History Club of Los Gatos to host open house
For the first time since the pandemic, the History Club of Los Gatos is opening its doors to the community for an opportunity to see what’s new at the 127-year-old philanthropic organization.
The event takes place from 7-9pm on Jan. 25 at the History Club’s Clubhouse, 123 Los Gatos Blvd.
The focus of the club has been to support women and children throughout Santa Clara County, and in recent times has helped local organizations including Cancer CAREPoint, the Bill Wilson Center, Pacific Clinics, Good Karma Bikes, SJSU Spartan Food Pantry, Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence and Heritage Home. Support comes in the form of monetary donations and through hands-on volunteering from History Club members dedicated to making a difference through their membership of the club.
The History Club was an idea conceived by Elizabeth Urquhart, and started as a small group of just five women in 1897. Over the past 127 years, the club has evolved and grown, but the consistent characteristic of women working together to achieve great things has endured.
The founders of the club were ahead of their time, determined to have independence, stability and financial autonomy for the club at a time when women had no right to vote and were typically expected to work only in the home looking after their husbands and families. Their desire to build and own a dedicated clubhouse to accommodate the growing number of women who wanted to be part of the club required hard work to raise funds.
Members were determined that they would not rely on the wealth of their husbands to achieve this. Although they could legally own property, they were not able at that time to secure financing or a mortgage, so they embarked on a fundraising campaign including growing and selling produce in local orchards and collecting dues of 50 cents per month from each member.
In 1908, the site and the original clubhouse on Los Gatos Boulevard (rebuilt in the 1950s), was legally owned by the History Club and is still the hub around which all philanthropic works and social events occur.
Everyone is welcome to attend the Open House event on Jan. 25. Hot cider and refreshments will be served.
RSVP by Jan. 18 to LG***********@gm***.com.
For information, visit historyclublosgatos.org.
Matchmaker to host meet-and-greet in Campbell
Sima Taparia, renowned matchmaker and star of the Netflix reality show “Indian Matchmaker,” is set to host a meet and greet event for singles and fans in Campbell. The event will take place on Jan. 12 from 6:30-9:30pm at Gabru Bar, a Desi Contemporary Indian Casual restaurant at 501 E. Campbell Ave. in Campbell.
Taparia is known for her expertise in Indian matchmaking. During the event, attendees will have the opportunity to meet her in person and learn more about her matchmaking methods.
Co-founder of Desi, Archana Nagrath, will hold a Q&A session with Taparia.
Hors d’oeuvres will be served, and a cash bar will be available throughout the evening.
For information and tickets, visit eatatdesi.com.
NUMU accepting student art
New Museum Los Gatos is inviting Santa Clara County high school students to create an original work of art for its annual exhibition, “ArtNow: In Transition.”
ArtNow is an annual juried Santa Clara County high school art exhibition and educational program, presented by New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU). The exhibition and supporting programs offer opportunities for high school student artists, from Palo Alto to Gilroy, to gain real-world experience in participating in a juried museum exhibition.
Each year, a new theme is chosen for the exhibition and students are asked to submit works based on that theme. A total of $16,000 in scholarships and awards are given to participating students.
Submissions close on Jan. 28. For information, visit numulosgatos.org/exhibitions-2/artnow-2024.
Santa Cruz County Bank ranks first for number of SBA loans in Silicon Valley
Santa Cruz County Bank announced Jan. 3 its number one ranking as the top lender for number of SBA loans and its number three ranking based upon total dollar volume of SBA loans in the Silicon Valley.
The data was released by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and published by the Silicon Valley Business Journal for the 2023 fiscal year, which includes the 12 months from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023. Santa Cruz County Bank made 23 loans totaling $22.58 million in volume in Silicon Valley as defined by the Silicon Valley Business Journal which includes Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
“Our lending volume confirms our commitment to supporting small businesses to promote economic development and job growth,” said Santa Cruz County Bank’s SVP, Director of SBA Lending Susan Chandler. “We receive repeat business from satisfied customers and as the result of many years building the positive reputation of our SBA team in the marketplace, we see continuous referrals from brokers, developers and our partners in government guaranteed programs.”
