Alumnae of the Holy Child Schools were enthusiastic supporters of Rosemont from the very beginning. In October 1921, a Fair was held that raised $750. Parishes staffed by Holy Child sisters also held fundraising Card Parties. On Jan. 29, 1922, Sharon Hill alumnae from New York held a Benefit Party for Rosemont on the Cunard Line Ship, the Berengaria. More than 1,000 guests danced, played bridge, drank tea, and tried their luck at bazaar booths.
In 1923, the establishment of the Rosemont Association helped reduce existing debts and raise funds for additional buildings.
Articles began to appear in newspapers with such headlines as: “$250,000 Campaign for a Catholic Institution” and “Alumnae of Holy Child Schools Pledge $10,000 for Rosemont College.”
The Association also published a brochure to educate benefactors about the purpose and potential of Rosemont College for women. The brochure highlights the early history of the SHCJ and the Philadelphia roots of Foundress Cornelia Peacock Connelly. It also shares a view of Rosemont in 1923 and what the future will bring.
Well-known community members were listed as supporters of the College, including James M. Wilcox, Judge Harry S. McDevitt, Judge John Monaghan, Philip A. Collins, and James Considine. Groups of Holy Child alumnae and friends were formed. Sharon alumnae Mary Kelly and Mary Angela Lynch pledged to raise $10,000 each, as did Helen Blake from Suffern and Winifred Quennell from St. Leonard’s Academy, both current students at Rosemont College. The names of these first benefactors were engraved on memorial tablets unveiled on Holy Saturday, 1923, and are still mounted in the entrance to Main Building.
A series of illustrated lectures were offered by members of the faculty, as the College itself was striving to offer programs that would be a source of fundraising and enrichment to the community.
They included: Jan. 17, 1923: Marie Antoinette at Versailles (pictured below), Mother St. Luke (newspapers noted that this was “the first time in the history of the institution a nun had ever spoken at a public meeting”); and Feb. 17, 1923: Art of J. M. Barrie, Mother Mary Lawrence Swinburne.
