Toys for Tots – Pendennis Club
Exclusive Club Partners with Marine Corps Reserve
Published On: February 01, 2012
“The Pendennis Club is a gathering of friends, where decency, decorum, civility, good manners, and the social graces are still very much in style.” On December 16, those friends gathered in the name of philanthropy to contribute, once again, to the mission of Toys for Tots. Through the historic doors, members and friends entered dressed in classic tuxedos and sequined gowns bearing donations that would certainly make the holiday one to remember for a less fortunate child.
Event Organizer Jeffrey McLennan exclaimed that 2011 was one of the most successful years to date. “I’ve been on the committee for 15 years and have organized it for the past 11 years, and this was our best ever. We collected 926 toys and $660, which was a record for our event.” Local Toys for Tots coordinator Bob Cross added, “Toys for Tots was able to provide toys for nearly 23,000 children this Christmas.”
The Pendennis Club has been a fixture for Louisville society since 1881, and the current building, unveiled in 1928 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. As guests crossed the black and white marble floors of the lobby, they were instructed to drop their donation under the beautifully adorned Christmas tree in the library, finished in natural walnut and carpeted with “warmth-giving red.” Though guests spread throughout the entire 78,346 square feet of the clubhouse, most followed the sounds of Burning Las Vegas up the main staircase and into the Georgian ballroom where piles of high heels gathered underneath the crystal chandeliers signifying that these ladies intended to dance through the discomfort. Some chose to rest their weary dancing feet by relaxing in the mahogany furniture of the Independence and Hindustan Rooms.
Members look to the future of the Pendennis Club and hope that in a hundred years, it will be as it was a hundred years ago, “a pleasant place to be with one’s friends.” Indeed at the Toys for Tots event, it was just that. Our best wishes for 100 more years of giving hope to the disadvantaged youth of our community. TA
—Photographs by
Tonya Abeln
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