Woman’s Club of McLean Cancels Holiday Homes Tour

The COVID-19 pandemic’s shake-up of the 2020 winter holiday season continues, disrupting traditions normally fueled by a spirit of sharing and togetherness.

The Woman’s Club of McLean, a nonprofit focused on community philanthropy, said on Sunday (Nov. 22) that its annual Holiday Homes Tour has now been canceled for the first time in 53 years due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Holiday Homes Tour is the main fundraiser for the Woman’s Club of McLean, raising over $1 million for various causes since the club was founded in 1958 by local women looking to support their community through volunteering.

Charities currently supported by the club include the Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center, Second Story, the McLean Volunteer Fire Department, Friends of Pleasant Grove Church, the Vinson Hall transitional housing project, and Share Inc.

“It’s the only means of raising an adequate amount of money to meet the needs of the community,” Woman’s Club of McLean President Cecilia Glembocki said when asked about the importance of the Holiday Homes Tour.

The club has maintained much of its usual charitable support this year, but it has retained about 50% of the funds it raised with the 2019 Holiday Homes Tour so that it will have some money to donate in 2021.

The 2019 Holiday Homes Tour took place on Dec. 5 and opened four decorated homes in the McLean area to visitors. Tour visitors could also join the club for lunch and holiday shopping at a marketplace set up in the Trinity United Methodist Church on Route 123.

The Woman’s Club says it hopes to stage the Holiday Homes Tour or another major fundraising event next year.

Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust voiced his support for the club and its homes tour.

“It’s a tradition in McLean,” Foust said.

Photo courtesy Women’s Club of McLean