New | At the service of travelling women: 100-year-old club in Hong Kong still going strong
First club house set up for women who do not want to live in a hotel
Named after a former British governor’s wife with a mission to serve the needs of women who need who travel away from home to work, the century old women’s club Helena May is still keen on serving the needs of women.
Tina Seib, chair of the council of Helena May, said while the women have become more sophisticated and outgoing, Helena May also has changed with time to meet the needs of women.
“Of course, the women’s role has changed a lot in the past 100 years. Compared with 100 years ago, women nowadays have a chance to receive higher levels of education while many of them are more sophisticated. Many of them are professionals,” Seib told the South China Morning Post in an interview at the club house heritage building in Central where it is in the process of a renovation for its 100th anniversary next year.
She said the club will continue to remain relevant to women who are visiting or living in Hong Kong, be they professional working women or full time mothers.
“We are a club for women run by women, while we are constantly reviewing and evolving to the current needs of our members. We will move into the next century of our history with momentum and with confidence. Providing high standards of food and accommodations which are value for money,” she said.
Helena May is a non-profit club founded in September 1916 and named after the wife of the then governor Henry May who founded the club with funding from local tycoons Ellis Kadoorie and Ho Kom-tong.