Membership in the 353 Jewish Community Centers affiliated with the National Jewish Welfare Board rose to 595, 000 last year, it was reported here today at the JWB national convention. More than 1, 000 delegates and guests from communities throughout the country, as well as from Canada, Mexico, Panama, Argentine and other countries are attending the sessions.
Local expenditures in the 353 Centers aggregated $18, 695, 000, Charles Aron, JWB president, reported. He also pointed out that the dispersal of American troops and the new secret stations meant also added morale responsibilities for the 265 local JWB Armed Services Committees which sponsored 24, 096 group activities attended by 2, 089, 224 persons. In addition, committees of JWB’s women’s organizations shipped more than 1, 000, 000 morale articles to overseas stations and the new missile areas located in 65 countries on five continents.
Sen. Jacob K. Javits, speaking at the parley, decried “a slump in national morale,” but acclaimed the JWB for its contribution to the morale of the nation. He cited JWB activities through its community centers and YM-YWHA’s through its presence as a constituent group of the USO, ministering to the religious, morale and welfare needs of armed services personnel, and through its general activities “vitalizing citizenship as its fundamental obligation as an American institution.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.