to your legislators in support of the latest legislative alerts. 

To learn more about GFWC's legislative issues and impact, visit the Advocacy section at GFWC.org. 

Looking Ahead

Next Meeting - October 13, 2025

End-of-Year Social, Installation of Officers, & Meet Our Scholarship Winners

Enjoy our year-end farewell meeting as we say good-bye for the summer! Meet our scholarship winners and their families, and welcome new Board members and Trustees. Please bring a sweet or savory to share.  Hosted by Kalmia Officers and Trustees

 
 
Kalmia Club