[photo credit: Friends In Deed]
Friends In Deed, the 132-year-old Pasadena interfaith organization that runs The Women’s Room, is hosting EmpowerHER: Flowers and Flourish at the Shakespeare Club, 171 S. Grand Ave., from 6 to 8 p.m. The event marks the close of the organization’s Women’s History Month programming and includes a $10,000 crowdfunding challenge to benefit the program, which Friends In Deed describes as the only daytime refuge for women experiencing homelessness in the San Gabriel Valley.
Attendees will arrange floral bouquets, assemble birthday kits for Women’s Room guests and hear from the evening’s honoree, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who also serves as the event’s lead sponsor. Barger represents the Fifth Supervisorial District, which includes Pasadena.
The Women’s Room, founded in 2007, operates Monday through Thursday at Friends In Deed’s campus at 444 E. Washington Blvd. Between 35 and 50 women come through the door each day, according to the organization, for showers, laundry, meals, computer access, arts and crafts, and a place to rest.
“This series is a reflection of the work we do at The Women’s Room — creating a space where women can feel safe, empowered, and supported,” Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater, chief executive officer of Friends In Deed, said during the launch of the organization’s 2025 EmpowerHER programming.
The activities at Flowers and Flourish are drawn directly from the programming that takes place inside The Women’s Room, according to Friends In Deed. The event’s design is meant to give attendees a firsthand sense of the creative and community-building experiences the program provides to its guests year-round.
One former guest, now employed and housed, said in a testimonial on the organization’s website: “I owe my life to The Women’s Room.”
The choice of venue carries historical weight. The Shakespeare Club was founded in 1888 by Claribel Thompson and Lydia Nash as a women’s literary study group — the first women’s club in Southern California, according to multiple historical accounts. The club has maintained its Italian Renaissance-style villa on South Grand Avenue since 1972 and has a longstanding relationship with Friends In Deed, including providing weekly lunches and collecting toiletries for Women’s Room guests.
The $10,000 crowdfunding challenge runs alongside the event, with donations directed to The Women’s Room through the campaign at givebutter.com/empowerher2026. Event sponsors include Barger at the Rose level; Pasadena Methodist Foundation and First United Methodist Church of Pasadena at the Lily level; and Chancela Al-Mansour, a Friends In Deed board member and executive director of the Housing Rights Center, among those at the Violet level.
Friends In Deed, founded in 1894, operates five core programs serving Pasadena’s homeless and at-risk communities: The Women’s Room, the Food Pantry, Street Outreach and Housing, the Bad Weather Shelter, and Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance. The organization is headquartered at 444 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104.
Tickets are available at friendsindeedpas.org/empowerher. For more information, contact Friends In Deed at 626-797-2402 or visit friendsindeedpas.org.
The bouquets the guests arrange on March 30 will go home with them. The program they support stays open every Monday through Thursday, waiting for whoever walks through the door.
EMPOWERHER: FLOWERS AND FLOURISH Date & Time: Monday, March 30, 2026 (time per event calendar) Venue: The Shakespeare Club of Pasadena, 171 S. Grand Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105 Phone Number: Contact Friends In Deed at https://friendsindeedpas.org/ Website: https://friendsindeedpas.org/empowerher/
