American Red Cross, Brooklyn Chapter records
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Dates
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Language of Materials
Abstract
The American Red Cross, Brooklyn Chapter collection consists of annual reports and newsletters spanning the years 1918 to 1958, with a gap during the years 1920 to 1937. On December 2, 1905, Mrs. Tunis G. Bergen brought together a group of Brooklyn residents at the Barnard Club House on Remsen Street to form New York City's first borough-based Red Cross organization. With an initial membership roster of 300, the Brooklyn Chapter of the American Red Cross embarked on its first major campaign to aid victims of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, collecting over $100,000 and thousands of articles of clothing to contribute to the relief effort.
Biographical / Historical
From this point on, the Brooklyn Chapter continued to provide disaster relief on both a local and national level in the form of relief funds, emergency first aid, first aid materials, and access to social services. As of 2010, the American Red Cross, Brooklyn Chapter is located at 200 Schermerhorn Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Scope and Contents
The American Red Cross, Brooklyn Chapter collection consists of annual reports and newsletters spanning the years 1918 to 1958, with a gap during the years 1920 to 1937. The bulk of materials fall within the years 1940 to 1948 and document the Chapter's contribution to the war effort during World War II, as well as its activities during the immediate postwar period. The newsletters in the collection are comprised of copies of the Chapter's own monthly publication, The Chapter Bulletin, as well as copies of The Open Door, the monthly newsletter of the Brooklyn Bureau of Charities, with which the Chapter worked closely.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); American Red Cross, Brooklyn Chapter, 1985.091, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Minimally processed to the collection level.
