The Eliza Bryant Center Auxiliary II (f. 1939), formerly known as the Junior Board, was a group of African American women organized by Bessie Blue to provide residents of the Eliza Bryant Center, a home for the African American elderly, with a cheerful and homelike atmosphere. To meet these provisions, the members of the auxiliary raised funds to purchase various items and supplies including kitchen equipment, linen, beds, carpeting, and electronics. By doing this, the auxiliary has also improved the image of the center. Over the years, Auxiliary II has been committed to similar tasks and to generating community awareness of the Center.
The Eliza Bryant Center Auxiliary II Records, 1954-1992, consist of codes of regulation, constitutions, historical data, minutes, correspondence, financial statements and reports, rosters, Christmas Mart and other program documents, newspaper clippings, memorabilia, proclamations, and resolutions.
This collection pertains largely to fundraising events which Auxiliary II sponsored. One of the Auxiliary's most known fundraisers was the annual Christmas Mart, a benefit at which local businesses set up vending booths to sell merchandise to Christmas shoppers. Other activities included luncheons, teas, and fashion shows. This collection symbolizes the scope of social activities that philanthropic African American women were involved with for the sake of charity.
The collection is arranged by document and subject types, then chronologically.
All photographs have been removed to PG 473 Eliza Bryant Center Auxiliary II Photographs.
Processed by Lawna Gamble in 1993
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ]MS 4637 Eliza Bryant Center Auxiliary II Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Julia Simpson, 1992
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.