By John Schaffner
johnschaffner@reporternewspapers.net
How sweet it is: an ice cream social that supports the community.
The Garden Hills Garden Club has been doing it for almost four decades, raising tens of thousands of dollars with its annual ice cream social.
The 39th event is scheduled noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Garden Hills Pool and Park complex, located at the intersection of Pinetree Drive and Rumson Road.
Since its inception, the event has benefited the Atlanta Fire Rescue Station 21 in Buckhead, Atlanta Police Zone 2, Breakthrough Atlanta and the Buckhead branch of the Atlanta-Fulton County Public Library.
Proceeds are raised through ticket sales for on-site children’s activities, including games, arts and crafts, pony rides, train rides and a dunk tank. And, of course, there will be ice cream.
“Part of what makes our neighborhood so remarkable is the true sense of community shared between the residents and the individuals who comprise our public resources,” said Andrea Miller, the event co-chair.
“The attention and dedication shown by the men and women of our local fire and police departments, along with the leadership and guidance of the teachers and staff at educational resources, such as the public library, make Garden Hills a wonderful place to live and work,” Miller said. “We invite families from around the city to join the Garden Hills Community at our annual ice cream social to celebrate our neighborhood as a model for what makes Atlanta great.”
The Garden Hills development was begun in 1925 by Phillip Campbell McDuffie, a prominent Atlanta lawyer. The neighborhood’s first garden club, the Garden Hills Women’s Club, was organized in 1927 and its goals were neighborhood and civic improvement.
Today’s garden club was established in the early 1970s, and its goal is similar to those of the original club, “to make Garden Hills and the surrounding area a safe, unique and beautiful place to call home,” according to the club’s promotional material.