Susan Hoffman
Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
320 Elmer L. Anderson Library
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: 612-625-0192
Email: s-hoff@umn.edu
web: http://www.jhsum.org
JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE OF ST. PAUL acq #0193
History abstracted by Judy Sherman from We Rolled Up Our Sleeves: A History of the United Jewish Fund and Council of St. Paul and its Beneficiary Agencies by Marilyn Chiat and Chester Proshan.
“Jewish Charities of St Paul” was founded in 1910 “to prevent want, distress, and delinquency” among needy Jews. In the twenties its focus shifted to social services and its name became the Jewish Welfare Association. An early aim was to unify the many fundraising organizations which competed for funds and overlapped services. A trained social worker was hired and resistance of synagogue groups to giving up autonomy was overcome. Social services such as Neighborhood House, job training and homemaking classes were emphasized. In 1920 the agency became part of the newly organized Community Chest, which contributed $15,000. The organization had gone from the remedial, to the curative, to the prevention of social ills. To keep the agency from losing its Jewish identity the JWA Board made its agency a separate dues-paying organization in the community.
The Great Depression challenged the JWA, as federal funds were needed for the increasing needs of their growing clientele. In addition, Jewish emigrants fleeing Europe needed help, and funds were needed for increasing overseas needs. Some difficult clients were transferred to the Board of Public Welfare to save funds. During WWII a shortage of trained personnel meant cutbacks, even though needs were pressing. Juvenile delinquency, which had not been an issue, increased. After the war, a name change to Jewish Family Service reflected a change in emphasis. Finding adoptive homes for Jewish children, helping the chronically ill aged, and helping to settle displaced persons from Europe were important tasks. Settlement of recent immigrants caused discomfort between the JFC and the Community Chest for a time. In the 1950s the idea of charging clients fees for counseling services was accepted.
Social unrest in the 1960s required more staff, and a substantial part of the budget went to salaries. Problems of youth and the elderly required new programs of outreach, such as “Meals on Wheels” and adolescent adjustment programs at Mt Zion, serving the Highland Park High Rise for the Aged and outreach those elderly living in deteriorating neighborhoods. In the 70’s a Jewish Family Life Education Program and social work service at the Talmud Torah was instituted. After 1973 a major effort was the resettlement of Soviet Jewish immigrants in St Paul. Funding was a chronic concern, particularly due to the conservative nature of the United Fund of St Paul. The agency turned to the UJFC for aid, and was granted full beneficiary status in 1977.
Box 56 D01S10CA
Bylaws: 1935
Minutes 1911-1979
Box 57 Alphabetical listing: D01S10CB
Case Record Sample, 1912
Central Community House, 1921-23
Children's Case Committee, 1927-45
Creation of St. Paul Council of Jewish Social Agencies, 1928-42
Creation of United Jewish Fund, 1934-36
Employment Comittee, 1937
Family Committee, business committee, 1939-42
Free Loan Organization and Synagogues, 1932, 1936
Home for the Aged
Homeless Men, 1932-33
Jewish Educational Center
Jewish Education Committee, 1934-38
Juvenile Delinquency
Mothers' Aid, 1928-31
Refugee Service Committee, 1940-49
Relief Aid, 1935-36, 1938-39
State Institutions
Street Traders (newsboys) 1931-37
Unemployment Study, 1931-32
Interagency Materials:
Correspondence, 1916-27
Statistical materials, 1925-36
Historical materials on JFS
Annual meetings and reports, 1897, 1950s-74, 13 ff
Box 58 D01S10CC
Annual meetings and reports, 1975-85, 9 ff.
Miscellaneous board lists
