Clubs Created in the Twenties

"keep alive the spirit of the founders by doing uplifting work."

Most of the clubs organized in the twenties were located in Georgia and Florida. However, Chicago, Cleveland, Prairie View ( Texas) and Detroit also initiated clubs. A rallying slogan was crafted, "Wherever there are four or five graduates or ex-students, we will start a Spelman Club." The Packard-Giles Club in Atlanta was organized for ex-students on March 16, 1921. The purpose of this club was to "keep alive the spirit of the founders by doing uplifting work." In April, 1923, the Spelman Graduates Atlanta Club gave to worthy causes like the Associated Charities.

The Alumnae Association as a whole identified goals that sparked focused efforts among the local clubs. One such goal was to support the Library Endowment Fund where proceeds of the fund would be used to purchase books for the library. Through the establishment of an endowment, this fund provided a permanent source of income to purchase books. A pageant entitled "The Star" was first produced by the Spelman Graduates Atlanta Club to generate funds for the alumnae fund - an unrestricted annual giving effort. One of the first restricted fundraising efforts embarked by the Alumnae Association was the Grover-Werden Fountain which was dedicated in May 1927. The significance of this effort was that the fountain was the only place in the campus area that anyone could get cold drinking water. Not only did students, faculty and staff enjoy the water but community residents could drink from the fountain due to its easy access.

In 1923, aware of the difficulty experienced by faculty in moving around the city, automobile transportation was provided by the members of the Spelman Graduates Atlanta Club to visit the leading Negro enterprises in Atlanta. The purpose of the outings was to educate the faculty and ultimately help students to connect their studies with the realities of the growing and prosperous Negro community in Atlanta. The faculty visited the Ashby Heights community, Auburn Avenue, the Citizens Trust Bank and the Standard Life Insurance Company. Between 1887 and 1928, the potential pool of alumnae who could work within the Association had expanded due to the 1200 degrees and diplomas which had been awarded by Spelman College (Atlanta Female Baptist Seminary).