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Membership in Jewish Centers Grows from 445,000 to 581,000 in Decade

April 30, 1957
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The number of Jewish Centers and YM-YWHA’s has increased from 295 in 1946 to 352 in 1956. Total membership has increased from 445,000 to 581,000 during the decade.

These facts are revealed in the annual report of the National Jewish Welfare Board made public today. The report establishes that $17,276,000 were spent by local communities during 1956 for Jewish center activities and construction work on new centers, amounting to $4,700,000, is now under way in a number of communities.

The report deals also with other activities of the JWB and shows that Jewish chaplains conducted 17,000 religious services attended by 500,000 worshippers at more than 1,000 Army, Navy and Air Force installations in 65 countries and at 172 veterans hospitals in the United States. The JWB is the government-authorized agency for servicing the religious, welfare and morale needs of Jewish military personnel and hospitalized veterans, and is the national association of Jewish community centers.

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