Women’s independence in the field of philanthropy was urged by Mrs. Felix M. Warburg and Mrs. Sol Rosenbloom of Pittsburgh, whose philanthropic contributions have been outstanding in this country and abroad.
Women will gain satisfaction and at the same time assume their proper responsibilities if they will insist on discharging their own philanthropic tasks, was the opinion expressed by the two internationally known philanthropists writing on the question “Shall Women Give Only Through Their Husbands?” in the current issue of “The Jewish Woman,” publication of the National Council of Jewish Women.
“It is only within this generation that women other than widows or spinsters of independent means have thought of giving except through their husbands,” writes Mrs. Warburg, “but since the granting of universal suffrage here in the United States, women are more and more beginning to feel their personal responsibility towards the many questions of the day and the thought and aid that it is necessary to give to remedy the inequalities of opportunity, that exist even in our democracy.
“As many of the wives of this generation are college bred and have been systematically trained to think on public questions in all their aspects, it is natural that they should wish to help towards alleviating social and civic maladjustments. I certainly think that whenever a woman can command any means of her own, even if it were necessary to earn the money herself, it is her right and her duty to give inde- (Continued on Page 4)
On women’s private giving to philanthropies, Mrs. Rosenbloom writes: “Does not a woman’s place in the scheme of Nature entitle her to expression of her own individuality; her own aspirations, her own satisfactions, her own completion which comes from work shared with one’s fellowmen? This inner satisfaction cannot be achieved by the knowledge that somebody else, your husband, is contributing to causes.
“No woman can reach her whole souled fulfillment unless she herself fulfills what her soul craves. By herself giving of her own purse to the causes, she will put her own interest into them; it will immediately call forth her active, live partaking in what the community is doing for our fellowmen. By putting her personal interest into the causes which require her contributions, she will get active application for her energies; and through constant practice of such active interest in community problems she herself will be the gainer, as inner growth comes from more and more giving of one’s self and of one’s means to one’s fellowmen.”
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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.
