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Local Smithie Catherine Renzi, ’86, was recently featured in the Fall 2013 Alumnae Quarterly (pg. 32) as part of a group of Smithies working in small-scale, sustainable agriculture. We are thrilled that she has invited our club to visit Yellow Springs Farm on Saturday, April 26th, 2014.  Yellow Springs Farm is a Native Plant Nursery and Artisanal Goat Cheese Dairy, founded by Catherine and Al Renzi, located in Chester Springs, PA. We’ll be visiting with the goats (including the new babies!) at 4 pm, followed by wine and farm-made cheese from 4:30-6:30 pm.

When: Saturday, April 26, 2014 4:00 pm – 6:30 pm

Where: Yellow Springs Farm, 1165 Yellow Springs Road, PA 19425 We are hoping to do some carpooling for this event. When you RSVP, please let us know if you need a ride, or if you are driving and would have space for a few more!

Cost: $10 for members; $15 for nonmembers. Information on membership is available here.

RSVP: RSVP with payment required by 4/15. Please reserve your spot via Paypal, below (in the “Notes to Seller” area, please indicate “Yellow Springs,” and provide your name, class year, and number of guests) or by mailing a check made out to “Smith College Club of Philadelphia” to Lindsey Allen, Treasurer, 822 S. 9th Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19147.

Join the Philly Smith Club at Philabundance on Tuesday evening, March 18 for the opportunity to give back to our community by helping sort and pack food that will be distributed through a network of almost 500 food cupboards, emergency kitchens, and shelters.

Philabundance is the largest hunger relief organization in the region, working to meet the needs of the one million people people in the Delaware Valley who face hunger on a daily basis. Philabundance addresses hunger through direct service programs and a network of 500 member agencies, as well as contributes to a broad spectrum of social services through food cupboards, emergency kitchens, shelters, daycare and senior centers and beyond. If you’re interested in learning more about the problem of hunger in our region, check out the interactive Hunger 101 game that Philabundance has created.

RSVP required (see below). Volunteers must be 14 or older, and will need to wear closed-toe shoes and comfortable casual clothing (bring a jacket in case you end up working in one of the refrigerated areas).

When: Tuesday, March 18, 6:00-8:30

Where: Philabundance Hunger Relief Center, 3616 S. Galloway Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148 (near the sports stadiums, just a little further down Pattison Ave). There is parking available for Volunteers at the Hunger Relief Center. Please do not park in the Truck Parking only section. Note: Philabundance is located near a nut processing facility, so if you have nut allergies please be aware of the possibility of allergens in the air.

RSVP: Space is limited to 15. Please RSVP on the Philabundance website, following these instructions:

1. Visit http://philabundance.volunteerhub.com.
2. Click “Sign in” in the upper right hand corner and follow the steps as instructed.
3. During this step, you will be asked to enter our group’s join code: 216992
4. Once you return to the main page, scroll down until you find the date of our event (3/18).
5. Click the “Sign Up” button to the left of the “Event Name.”
6. You will receive a confirmation email with further instructions.

Our “Smith Through the Decades” event last year was such a hit that we’re doing it again! The Smith College Club of Philadelphia invites you to afternoon tea at the Beaumont retirement community on Sunday, March 2nd. Alumnae from a wide range of class years will be sharing stories about Smith during their time there. What was it like to be a Smith student during World War II? How did day-to-day life at Smith change in the 70’s as the Women’s Movement grew? What’s on the minds of today’s Smithies? Alumnae from the days of FDR through the Obama era will share and compare personal memories of their college years during nearly seven decades of tumultuous change. Enjoy delicious refreshments and great company as we explore our shared history!

We are currently looking for alums from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s to be a part of the panel discussion. Email the club at phillysmithclub@gmail.com if you’re interested!

When: Sunday, March 2nd at 4 pm 

Where: Beaumont at Bryn Mawr, 601 N Ithan Avenue Bryn Mawr PA 19010. Click here for directions.

RSVP required: To reserve your space, please send an email to phillysmithclub@gmail.com and please provide your name and class year (attendance is free but space is limited.)

Start the new year off on the right foot! Colleen DelVecchio, Associate Director for Alumnae Engagement, will be in the Philadelphia area in late January to offer free career development programs for Smith Alumnae.

Sunday, January 26, 2014, 3-5 p.m.
Negotiation Skills – Ask for What You Deserve!
Many women have difficulty negotiating without feeling overly aggressive. Worse, in an effort to be perceived as nice, women often give up our power by not asking for what we really want. Whether you are striving for your next promotion, salary increase or buy‐in for a new idea, good negotiation skills are critical to your success. Learn tips on preparing for negotiation, developing the courage to ask for what you want, knowing when to push and when to back off, building your credibility before and during a negotiation and when and how to get support from others in achieving your goals.

Monday, January 27, 2014, 7-9 p.m.
Getting Ahead in Your Career
Make a plan or someone else will make one for you. This was never truer than when it comes to your career advancement. Join us to learn how to define the professional trajectory that you want. We’ll cover the key elements to include in your plan, tips for negotiating development opportunities within your company and how to apply these strategies for moving forward with intention, purpose and control.

These events are free, but space is limited and you must register. Please RSVP to Colleen DelVecchio at cdelvecchio@smith.edu. Both events will be held in Center City at the home of an alumna. Exact directions will be emailed to those who register.

To check out more on-campus, off-campus and online career workshops click here.

January 18th falls on a Saturday, and we’re planning to go skating at The Piazza from 2-4 pm. Bring your family and friends (kids very welcome) and let’s practice our triple salchows… or maybe just staying upright!

When: Saturday, January 18th, 2014, 2-4 pm

Where: The Piazza, 1001 N. 2nd St, Philadelphia. It’s a short walk from the Girard station on the Market Frankfort Line. For directions, parking and public transportation, check out this website: http://www.skateatthepiazza.com.

Cost: $5 for adults and $3 for children, plus $1 skate rental.

To find us: Look for board member, Liz Balcom, in her Smith hat!

Join us for our monthly happy hour at Pub & Kitchen at 19th and Lombard. P&K has delicious craft beers, in-house infused liquors, and killer onion rings!

Where: Pub & Kitchen, 1946 Lombard St, Philadelphia, PA 19146

When: Wednesday, December 18th at 5:30 PM

How to find us: Ask the host, and look for our table tents! (see below)

The Smith College Club of Philadelphia will be sending a bundle of cheer to current students to help them get through their final exams! If you’d like to help the club arrange the care packages, we will be gathering at the home of a board member in the West Philadelphia area on Sunday, December 8th at 2 PM. Please email Susie Kwon at susiebkwon@gmail.com to RSVP, and she will fill you in on the details.

If you can’t make it but want to be involved, here’s an easy way: we will be including a good luck note with a list of great holiday snacks and/or drinks. If you’d like to share your favorite (or secret!) recipe, please send it to Susie at the email address above.

When: Sunday, December 8th at 2:00 PM

Where: West Philadelphia (email Susie Kwon at susiebkwon@gmail.com to RSVP, and she will fill you in on the details.)

The Smith College Club of Philadelphia is proud to announce that Dr. Douglas Lane Patey, Sophia Smith Professor of English Language and Literature, will be coming to Philadelphia on November 20th to speak to our group on “Jane Austen’s English”.  Austen lived and wrote at a particularly interesting time in the development of the English language, when grammar and punctuation rules were still being determined. Dr. Patey will draw on several of Austen’s novels to show us how she took advantage of that chaos in subtle, creative ways. For those who did not have the pleasure of taking a class with him, Dr. Patey is a specialist in 18th-century British literature and thought. Professor Patey has written or edited five books, including Probability and Literary Form (1984), Evelyn Waugh: A Critical Biography (1998), and most recently Of Human Bondage: Historical Perspectives on Addiction (2003), as well as essays on Dryden, Pope, Swift, Johnson, Austen, Hegel and the origins of modern disciplinary distinctions between the “arts” and the “sciences.”

Professor Patey is a recipient of this year’s Kathleen Compton Sherrerd ’54 and John J. F. Sherrerd Prize for Distinguished Teaching. The Sherrerd Prize is given annually to Smith faculty members in recognition of their distinguished teaching records and demonstrated enthusiasm and excellence.

We are thrilled to be holding this event at The Cosmopolitan Club (“where cosmopolitan women meet”!), a historic Art Deco women’s clubhouse in Center City established in 1928. Join us for a delicious meal, followed by Professor Patey’s talk, and of course, time for Q&A and mingling afterwards. RSVP with pre-payment required.

When: Wednesday, November 20th, 6 – 9 pm. Cash bar cocktail hour from 6 – 7 pm. Dinner will be served at 7 pm, followed by talk.

Where: The Cosmopolitan Club, 1616 Latimer Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

Menu: Buffet with vegetarian options available.

Cost: $35 for members, $40 for non-members. Pre-payment reserves your place. Spouses, partners, and friends welcome.

RSVP required by November 15th at 12 pm. Please reserve your spot via Paypal, below (in the “Notes to Seller” area, please indicate “Patey event,” and provide your name, class year, and number of guests) or by mailing a check made out to “Smith College Club of Philadelphia” to Lindsey Allen, Treasurer, 822 S. 9th Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19147.

Not a member yet? Support the club and get a discount on this and other upcoming events by becoming a member today.

The Philly Smith Club will be coming out to support the Smith Crew team on Sunday, October 27th during its Head Race at the Hines Rowing Center/Whitemarsh Boat Club in Conshohoken, PA. The Smith team will have a tent, and that’s where we’ll be meeting up. Wear your Smith gear, and come ready to cheer on our team!

Where: Hines Rowing Center/ Whitemarsh Boat Club, 801 Washington Street, Conshohocken PA. Here is a handy parking map.
Race Schedule: This is a Head Race, so it’s 4000 meters long. Races start at:
10:30 am Varsity Eight
10:45 am Second Varsity Eight
11:00 am Novice Eight
11:15 am Second Novice Eight.

Each race lasts about 15-20 minutes, and the awards ceremony will start at about 12:15.

Join the Philly Smith community in celebrating President McCartney’s Inauguration! We will be gathering at the home of Katherine Schneider, ’86 in Rittenhouse Square, on October 18th (the day before the Inauguration ceremony) to raise a glass and send our good wishes to our alma mater at this exciting time. We’ll also be taking a photo of our celebration to send a special greeting to President McCartney on her big day (check out her tumblr to see what others have sent). Note: The actual Inauguration ceremony will be the following day, on Saturday, October 19th at 3 pm. You can watch the live simulcast here).

Smith’s New President, Kathleen McCartney!