| Repository: | Western Reserve Historical Society |
| Creator: | National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section |
| Title: | National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section Records, Series II |
| Dates: | 1896-1986 |
| Dates: | 1965-1986 |
| Extent: | 5.40 linear feet (6 containers) |
| Abstract: | The National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section, is a women's service organization in Cleveland, Ohio, concerned with local, national, and international issues and projects. The collection consists of correspondence, lists, minutes, reports, newsletters, and speeches. |
| MS Number | MS 4783 |
| Location: | closed stacks |
| Language: | The records are in English |
The Cleveland Section, National Council of Jewish Women was organized in 1894 by the Ladies Benevolent Society, a sewing and personal service group. The Section was one of several belonging to the National Council of Jewish Women which had been formed the year before in Chicago, Illinois. The 271 charter members in Cleveland, Ohio, were led from 1894 to 1897 by the Council's first president, Rabbi Moses J. Gries. The Council's major emphasis was on philanthropic work both inside and outside the Jewish Community. The first major fundraising affair was a bazaar at the Cleveland Greys Armory in 1897 which raised $13,000. This money was used to start the Council Educational Alliance, a settlement house whose purpose was to Americanize Jewish immigrants from Europe. The Council Educational Alliance later became the Jewish Community Center. Over the years, the Council's aims have remained the same as expressed in the following "Statement of Purpose": "The National Council of Jewish Women is an organization which, in the spirit of Judaism, is dedicated to furthering human welfare in the Jewish and general communities, locally, nationally, and internationally. Through an integrated program of education, service, and social action, it provides essential services and stimulates and educates the individual and the community toward their responsibility in advancing human welfare and the democratic way of life." The Council has continually innovated projects which meet the current needs of the Jewish and general community. Basic to the Council's philosophy is the trained volunteer, and the Cleveland Section was one of the first organizations to establish training sessions for its volunteers. Some of the Council's services are ongoing, while others serve as pilot projects later taken over by appropriate groups. For example, Craft Corner, an outlet for the sale of handiwork by World War II refugees was terminated when the family income of the emigres stabilized. Another project, the Vocational Counseling Bureau, proved so valuable that the Jewish Welfare Federation assumed responsibility for the Bureau which became the Jewish Vocational Service. The community service projects in which the Council participates are many and diverse, including such varied services as Martha House, a home for working girls; Meals-On-Wheels, a delivery of hot meals to the elderly; Council Gardens, a home for the elderly; English classes for immigrants; scholarship aid for local and foreign students; day nurseries in Cleveland's Hough neighborhood; Camp Wise for needy children; hospital work; aid to the blind; and many more. The Council is divided into various major divisions, each having its own vice-president. In early years the main sources of income were from dues and fundraising programs; while dues are still collected, most of the Council's income is from the Thrift Shops, the first of which was opened in 1936. Stocked with good used merchandise given by members, the Thrift Shops have been successful enough to eliminate the need for other types of fundraising except for an occasional special program such as the Council Follies held in 1953 and 1962. Major meetings are held for the entire membership through the fall, winter, and spring. Education programs on diverse subjects are presented weekly. Other committee, volunteer, and special interest groups meet at varied times. The Cleveland Section is a member of the District National, and International structure of the Council of Jewish Women, for which Cleveland has hosted several conventions.
The National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section Records, Series III, 1896-1986 (1965-1986) consist of correspondence, lists, minutes, reports, newsletters, and speeches.
The collection is of value to researchers studying Judaism, service organizations, volunteerism and women's groups in general, and in Cleveland, Ohio, in particular. Of special interest are the projects initiated both by the Cleveland Section and the national organization of the National Council of Jewish Women. On a local level, the group coordinated the publication of Access Guide to Cleveland for Disabled and Elderly Individuals, 1980, a guide to handicapped access to public buildings. There is significant documentation both about Council-directed projects such as Council Gardens, a housing project for the elderly; the Thrift Shops; and about cooperative ventures with the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, the Senior Adult Division of the Jewish Community Center of Cleveland, and the Jewish Family Service of Cleveland. On the district and national level, Cleveland Section participated in studies and projects about women and children. These included a major study of day care, juvenile justice, and the changing nature of the nuclear family in the Jewish community. In addition, Cleveland Section officers Barbara Mandel and Barbara Sobel served in important posts in the national organization. Thus records of the Central District and the national office of the National Council of Jewish Women are also present in this collection.
None.
Related MaterialThe researcher should also consult MS 3620 National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section Records; MS 4586 National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section Records, Series II; PG 118 National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section Records; and PG 496 National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section Records, Series II.
Separated MaterialAll photographs have been removed to PG 496 National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section Photographs.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4783 National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section Records, Series III, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of the Cleveland Section, National Council of Jewish Women in 1993.
Processed by Jane A. Avner in 1998
Series I: Administrative Files 1909-1982 undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Annual meetings, brochures and speeches 1976 1978 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Annual reports 1959 1964 1969 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Award nominations, correspondence, and press releases 1965-1978 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Board Institute, correspondence and programs 1974-1976 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5-6 | Board of Trustees, agendas, attendance lists, correspondence, and minutes 1973-1978 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7-16 | Board of Trustees, notebook, including board and committee rosters, calendar of events, and bylaws 1968-1979 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17-22 | Committees, annual reports 1971-1979 | |||||||||
| 1 | 23 | Committees, Advisory Committee, agendas, minutes, and notes 1973-1975 | |||||||||
| 1 | 24-28 | Correspondence, president's 1972 1974 1977-1982 | |||||||||
| 1 | 29 | Councilettes, correspondence, and newsletters 1973-1975 1977 | |||||||||
| 1 | 30 | Councilettes, minutes 1967-1970 | |||||||||
| 1 | 31 | Evening Branch, meeting notices 1968-1976 | |||||||||
| 1 | 32 | Evening Branch, minutes 1967-1973 | |||||||||
| 1 | 33 | Financial statements 1966-1968 | |||||||||
| 1 | 34 | Histories 1909 1967 | |||||||||
| 1 | 35 | Legal counsel, correspondence and notes 1967 | |||||||||
| 1 | 36 | Membership, lists, minutes, and reports 1957-1973 undated | |||||||||
| 1 | 37 | Membership, Life Membership, notes and reports 1968-1973 1978 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 38 | Newsletters 1957 1962 1964-1966 1969-1970 1972-1975 1977 | |||||||||
| 2 | 39 | Programs, correspondence, lists, newspaper clippings and speeches 1975-1976 | |||||||||
| 2 | 40 | Publications, including The Single Parent Quality of Jewish Life Project: A Survey of the Jewish Divorced in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, a study done between 1975 and 1978, 1968-1978 undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 41 | Publicity, correspondence, newspaper clippings and press releases 1972-1975 1977 1979 | |||||||||
| 2 | 42 | Reserve Funds, correspondence, minutes, and notes 1981-1982 undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 43 | Speeches, president's 1967-1975 undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 44 | Tour of Homes program, correspondence, report, and publicity 1964 | |||||||||
| 2 | 45 | Volunteers, correspondence and reports 1963 1968-1978 undated | |||||||||
Series II: Community Services 1955-1986 undated |
|||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 2 | 46-47 | Access Guide to Cleveland for Disabled and Elderly Individuals, correspondence, lists, minutes, notes, and press releases 1979-1983 | |||||||||
| 2 | 48 | Access Guide to Cleveland for Disabled and Elderly Individuals, grant information, correspondence, and proposals 1978-1979 | |||||||||
| 2 | 49 | Access Guide to Cleveland for Disabled and Elderly Individuals, publicity, correspondence, lists, notes, newspaper clippings, and press releases 1979-1981 | |||||||||
| 2 | 50 | Bellefaire, correspondence, minutes, notes, and reports 1983-1984 | |||||||||
| 2 | 51 | Big Sister Advisory Committee, list and minutes 1968-1975 | |||||||||
| 2 | 52 | Bureau of Jewish Education, corresondence 1972-1975 | |||||||||
| 2 | 52 | Bureau of Jewish Education, annual report 1968 | |||||||||
| 2 | 53 | Community Nutrition Service, puppet shows at the Cleveland Health Museum, correspondence, newsletters and scripts 1975-1976 undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 54 | Community Services Advisory Committee, correspondence, minutes, and reports 1966-1973 1975-1978 undated | |||||||||
| 2 | 55 | Community Services volunteer training course, correspondence, schedules, and publicity 1965-1974 | |||||||||
| 2 | 56 | Council Gardens, Board of Trustees, minutes 1975-1980 | |||||||||
| 2 | 57 | Council Gardens, bylaws and other legal documents 1975-1984 | |||||||||
| 2 | 58 | Council Gardens, correspondence 1976-1985 | |||||||||
| 2 | 59 | Council Gardens, Einstein, Ruth, magazine articles and speeches 1962 1966-1967 | |||||||||
| 2 | 60 | Council Gardens, financial statements 1975-1985 | |||||||||
| 2 | 61 | Council Gardens, lists, notes and programs 1975-1984 | |||||||||
| 2 | 62-63 | Day Care, correspondence, minutes, and reports 1968-1972 1975 undated | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 3 | 64 | Day Care, Windows on Day Care, report by the National Council of Jewish Women with information from Cleveland studies 1972 | |||||||||
| 3 | 65 | Early Childhood Enrichment Center, correspondence and reports 1974-1978 undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 66 | Entertainmobile, reports and scripts 1967-1976 | |||||||||
| 3 | 67-71 | Entertainmobile, scripts, A-W 1957 1962 1966-1967 1971-1975 undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 72 | Fairhill Psychiatric Hospital Library, correspondence, newsletters, newspaper clippings and reports 1967-1978 undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 73 | Federation for Community Planning, correspondence and reports 1973 1975-1979 | |||||||||
| 3 | 74 | Former agency agreements 1965-1978 | |||||||||
| 3 | 75-76 | Jewish Community Center of Cleveland, correspondence, minutes and reports 1968 1973-1979 1981-1985 udnated | |||||||||
| 3 | 77 | Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, correspondence, notes and reports, (including Report of the Jewish Education Study Committee, 1976, and Survey of Cleveland's Jewish Population 50 and Older, 1985) 1973 1975-1979 1981 1983 1985 | |||||||||
| 3 | 78-79 | Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, minutes and reports of miscellaneous committees 1976-1982 | |||||||||
| 3 | 80 | Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, Community Services Planning Committee, correspondence, memos and lists 1975-1980 undated | |||||||||
| 3 | 81-83 | Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland, correspondence, minutes and reports 1955 1973-1980 1983-1986 undated | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 4 | 84 | Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland, reports 1973-1975 1977 undated | |||||||||
| 4 | 85 | Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland Board of Trustees, board manual 1976 | |||||||||
| 4 | 86 | Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland, Public Issues Committee, correspondence and minutes 1975 1979 | |||||||||
| 4 | 87 | Meals on Wheels, correspondence, minutes, and reports 1965-1972 undated | |||||||||
| 4 | 88 | Miscellaneous programs, correspondence, newspaper clippings and reports 1967 1972-1976 1979-1980 | |||||||||
| 4 | 89 | Preschool Development, correspondence, course outline and flyers 1966-1967 undated | |||||||||
| 4 | 90 | Senior Adult Division, minutes 1967 1969-1970 | |||||||||
| 4 | 90 | Ship-a-Box, correspondence, lists, and reports 1965 1969-1975 undated | |||||||||
| 4 | 91-95 | Thrift Shop, correspondence, memos, minutes, notes, newspaper clippings, and reports 1966-1978 1980 | |||||||||
| 4 | 96 | Thrift Shop, financial statements 1965-1970 1972-1978 | |||||||||
| 4 | 97 | Thrift Shop, legal documents and leases 1967 1969-1970 1972 | |||||||||
| 4 | 98 | Women in Community Service, correspondence, minutes, notes and publicity 1966-1972 1974-1976 1978 undated | |||||||||
Series III: Education and Social Action Projects 1966-1982 undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 4 | 99 | Aging, memos and reports 1967 1970-1971 1977 1979 | |||||||||
| 4 | 100-101 | Annual National Support campaign (ANS), correspondence, lists, notes, programs, and reports 1974-1975 | |||||||||
| 4 | 102 | Annual National Support campaign (ANS), lists of pledges and payments and notes 1974-1975 | |||||||||
| 4 | 103 | Annual National Support campaign (ANS), correspondence, lists, notes, programs, and reports 1976-1978 | |||||||||
| 4 | 104 | Annual National Support campaign (ANS), material from National Council of Jewish Women 1975-1978 | |||||||||
| 4 | 105 | Ecology, lists and notes 1972 | |||||||||
| 4 | 105 | Education department, annual reports, and program reports 1966-1974 | |||||||||
| 4 | 106 | Education department, correspondence 1969 1972-1975 1978 | |||||||||
| 4 | 107 | Gun Control, correspondence and speeches 1970 1972 1975-1976 1980-1982 undated | |||||||||
| 4 | 108-109 | Jewish Affairs Subcommittee, correspondence and reports 1970-1976 1980-1982 | |||||||||
| 4 | 110-111 | Juvenile Justice, correspondence, minutes and questionnaire 1972-1974 undated | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 5 | 112 | Juvenile Justice, correspondence and minutes 1975-1979 | |||||||||
| 5 | 113 | Juvenile Justice, manuals from the NCJW 1972-1973 1978 1982 | |||||||||
| 5 | 114 | Juvenile Justice, newspaper clippings 1972 | |||||||||
| 5 | 115 | Juvenile Justice, questionnaires 1974 undated | |||||||||
| 5 | 116 | Juvenile Justice, reports 1974 1976-1978 undated | |||||||||
| 5 | 117 | Juvenile Justice, Adolescent and Girls Study, correspondence, questionnaires and reports 1982 | |||||||||
| 5 | 118-119 | Legislative Institute, correspondence, lists, programs and reports 1972-1973 1977-1978 | |||||||||
| 5 | 120 | Ombudsman, correspondence, minutes, notes and reports 1974-1975 undated | |||||||||
| 5 | 121 | Public Affairs Committee (also called Social Action Committee until 1971), annual reports and minutes 1968-1972 | |||||||||
| 5 | 122 | Public Affairs Committee (also called Social Action Committee until 1971), correspondence, general 1972-1977 1982 | |||||||||
| 5 | 123 | Public Affairs Committee (also called Social Action Committee until 1971), correspondence, national issues, including correspondence with U.S. senators and representatives 1969-1976 | |||||||||
| 5 | 124 | Public Affairs Committee (also called Social Action Committee until 1971), correspondence, state and local issues 1969 1974-1977 | |||||||||
| 5 | 125-127 | Soviet Jewry, correspondence, minutes, notes, programs and reports 1970-1976 1979-1980 | |||||||||
| 5 | 128 | Task Force on Foster Care, correspondence, minutes and reports 1979 | |||||||||
Series IV: National Council of Jewish Women, Central District 1968-1980 undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 5 | 129 | Area 12 Institute, correspondence, lists, notes, and reports 1977 | |||||||||
| 5 | 130 | Bylaws, membership lists and minutes 1974 1976-1978 | |||||||||
| 5 | 131-135 | Correspondence 1968 1972-1980 | |||||||||
| 5 | 136 | District Convention, Cincinnati, Ohio, correspondence, lists, and programs 1976 | |||||||||
| 5 | 137 | District Convention, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, correspondence, lists and programs 1977-1978 | |||||||||
| 5 | 138 | Newsletters, including International Council of Jewish Women 1972-1973 1975-1978 undated | |||||||||
Series V: National Council of Jewish Women, National Organization 1896-1983 undated |
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| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 5 | 139 | Bylaws 1971 1973 1979 | |||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||
| 6 | 140 | Conventions, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and programs 1961 1973 1979 | |||||||||
| 6 | 141-143 | Correspondence 1965 1969-1971 1973-1980 | |||||||||
| 6 | 144 | Joint Program Institute, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and reports 1972-1975 1978 | |||||||||
| 6 | 145 | National resolutions 1973 1975-1983 | |||||||||
| 6 | 146 | Newsletters 1971 1973-1984 | |||||||||
| 6 | 147-148 | Publications 1967 1973-1974 1977 1981 1983 undated | |||||||||
| 6 | 149 | Report forms 1975-1978 | |||||||||
| 6 | 150 | Reports, Cleveland Section reports on National Conventions (1896 is a photocopy) 1896 1971 1973 1977 | |||||||||
| 6 | 151 | Summit Conference to Israel, correspondence, newsletters, notes and reports 1973-1974 | |||||||||