Saint Agnes Foundation photo | Members of the Saint Agnes Women’s Club take a special tour of the hospital in this photo posted to social media in March.

With a renewed mission and a refreshed roster of members, the Saint Agnes Women’s Club is preparing for a major fundraiser to help expand mental and primary health care for Fresno’s most vulnerable populations.

Founded in 1977, the club partners closely with Saint Agnes Medical Center’s philanthropy team. This year’s fundraising efforts will benefit the Holy Cross Health and Wellness Center, formerly known as the Holy Cross Center for Women.

“They are really an important vehicle to raise awareness about the needs of women and children and just raise money to help support some of the programming that we have,” said Ivonne Der Torosian, vice president for community health and wellbeing at Saint Agnes.

The center opened in 1994 as a day refuge for women in crisis — providing social support, classes, resume assistance and access to care. At its peak, it served more than 5,000 women annually, many experiencing homelessness. The facility offered day beds and child-friendly spaces.

COVID-19 forced the center to close temporarily, and soon after, the death of Sister Mary, one of its founding leaders, prompted a shift in the center’s direction. The loss, coupled with increased need, led to a redesign focused on holistic and mental health care.

“We see it as a way of really empowering women,” Der Torosian said. “We’re really focused on physical care, but mental health is really critical, especially [in] the women who are clients of ours at Holy Cross.”

Many of the center’s clients experience poverty, trauma, anxiety and depression.

“If we’re able to build programs around addressing mental health, our goal is to really ensure that we can empower them to feel safe, feel secure, start believing in themselves or continue to build that trust,” she said.

The center now operates in partnership with WestCare California, Kings View Behavioral Health, and Poverello House. Services include behavioral health counseling, peer support, computer classes and more. The renovated space now includes overnight rooms for up to 34 women.

Plans are underway to open a “Safety Net Clinic” on site, offering general and mental health care to men, women and children without access to traditional health services.

“We don’t get reimbursed; this is part of our community benefit and community impact at Saint Agnes,” Der Torosian said. “Every dollar raised by SAWC will go to funding and expanding services at Holy Cross.”

The clinic is expected to open later this year or in early 2026.

For club president Barbara Krikorian Tryk, the mission is deeply personal.

“Our club has been very passionate about providing for the underserved population of Fresno, particularly with mental health,” she said. “A lot of us have a story either very close to us or very personal to us, about a mental health situation.”

The club, once made up mostly of doctors’ wives, reformed last year under Krikorian Tryk’s leadership. Its members now include business owners and executives with access to funding networks throughout the Central Valley.

Krikorian Tryk said adding the clinic will broaden the center’s reach and may help reduce pressure on local emergency departments by offering preventive and continuous care.

“We wanted to make sure that not only were we providing an incredible event that would raise a lot of money, but we also wanted it to be something that people would look forward to for years to come,” she said.

The club’s signature fundraiser, Keys & Cocktails, is scheduled for Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. at Pardini’s. The event will feature The Dueling Pianos, dinner, drinks and a live auction.

“It really is meant not only to raise funds, but raise awareness,” Der Torosian said. “If we can build up those partners in addition to funds, I think it’s going to be a beautiful event.”