Boston Jews Contribute Two Million Dollars to Charities in Four Years

Reviewing a four-year record of achievement at the annual meeting on Sunday, Louis E. Kirstein, president, announced that the Associated Jewish Philanthropies had collected more than two million dollars in that period for the support of its 16 constituent institutions and agencies. During the three years of depression, the number of contributors has also been increased from 3,500 to 10,000, he also reported.

Dr. Solomon Lowenstein, executive director of the New York Federation of Jewish Philanthropic Societies, and Dr. George H. Bigelow, state commissioner of public health, were the guest speakers. Annual reports were presented by Casper M. Grosberg, treasurer, and Dr. B. M. Selekman, executive director, and 41 trustees-at-large were elected.

“The Associated Jewish Philanthropies came into existence in 1929 as a successor to the Federated Jewish Charities,” Mr. Kirstein said. “It has had to live through four of the most turbulent, most chaotic years in the history of the country. Continued unemployment with all its tragic consequences in family life, increasing hardships on men, women and children, all of these have brought new and heavy burdens to the Associated and its constituent societies. On top of it the inevitable impairment in wealth and earning ability of our contributing public was bound to result in decreased subscriptions just at a time when larger funds than ever were needed. I feel that under these circumstances our Philanthropies made a creditable showing.

“During the four years, October 1, 1928, to October 1, 1932, we secured in pledges $2,309,000 and we collected in actual cash the amount of $2,127,000 or within eight percent of the total subscription made. To have collected over two million dollars in cash during four years would have been a good record even under normal conditions. But to have attained this during the greatest depression in the history of our country, is evidence that a splendid job has been done.”

In achieving this record of increased membership and amount of money raised, Mr. Kirstein paid particular tribute to the work of the Business Men’s Council and the Women’s Division of the Associated Jewish Philanthropies. He also expressed his appreciation of the appropriations made by the Boston Emergency Relief Campaign and its allocating committee to the Philanthropies.

Summarizing the activities in the fields of family welfare, health work, child care, character building and Jewish education, Dr. B. M. Selekman, executive director, stated that, despite the depression, the Associated Jewish Philanthropies had maintained and improved its standards of work. But the solution of “the fundamental ills of our present social order,” he said, “lie not in public or private social work but in a program of economic and social planning including unemployment and health insurance, old age pensions, child labor laws, shorter work week, minimum wage laws and balanced and planned economy.”

The report of the nominating committee was presented by Albert W. Kaffenburgh, chairman. The following were elected trustees-at-large to fill expired terms on the board of the Associated Jewish Philanthropies: Dr. Louis Arkin, Mrs. J. L. Barron, Max E. Bernkopf, William Bloom, Alexander Brin, A. K. Cohen, Samuel L. Dana, Grover B. Daniels, Mrs. Hyman Freiman, Albert A. Ginzberg, James D. Glunts, Robert Goldstein, Nathan H. Gordon, Casper M. Grosberg, Mortimer C. Gryzmish, Mrs. J. M. Herman, Albert W. Kaffenburgh, J. J. Kaplan, Louis E. Kirstein, Edward N. Marcus, Herman A. Mintz, Dr. Leon S. Medalia, George Michelson, Morris Morse, Henry Penn, A. E. Pinanski, Norman S. Rabinovitz, Jacob Rabinovitz, Sidney H. Rabinowitz, A. C. Ratshesky, Max Shoolman, Samuel Silverman, James Solomont, A. P. Spitz, Oscar Sterman, Gabriel M. Stern, Felix Vorenberg, Leon Strauss, Mrs. N. H. Whitman, Jacob L. Wiseman and I. Wit.