Covenant Guild is more than just a pleasant philanthropic group. Just ask Pikesville resident Lois Balser.
When recently presented with a “Woman Who Embraces Change Award” at the convention of the Federation of Jewish Women’s Organizations of Maryland, Balser says her fellow guild members were there to cheer her on.
“I’ve gotten cards and phone calls from so many members,” she says. “You belong here, whether you have a simcha or are experiencing a hard time. The members are there for you. It’s just a very warm feeling to know, at certain times, that you’re not alone.”
This year, Covenant Guild is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Founded as a group for women primarily living in West Baltimore to socialize in the evenings, the guild evolved into a tight-knit philanthropic organization making a deep communal impact and recruiting thousands of members over the years.
The members — who range in age from 35 to 80-plus — enjoy strong bonds, meaningful friendships and a sense of fulfillment, all while remaining true to their guild motto of “Loving, Caring, Giving, Sharing.”
The guild does not focus on any specific area of need or type of communal response. Through the years, the group has supported hospice programs and hospital rooms, Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company ambulances, mental health organizations, children with special needs, computers for veterans, hands-on volunteering and more.
“We didn’t specify just doing one thing,” says past president Sydell Gould. “When we find a need, we help them. We serve the entire city and county, and we’ve also done things for other states, as well as for Israel. It’s been very rewarding.”
Says longtime member and past president Dale Levitz: “We were the first organization to help a Black hospital in 1948. We were the first organization to help during the AIDS epidemic by giving money to house women and children who were afflicted with AIDS.”
Members are proud of the impact they’ve made in the community, which includes raising $2.3 million for various community organizations.
“In very good years, we’ve raised over $100,000 in one year, which is not too bad for little Jewish ladies,” says Levitz with a laugh.
The organization is meticulous in its process about which organizations to support. Members vet potential recipients through a formal review process, which they are quite passionate about.
“We have a philanthropic committee that meets, and we investigate,” says Balser, also a past president. “We go to each organization that sends us a proposal, and then we make our decision from there. Our women are extremely involved in our fundraising and making sure that we get enough money to support the charities each year.”
Sometimes, the need is simple and close to home. There’s an anonymous special fund for members who know of someone in the community in need.
“It’s very private, no names are used,” says Gould. “The person in need is kept dignified, where we don’t know who that person is. We don’t even know the name of the member who referred them.”
The special fund could support a basket of food for a holiday, Chanukah gifts for children, costly prescription medicines or a sports jacket for a bar mitzvah boy. Whatever the need, guild members rise to the occasion.
But the guild is about more than fund-raising and altruism. Members also enjoy a great deal of socialization, ranging from bowling to book clubs to mahjongg to Broadway theater trips.
“If we approached the organization and said, ‘OK, we’re just going to raise money and that’s it,’ it would almost be like a business,” says Balser. “But this is social also and it’s meeting the needs of people who like to be social. The women are very, very welcoming and I think that’s the reason that we are still getting new members. The members are there for you. It’s a camaraderie.”
Like most organizations, the guild was forced adapt during the pandemic, which meant meeting virtually rather than the typical in-person gatherings at Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom Congregation.
“Our women in their 80s and 90s learned how to Zoom,” says Levitz. “And now they can’t live without it. They Zoom all the time!”
During the pandemic, the group particularly enjoyed knitting caps for newborns. Over the years, they’ve knitted more than 6,500 hats for infants and young children.
“Especially during the pandemic, we worked on keeping our members involved, and we found out that you could play Bingo online,” says Balser. “We charged a nominal fee and if somebody won, they sometimes gave their money back to our designated charity.”
Early in the pandemic, the group decided to thank first-responders by baking cookies and delivering them to a local fire station. “We thought we’d get a couple of dozen cookies,” says Levitz. “Well, it was about 100 dozen cookies that we got. Needless to say, the firefighters were thrilled with the donation.”
Reflecting on the past 75 years and the guild’s legacy, members look forward to more good times and good deeds, and they hope to attract the next generation of women.
“We really would love to have younger members to bring some new blood, some new ideas,” says Levitz. “We would love people to know the great things we do. And we’d love to have them come and join us.”
For information, visit facebook.com/Covenant-Guild-Inc-1631642137069066.
Anna Lippe is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer.
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