Originally known as the Junior Service Guild, Chandler Service Club was organized in January 1933 by a small group of women of modest means to provide hot lunches for Chandler school children whose parents were victims of the Great Depression.  The founding members are:

• Helen Newhouse Handley (Mrs. W. Earl) Pernell

• Elizabeth "Betty" (Mrs. Edward T.) Blake

• Gladys "Babe" (Mrs. Leslie L.) Madison

• Frances Marian Johnson (Mrs. Leonard H.) Edwards

• Pearl (Mrs. Floyd H.) Bouton

• Louise "Sue" (Mrs. Frank W.) Beer

• Eleanor (Mrs. Frank) Fogal

• E. Josephine Stiles (Mrs. U. Lloyd) Eikenberry

Initially, Chandler Service Club members cooked the meals in their homes, delivered them to the school and served them to children who could not afford lunch.  In 1937, a school cafeteria was built as part of the gymnasium so that lunches could be prepared on-site.  Chandler Service Club continued to sponsor the program, even when the program soon expanded to include lunches for all children in the Chandler School District.  Club hired Mrs. Faust to manage and supervise the cafeteria and other local women to cook the meals.  Over the years, Club voted to purchase dishpans, various sizes of cooking pans, baking pans, silverware, plates, soup bowls, rolling pins, frozen food lockers, walk-in refrigerators, steam kettles, steam tables, hot water heaters, folding tables and chairs, 20-quart mixers, pressure cookers.  The high school manual training class made tables on wheels to carry dishes and a stationary table for garbage disposal.  Club members visited other schools and watched the dishwashers operate at the “Drive-In” and the “Downtowner” in order to determine the utility of an electric dishwasher.  They purchased a used Maytag wringer washing machine for washing dish towels (Mrs. Faust did not believe the new automatic washers cleaned as well as the old).  Club applied to the federal, state and county governments for commodities allotments and grants to help support the cafeteria, and negotiated with local dairies for discounted milk.  Each week, two Club members were assigned to visit the lunchroom and report back on the quality of the food, the number of lunches and free lunches served and whether the condition of the dishes and silverware required replacements.  They also collected money and confirmed eligibility of students receiving free lunches.  When Bashas’ discontinued grocery deliveries, Club members bought meats, vegetables and other staples in Phoenix and delivered them to the lunchroom.  In 1943, a school programs representative for the federal food distribution administration noted that Club had done a splendid job through all the years it had been sponsoring the lunchroom, and there were no better lunchroom meals being served in the entire state.  The arrangement continued for twenty years until the Chandler School District gradually assumed the entire cafeteria responsibility, while Chandler Service Club adopted other projects to benefit the growing community.

Chandler Service Club’s principal fundraiser, its Annual Charity Ball, is the second oldest such event in the State of Arizona.  For decades, beginning in 1933, people from across Arizona and beyond traveled many, many miles, under far more difficult conditions than today, to the San Marcos Hotel for Chandler Service Club’s Annual Charity Ball – the ultimate social event of the year.  In recent years, the success of the Ball has necessitated that it be held in other locations until Chandler again has a facility that will accommodate the ever-increasing number of attendees.

Among Chandler Service Club’s more notable contributions to the Chandler community are:

• While sponsoring and managing the school lunchroom during the 1930's, Club also performed plays and donated the ticket proceeds to underprivileged children, purchased eye glasses for Chandler school children in need, and joined the Rotary Club in sponsoring a Chandler preschool.
• In the 1940’s and 1950’s, Chandler Service Club led fund drives for Infantile Paralysis, American Red Cross, Arizona Society for Crippled Children, American Cancer Society, March of Dimes, and Community Chest; donated funds to children in the Maricopa County Tuberculosis Ward; and purchased cod liver oil capsules for the Well Baby Clinic in Chandler.
• During World War II, Chandler Service Club sponsored a Gray Ladies Chapter, and members decorated buildings, furnished food at Williams Air Force Base, and assisted with recreational activities at the Base hospital.  They also hosted weekly teas and other events for wives of enlisted men at the Base, as well as weekly dances for Base residents.
• In 1951, Chandler Service Club provided funds to help build and furnish a Recreational Hall at Arizona Boys Ranch in Queen Creek and provided subscriptions to magazines, books and furnishings for each home at the Ranch.  Club members adopted boys at the Ranch and provided birthday and Christmas presents for them.  In 1954, Chandler Service Club also provided free lunches to the boys.
• In 1957, Chandler Service Club started Ear and Eye testing for students at Chandler Junior High School.  The service soon expanded to include all Chandler elementary schools.
• In 1967, Chandler Service Club members helped start a Dental Clinic in Mesa and provided transportation to the clinic for needy Chandler students.  In 1975, Chandler Service Club members convinced Chandler Dentists to open a similar clinic in Chandler, and Chandler Service Club coordinated the project.
• Chandler Service Club participated in the founding of the Chandler Public Library, and in the early 1980's, Chandler Service Club provided $30,000 for the purchase of the City’s first Bookmobile.
• Chandler Service Club brought the Phoenix Symphony to Chandler for performances and appealed to the City to build a much needed City Auditorium in conjunction with Chandler School District.  As proof of their support, Chandler Service Club committed $40,000 toward the project, designating that the funds be used for enhancement of the facility.  An additional $5,000 enabled construction of the fountain at the entrance of the Chandler Center for the Arts when it opened in 1989.
• Chandler Service Club provided leadership for establishing Chandler Regional Hospital and has contributed many of thousands of dollars to equip the hospital.  Chandler Service Club members regularly delivered “Meals-on-Wheels” for many years.
• In 1984, a Shoe and Jacket Project replaced the Dental Clinic.  Working through school nurses at Chandler schools, Chandler Service Club provides shoes and jackets to students who need them.
• Each year, at least 50 economically disadvantaged Chandler students are able to participate in band and orchestra because Chandler Service Club purchases musical instruments for Chandler Unified School District to distribute to students in need.
• Since 1958, Chandler Service Club has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in academic scholarships for Chandler-area graduating seniors, as well as for Chandler-area adults returning to college.
• Since 1952, nearly 1,000 Chandler-area high school seniors have completed Chandler Service Club’s Flower Girl program, a year-long self-improvement and educational opportunity that includes a mandatory community service project.  As a whole, the former Flower Girls have successful careers and continue to be active in community service and charitable activities.
• In recent years, Chandler Service Club has donated several hundreds of thousands of dollars to community organizations, including I.C.A.N., Chandler Christian Community Center, Chandler/Gilbert YMCA, Chandler Historical Society, Children's Cancer Network, Desert Cancer Foundation, Neighbors Who Care, Inc., Chandler Education Foundation, Catholic Social Services--My Sister’s Place, Boys and Girls Clubs and many other local programs that benefit local people, with the overall effect of improving the quality of life for all Chandler residents.
• In 2008, Chandler Service Club committed to contribute $75,000 toward the cost of constructing a new 8,800 sq. ft. clinic to house the Chandler CARE Center.