Church Charity Foundation of Long Island publications
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Abstract
The Church Charity Foundation of Long Island was founded in 1851 and was a charitable organization collectively supported by Episcopal churches in Brooklyn. Its first building opened in 1860, and in the ensuing decades the Foundation grew into a sprawling complex of shelters and medical facilities. The Church Charity Foundation of Long Island publications span the period 1884 to 1951 and are mostly comprised of the Foundation's annual reports for the period 1884 to 1944. Additional materials include newsletters and promotional publications.
Historical Note
The Church Charity Foundation of Long Island was founded in 1851 and was a charitable organization collectively supported by Episcopal churches in Brooklyn. In its first few years of existence, the Foundation operated from two houses on Carlton Avenue, which served as shelters for orphans and the elderly. In 1856, the Foundation purchased 25 lots at Albany Avenue and Herkimer Street in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, on which its first building was opened in 1860 as the Home for Aged and Orphans. In the ensuing decades, the Foundation expanded its services to include a medical center called St. John's Hospital, a school for nurses, and a home for the blind, which were housed at various locations to accommodate growing numbers of people in need. By the 1930s, the majority of the Foundation's services were housed at its property on Albany Avenue and Herkimer Street, which had grown into a complex of shelters and medical facilities. The exception was the Foundation's orphanage, which had moved to Sayville, Long Island in 1926 and became known as the Children's Cottages. The Foundation's complex at Albany and Herkimer Streets later became the Interfaith Medical Center, which continues to operate at the site as of 2010.
Sources:
- Church Charity Foundation of Long Island. The Church Charity Foundation of Long Island: Eightieth Annual Report, Covering the Year 1931. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Church Charity Foundation of Long Island, 1931.
Scope and Contents
The Church Charity Foundation of Long Island publications span the period 1884 to 1951 and are mostly comprised of the Foundation's annual reports for the period 1884 to 1944. Reports dating from 1884 to 1925 are compiled in four bound volumes, while the remaining reports are featured as individual pulications. The reports contain extensive information covering the yearly activities of the Foundation's several departments, such as historical data; lists of officers, boards of managers, staff, and committees; reports of managers, rectors, treasurers, and committees; clinical reports of St. John's Hospital; rules for admission of inhabitants and patients; summaries of contributions and endowments; lists of individual donors and contributors; lists of member churches; and the Foundation's charter, bylaws, and rules and regulations. Though the reports do not feature any specific information on the individual inhabitants or patients being cared for by the Foundation, reports dating from 1926 onward do feature the names of individuals who were born at St. John's Hospital. Additional materials include issues of the Foundation's offical news publication, The Helping Hand, dating from 1911 to 1939 and containing information on the Foundation's monthly activities.
The collection also includes items specific to St. John's Hospital, including copies of the Hospital's newsletter, The Hearts-Ease, dating from 1885 to 1887; an annual report of the Hospital from the year 1946; and various pamphlets containing summary information on the Hospital. There are also materials on the St. John's Hospital School of Nursing, including a yearbook from 1951, and several general prospectuses containing information on the School's administration and curriculum.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Church Charity Foundation of Long Island publications, 1985.113, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Source and date of acquisition unknown. Formally accessioned in 1985.
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Processing Information
Minimally processed to the collection level.
