Category Archives: Monthly Emails

February 2024 NorCal Club Newsletter

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Over 120 alums from the Mount Holyoke Clubs of Northern California and The Peninsula enjoyed an evening of lively conversation with President Danielle R. Holley. We asked about the impact of current events on campus, the future of gender diverse women’s education, how President Holley’s transition has been and what alums can do to support Mount Holyoke. To the latter question, President Holley said, “when you can, please give your time, talent and treasure.” 

Time – Volunteer for your local alum club, your class board the admissions office, etc.

Talent – Share your skill/passion/career path with your local alum club, class board or Alumnae Association and make yourself available to connect with current students interested in a similar path. 

Treasure – When possible, donate. Every amount counts and matters, even $5 donations.

We look forward to seeing you at future events co-hosted with the alumnae association and at upcoming club events. Interested in sharing your talent with the board? Or volunteering to host an event? Feel free to email us with questions or interest, or fill out this form at least a month in advance to make sure we get the word out! 

Our very best wishes,

– The Board   

✨Alum Spotlight✨
Starting in March (Women’s History Month) the board will be spotlighting and promoting local alums in the arts, with small businesses, or with other creative skills/trades. Keep your eye out and let us know if you’d like to be featured. 

Pay Your Dues
You can pay your dues for the 2023-2024 fiscal year or even become a Lifetime Member and never pay dues again! All dues payments and donations may be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by the law – the Club is classified as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization – and help keep our volunteer-run Club afloat. 

Join the Board
We welcome alums from our entire Northern California region, not just the Bay Area. Our Board meetings are via Zoom, so location truly doesn’t matter. We would love to have representation from throughout our incredibly large region! 

Please peruse the board descriptions and reach out to us by email. We’re always looking for fresh perspectives, new ideas, and look forward to hearing from you.  

Check out our upcoming events below. As always, please reach out if there is programming you’d like to see, an event you’d like to host, or you simply want to say hello. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and join our Club’s Facebook Page!

Upcoming Events:

Lunar New Year Celebration
When: Saturday, February 17, 2024. 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Where: Home of Eleanor Chang ’78 in Pacific Heights, San Francisco (address provided upon registration)
Cost: Open to all alums – $15 for recent alums (class of 2019 onward), $20 for all other alums.
Contact: Adrianne Wu ’21

Let’s usher in the Year of the Dragon with warmth, connection, and the shared joy of welcoming better times ahead. We are excited to invite you to join us for a special celebration filled with delicious dim sum, opportunities to connect with other alums, and the spirit of MoHome! 

To ensure we have ample food and space, please RSVP via Eventbrite by Tuesday, February 13th (payment due upon registration). This event will be capped at 25 people. May the new year bring you and your loved ones happiness, prosperity, and good fortune!

MHC – East Bay Book Group: In Person! 
When: Sunday, February 18, 2024. 2:00 pm
Where: Home of Jen King ‘91 in Fremont, CA
Cost: Free. Open to all MHC alums regardless of location or club affiliation
Contact: Jen King ‘91

Please join our new MHC East Bay Book Group for our second meeting on February 18, 2024. The book we’re reading is Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. We use the Bookclubs app to manage our book group. Please email Jen King if you are interested in joining the book group and you will be sent an invite to the app.


MHC Virtual Book Club: The Fraud: “A novel based on real historical events, The Fraud is a dazzling novel about truth and fiction, Jamaica and Britain, fraudulence and authenticity and the mystery of ‘other people.’” by Zadie Smith.
When: Wednesday, February 28th, 2024; 7:00-8:00 pm PT
Where: Join us and register for the event on Zoom.
Cost: Free. This event is open to all alums.
Point person: Hannah Fairbanks ’03. Please note that virtual book club meetings will happen on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7:00p PST.


Cal Women’s Gymnastics: 50 Years! 
When: Saturday, March 2, 2024. 
Time: 2:00p – 4:00p
Where: Haas Pavilion. 115 Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, CA 94720
Cost: $18 – adults, $12 – 65+, $12 – youth.
What better way to start Women’s History Month than by supporting Cal Women’s Gymnastics and their 50th year! On Saturday, March 2, 2024 the Bears will be facing the University of Utah in this Pac-12 dual meet.We had a great time last year and even made it on the Jumbotron!

Venue is a college sports auditorium with open general seating. Event can get loud with music, cheering teammates, fans, and the pep-band. Please bring anything needed for sound sensitivity. If you are planning to attend, or have any questions, please email us (mountholyoke@gmail.com) so we can get a headcount. We will send a future link that will tell you how to purchase the ticket(s). 

Alums of Color Meet-Up
When: Saturday, March 16, 2024. 
Time: TBD
Where: San Francisco, CA

Save the date and keep an eye on our socials and March newsletter for info about this gathering for NorCal Alums of Color at a private residence in San Francisco.

__________________________________________
Virtual Programming from the Alum Association

The College is offering a range of virtual programming and opportunities to connect. Learn more on the AA Events page.

_______________________________________________
Let’s Get Social!

To hear the latest about our programming in-between our monthly newsletters, we encourage you to connect with the Club on one or more forms of social media. We hope to see you at an event soon! 

January 2024 NorCal Club Newsletter

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Happy New Year! ✨ ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! ✨Bonne année! ✨

新年快乐 ✨새해 복 많이 받으세요 ✨ كل عام وأنتم بخير

 

The Mount Holyoke Club of Northern California wishes everyone a 2024 full of fun, laughter, love, milk & cookies, and MHC Club Events! Our first event for 2024 is in collaboration with the Alumnae Association and the Peninsula Club as we welcome the 20th President of Mount Holyoke College, Danielle R. Holley to San Francisco on January 18th. Alums are encouraged to come with their insights and questions for a conversation with President Holley, moderated by Trisha Tanner ’00, executive director of the Alumnae Association. Register today! 

The board is excited to plan events for 2024 and, as always, we welcome your thoughts, ideas or interest to host/co-host an event! Feel free to email us with questions or interest, or fill out this form at least a month in advance to make sure we get the word out. Our monthly book club is headed to the movies in January, a Lunar New Year gathering for February is in the works and kick off Women’s History month (March) by supporting Cal Women’s Gymnastics and their 50th year! 

Lastly, we would love to feature MHC images in our newsletters and social media! Do you have images from your time at MHC that you’d like to share? Send us an email. We hope to gather images from across the years! 

Our very best wishes,

– The Board   

Barbara Creed’s SCOTUS Presentation
The MHC Club of NorCal has had the honor of hosting Barbara Creed for several informative and engaging presentations about SCOTUS. If you missed the Nov ‘23 session, “Will the Court Come to Order?” you are welcome to watch it by clicking this link (password: “MHCNov23!”). Keep your eyes out for a 2024 presentation! 

Pay Your Dues
You can pay your dues for the 2023-2024 fiscal year or even become a Lifetime Member and never pay dues again! All dues payments and donations may be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by the law – the Club is classified as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization – and help keep our volunteer-run Club afloat. 

Join the Board
We welcome alums from our entire Northern California region, not just the Bay Area. Our Board meetings are via Zoom, so location truly doesn’t matter. We would love to have representation from throughout our incredibly large region! 

Please peruse the board descriptions and reach out to us by email. We’re always looking for fresh perspectives, new ideas, and look forward to hearing from you.  

Check out our upcoming events below. As always, please reach out if there is programming you’d like to see, an event you’d like to host, or you simply want to say hello. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and join our Club’s Facebook Page!

Upcoming Events:

An Evening with President Danielle R. Holley 
When: Thursday, January 18th, 2024. 6pm-8pm. 
Where: Hilton San Francisco – Financial District: 750 Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
Cost: Free. Registration is required.

You are cordially invited to a reception with Mount Holyoke’s twentieth president, Danielle R. Holley, on Thursday, January 18, 6–8 pm, hosted by the Alumnae Association with the Mount Holyoke clubs of Northern California and the Peninsula.

Gather with Mount Holyoke alums in the Bay area communities to meet President Holley and learn more about her vision (“the future is now”) for our alma mater. Alums are encouraged to come with their insights and questions for a conversation with President Holley, moderated by Trisha Tanner ’00, executive director of the Alumnae Association.

We invite you to encourage classmates and alums in your circles to attend this special evening. Refreshments will be served, and attire is business casual.
Point person: Katie Wynen ’05

January Book Club @ The Movies! 
When: Saturday, January 20, 2024
Where: East Bay, exact location TBD

Our next meeting will be in person (yay!). Saturday, January 20, 2024 in the East Bay (exact location TBD until we get closer to the date depending on which theaters are showing the movie). We will go see an early matinee of the bold new take on the beloved classic, The Color Purple and then grab lunch together for connection and discussion afterward. Please feel free to read (or reread) the original text before the movie in order to compare/contrast. Not required but will hopefully generate lively literary discussion!
Point person: Hannah Fairbanks ’03  

February 2024 Book Club: The Fraud: “A novel based on real historical events, The Fraud is a dazzling novel about truth and fiction, Jamaica and Britain, fraudulence and authenticity and the mystery of ‘other people.’” by Zadie Smith.
When: Wednesday, February 28th, 2024; 7:00-8:00 pm PT
Where: Join us and register for the event on Zoom.
Cost: Free. This event is open to all alums.
Point person: Hannah Fairbanks ’03. Please note that virtual book club meetings will happen on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7:00p PST. 

Cal Women’s Gymnastics: 50 Years! 
When: Saturday, March 2, 2024. 
Where: Haas Pavilion. 115 Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, CA 94720

What better way to start Women’s History Month than by supporting Cal Women’s Gymnastics and their 50th year! On Saturday, March 2, 2024 the Bears will be facing the University of Utah in this Pac-12 dual meet.

Event cost is $18 – adults, $12 – 65+, $12 – youth. If we are a group of 10+ it will be $8 each. Meet start time is TBD, but typically starts between 12p-2p and is around 90min. Venue is a college sport auditorium with open general seating. Event can get loud with music, cheering teammates, fans, and the pep-band. Please bring anything needed for sound sensitivity. 

If you are planning to attend, or have any questions, please email us (mountholyoke@gmail.com) so we can get a headcount. We will send a future link that will tell you how to purchase the ticket(s). We had a great time last year and even made it on the Jumbotron!

__________________________________________
Virtual Programming from the Alum Association

The College is offering a range of virtual programming and opportunities to connect. Learn more on the AA Events page.

_______________________________________________
Let’s Get Social!

To hear the latest about our programming in-between our monthly newsletters, we encourage you to connect with the Club on one or more forms of social media. We hope to see you at an event soon! 

December 2023 NorCal Club Newsletter

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Campus in the Snow. Image borrowed from Mount Holyoke News, credited to Trinity Kendrick ’21. Do you have images from your time at MHC that you’d like to share? Send us an email! We’d love to use member images in our newsletters.

Happy December NorCal Alums! 

We closed out 2023 with another excellent SCOTUS Session led by Barbara Creed (Wellesley alum). Keep an eye out for her 2024 presentations. We are welcoming the holiday season on Sunday, Dec 17th with holiday neighborhood strolls in two locations! Join us in Alameda on Christmas Tree Lane (Thompson Ave) or find us in Sacramento in the historic Fab 40’s neighborhood (M & 40th). Register on Eventbrite, dress warmly and get ready for some holiday cheer. 

The board is already brainstorming ideas for events in 2024 and, as always, we welcome your thoughts, ideas or interest to host/co-host an event! Feel free to email us with questions or interest, or fill out this form at least a month in advance to make sure we get the word out.

Pay Your Dues

You can pay your dues for the 2023-2024 fiscal year or even become a Lifetime Member and never pay dues again! All dues payments and donations may be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by the law – the Club is classified as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization – and help keep our volunteer-run Club afloat.    

Join the Board

We welcome alums from our entire Northern California region, not just the Bay Area. Our Board meetings are via Zoom, so location truly doesn’t matter. We would love to have representation from throughout our incredibly large region! 

Please peruse the board descriptions and reach out to us by email. We’re always looking for fresh perspectives, new ideas, and look forward to hearing from you.  

Check out our upcoming events below. As always, please reach out if there is programming you’d like to see, an event you’d like to host, or you simply want to say hello. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and join our Club’s Facebook Page!

Our very best wishes,

– The Board   

Upcoming Events:

Christmas Tree Lane Club Stroll
When: December 17th, 2023 at 7pm
Where: There will be two locations!
Alameda: 3200 Thompson Ave, Alameda, CA
We will meet on the corner of Thompson Ave & High Street in front of 3200
Sacramento: Historic Fab 40’s neighborhood (M & 40th)
We will meet on the westbound corner of M St., just west of 40th Street. 
Cost: Free but please register on Eventbrite so we know how many to expect.

Alameda’s “Christmas Tree Lane,” the 3200 block of Thompson (53 houses), has been lighting up for Christmas since the 1930s so it’s a great local spot for some holiday cheer! Dress warmly and bring a warm drink to enjoy while we stroll along the street checking out the homes and their creative and unique decorations. Parking around Thompson Ave is fairly easy, but be prepared to park a block or two away. AC Transit buses to Thompson Ave can be caught at Fruitvale BART. Stroll takes an hour or less. Open to alums, their family and friends. Crowd size can vary. 
Point person: Katie Wynen ’05

Join us in Sacramento for a family-friendly walk through the historic Fab 40’s neighborhood Christmas Lights. Deck yourselves in Mount Holyoke gear and be ready to meet new friends!
Parking in the immediate area may be difficult, so you can park for free in the City Bible Church’s parking lot (1101 51st Street) and take their free shuttle to M and 40th St. More details about the lot and shuttle can be found here: Fab Cab. 
Point person: Bekah (Harkins) Rabiroff ‘03

 

January Book Club @ The Movies! 
When: Saturday, January 20, 2024
Where: East Bay, exact location TBD
Our next meeting will be in person (yay!). Saturday, January 20, 2024 in the East Bay (exact location TBD until we get closer to the date depending on which theaters are showing the movie). We will go see an early matinee of the bold new take on the beloved classic, The Color Purple and then grab lunch together for connection and discussion afterward. Please feel free to read (or reread) the original text before the movie in order to compare/contrast. Not required but will hopefully generate lively literary discussion!
Point person: Hannah Fairbanks ’03  

___________________________________________
Virtual Programming from the Alum Association

The College is offering a range of virtual programming and opportunities to connect. Learn more on the AA Events page.

_______________________________________________
Let’s Get Social!

To hear the latest about our programming in-between our monthly newsletters, we encourage you to connect with the Club on one or more forms of social media. We hope to see you at an event soon! 

November 2023 NorCal Club Newsletter

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NorCal alums posing with Jane Hammond ‘72

Happy November NorCal Alums! First and foremost, a special thank you to Jane Hammond ‘72 who presented and spoke to the club on October 20, during the opening weekend of her exhibit at Berggruen Gallery. If you find yourself in San Francisco (SOMA neighborhood) stop by and see Jane’s work which is on display until November 22, 2023. The Gallery is BART & Muni accessible and free to enter. 

Our upcoming events to close out 2023 include our annual SCOTUS session with Barbara Creed, monthly book club, an East Bay Yoga & Hike event and some potential holiday strolls around neighborhoods that decorate for the holidays. The board is already brainstorming ideas for events in the new year and, as always, we welcome your thoughts, ideas or interest to host/co-host an event! Feel free to email us with questions or interest, or fill out this form at least a month in advance to make sure we get the word out.

Pay Your Dues

Our new fiscal year has started. You can pay your dues for the 2023-2024 year or even become a Lifetime Member and never pay dues again! All dues payments and donations may be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by the law – the Club is classified as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization – and help keep our volunteer-run Club afloat.    

Join the Board

We welcome alums from our entire Northern California region, not just the Bay Area. Our Board meetings are via Zoom, so location truly doesn’t matter. We would love to have representation from throughout our incredibly large region! 

Please peruse the board descriptions and reach out to us by email. We’re always looking for fresh perspectives, new ideas, and look forward to hearing from you.  

Check out our upcoming events below. As always, please reach out if there is programming you’d like to see, an event you’d like to host, or you simply want to say hello. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and join our Club’s Facebook Page!

Our very best wishes,

– The Board   

Upcoming Events:

Hike & Yoga at Lake Chabot Regional Park
When: Sunday, November 12th, 8:50 am
Where: Lake Chabot Regional Park, 17600 Lake Chabot Rd, Castro Valley, CA 94546
Cost: Free but please register on Eventbrite
We’ll explore the trails around Lake Chabot and close with a 20-30 minute Hatha/Vinyasa yoga practice. Please bring at least 16 ounces of water and a water resistant yoga mat. Feel free to bring some trail mix. Target is to get you energized for your Sunday and the rest of the week! We’ll aim to get back to the parking lot by 11:20 AM.
Point person: Susan Tom ’98. 

 

Barbara Creed – “Will The Court Come to Order?” 
When: Thursday, November 16th, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. PST 
Where: Zoom. Register here.
Cost: Free but registration is required.
Join us on Zoom as Barbara Creed presents her new program, “Will the Court Come To Order?” It will focus on the significant decisions of the Court’s current term and preview the important issues the Court will decide in the term that begins in October 2023. Please review this New York Times article for background information!
Point person: Adrianne Wu ’21.

 

NorCal Book Club – Every Drop is a Man’s Nightmare, a debut collection of short stories that takes a “blazing, bodily, raucous journey through contemporary Hawaiian identity and womanhood,” by Megan Kakimoto, a Japanese and native Hawaiian writer from Honolulu.

When: Wednesday, November 29, 2023; 7:00-8:00 pm PT
Where: Join us and register for the event on Zoom.
Cost: Free. This event is open to all alums.
Point person: Hannah Fairbanks ’03. Please note that virtual book club meetings will now start at 7:00p PST.

___________________________________________

Virtual Programming from the Alum Association

The College is offering a range of virtual programming and opportunities to connect. Learn more on the AA Events page.

_______________________________________________

Let’s Get Social!

To hear the latest about our programming in-between our monthly newsletters, we encourage you to connect with the Club on one or more forms of social media. We hope to see you at an event soon! 

October 2023 NorCal Club Newsletter

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Pictured: some of our Mountain Day socials in Alameda, Oakland, and San Francisco — featuring the same temporary tattoos offered to students at the top of the Mountain this year! 
If you have additional photos, please share with us. We’re also interested in seeing your photos from your Mountain Days past at MHC for a future feature.

Hello Northern California Alums, and happy October! We have a hike in honor of Mountain Day today, October 1st! If you’re local and feeling spontaneous, please consider joining us at 9:30am at Redwood Regional Park. We had a lot of wonderful events in September and have a lot to look forward to in October, too.

In September we had Mountain Day. We had a wonderful turnout in Alameda, Oakland, Sacramento and San Francisco. It was wonderful to get a chance to connect with so many alums in the area. We also heard so many great ideas and interest in hosting, so we’re trying something new! Do you want to host an event? Fill out this form at least a month in advance to make sure we get the word out. Feel free to still email us with questions or interest, as well.

The day after Mountain Day, Ann Blake ’85 hosted a wonderful and enriching Sustainability Tea in her garden in Alameda. 

Sustainability Tea at the home of Ann Blake ’85
L to R. Connie Ip , Ann Blake, Shaina Tantuico, Melody Wood, Tracy Zhu, and Peri Caylor

Pay Your Dues

Our new fiscal year has started. You can pay your dues for the 2023-2024 year or even become a Lifetime Member and never pay dues again! All dues payments and donations may be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by the law – the Club is classified as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization – and help keep our volunteer-run Club afloat.    

Join the Board

We welcome alums from our entire Northern California region, not just the Bay Area. Our Board meetings are via Zoom, so location truly doesn’t matter. We would love to have representation from throughout our incredibly large region! 

Please peruse the board descriptions and reach out to us by email. We’re always looking for fresh perspectives, new ideas, and look forward to hearing from you.  

Check out our upcoming events below. As always, please reach out if there is programming you’d like to see, an event you’d like to host, or you simply want to say hello. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and join our Club’s Facebook Page!

Our very best wishes,

– The Board   

 

Upcoming Events:

NorCal Book Club – The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature, a “a deeply moving memoir and riveting exploration of the contradictions of black identity in the rural South–and in America today” by ornithologist, naturalist, writer, and MacArthur “Genius” J Drew Lanham
When: Wednesday, October 25, 2023; 7:00-8:00 pm PT
Where: Join us and register for the event on Zoom.
Cost: Free. This event is open to all alums.
Point person: Hannah Fairbanks ’03. Please note that virtual book club meetings will now start at 7:00p PST.

Jane Hammond ‘72. Solo exhibit at Berggruen Gallery
When: October 20th, 2023 (tentative date)
Where: Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco, CA. 

Jane Hammond ‘72 will be having a solo exhibition of her Botanical Collages at the Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco from October 19 – November 22. Join us as Jane gives a walk-thru, talks about her work and hosts a Q and A with some wine and other beverages. More info coming soon, save the date! 

Barbara Creed – “Will The Court Come to Order?” 
When: Thursday, November 16th, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. PST 
Where: Zoom. Register here. 
Cost: Free but registration is required.

Join us on Zoom as Barbara Creed presents her new program, “Will the Court Come To Order?” It will focus on the significant decisions of the Court’s current term and preview the important issues the Court will decide in the term that begins in October 2023. Please review this New York Times article for background information!

_____________________________________________

Virtual Programming from the Alum Association

The College is offering a range of virtual programming and opportunities to connect. Learn more on the AA Events page.

_______________________________________________

Let’s Get Social!

To hear the latest about our programming in-between our monthly newsletters, we encourage you to connect with the Club on one or more forms of social media. We hope to see you at an event soon!