The Junior League of Albany launched Albany’s Gilda’s Club in 2005.

The problem

Living with cancer is hard—patients and their families often need a special place to get away. 

Gilda Radner was a breakthrough, original Saturday Night Live cast member who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. After visiting LA’s The Wellness Community, a cancer support center, Gilda had a vision to create similar places all over the country. “There should be thousands of them.” 

Radner’s therapist, Joanna Bull, and Radner’s widower, Gene Wilder, co-founded Gilda’s Club that opened in New York City in 1995. The organization took its name from Radner’s comment that cancer gave her “membership to an elite club I’d rather not belong to”.  The club offered cancer patients, their friends & family, a homelike setting for support groups, lectures, workshops and social events to build emotional and social support as a supplement to medical care all for free. Local chapters opened in cities across the U.S.

The JLA board had heard of Gilda’s club, as we were close to capital-area cancer organizations, due to our founding of the multi-year Albany Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Gilda’s Club also reminded the board of our participation in launching the Ronald McDonald house in the early ‘80s. At a board retreat, the league decided to become a founding member of Gilda’s Club of ALbany, opening doors in 2005.

JLA in action

The JLA worked tirelessly to become a Gilda’s affiliate, buy a building, renovate it, furnish it, and secure donors, such as SEFCU, E. Stewart Jones, and Bob Blackman construction. 

Albany’s Gilda’s club offered yoga & cooking classes, a playground, support groups, dance classes, massages, and books and had a special emphasis on support for children. 

According to JLA president, Claudia Carroll, it was a place “to get away and be with people.”

The result

While some JLA members stayed devoted to the club by serving on the board, it was difficult for the JLA to run an entire organization consisting of health professionals & psychologists, secure grants year after year, and navigate funding bureaucracy & restrictions. At the same time, the burgeoning internet was offering cheaper, convenient alternatives for emotional support vs. expensive-to-run brick and mortar facilities.  

In 2010, the American Cancer Society took over management of the club. Gilda’s Clubs still exist in many cities. The original NYC Gilda’s Club rebranded to Red Door Community in 2021.