The sum of $15,772,730.68 has been pledged thus far in the United Jewish Campaign, according to a statement issued yesterday by David A. Brown, National Chairman of the campaign.
Toward the ultimate total of $25,050,000, campaigns that will be ended in the next fortnight are expected to raise a minimum of $1,026,930; to this will be added $6,928,291 in campaigns scheduled for next September, and $1,322,048 in local “repeat campaigns” in 1927 and 1928, the statement declared.
“The largest sum of money ever raised in America in one nation-wide campaign for a humanitarian purpose, has been obtained in the United Jewish Campaign,” Mr. Brown declared in his statement.
“The magnitude of this humanitarian effort is emphasized by the fact,” the report states, “that there are only 3,500,000 Jews in the United States. On that basis, the contributions to the United Jewish Campaign, if figured on a per capita basis, average $7.15. In the United War Work Campaign to raise funds for welfare work among the soldiers of the American Expeditionary Forces by such organizations as the Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A., Knights of Columbus, Salvation Army, Jewish Welfare Board, Red Cross and the Quakers, the per capita contribution from the 110,000,000 American population averaged $2.10 and in the Hoover campaign for children in Germany, Poland and Austria, the American percapita was thirty-three cents.”
In his report to the national executive committee, which is as of July 1, Mr. Brown states that the communities which since last September. have organized and carried through local campaigns for this fund, number 1,132, and that 109 campaigns will be held in the Fall, making a total of 1,241 campaigns by the Jewish citizens in that numbers of cities in the United States and Canada.
“Hundreds of Christians are included among our contributors, in addition to Mr. Rockefeller, whose munificence took us by surprise; many non-Jews gave in sums running from $10,000 down to the ‘widow’s mite’, and many took an active and even a leading part, in a number of local campaigns. But, on the whole, the $25,000,000 comes from the Jewish citizens of America, who must be credited with this marvelous achievement, which is without parallel in the history of philanthropy the world over,” Mr. Brown said, in announcing the present status of the United Jewish Campaign.
“The original sum which the Philadelphia conference last September decided must be raised, as a minimum for the relief of the stricken Jewries of Europe, was $15,000,000, and the quota committee, headed by Jacob M. Loeb, of Chicago, made local allotments in excess of that sum to the 1,241 communities participating in the United Jewish Campaign,” the report stated. “However, it soon became apparent, from reports cabled to campaign headquarters by our representatives abroad, and from thousands of petitions and heart-rending letters from stricken communities and from suffering individuals, that the amount of money that would be required to relieve the unparalleled distress, had been largely underestimated A decision to raise the national quota to $25,000,000 was quickly arrived at,” Mr. Brown stated.
“The result is that as of July 1, the quotas accepted locally total $25,050,000, and we have every assurance that the grand total raised will exceed that the amount. It is noteworthy that the only state that has taken no action thus far is Rhode Island. On the other hand, other communities which for purely local reasons have deemed it expedient to defer their campaigns until the Fall have sent in checks, many of them covering the first annual installment of the total amount they are expected to raise. It is interesting to know, that although the subscriptions are made on the basis of three annual payments, we have already received over $3,000,000 in cash, and that judging by the remittances we are receiving daily from local campaign officers, we will shortly have in hand the $5,000,000 which it was estimated would be required for our European relief and reconstructive efforts this year on the basis of the original $15,000,000 national quota.”
In his report to the national committee of the United Jewish Campaign, Mr. Brown says:
“The money we have received thus far is already in action in every country in which the Joint Distribution Committee is working at the present time and the budget which has been approved is based upon an ever-increasing flow of money into the national treasury.
“The by-products of this Campaign up to date have been many. Communities all over the land have organized themselves into permanent service groups, whose purpose it is now to stand ready to give of themselves for every human cause that presents itself-Jewish or non-Jewish.
“There has developed a newer and finer understanding of what the Yiddish and Anglo-Jewish press of this country stands for, and the power of this press in relation to making possible a great effort of this nature. That they have given of their space with a perfect abandon; that they have been one of the most helpful forces in making the United Jewish Campaign a success, is evident to all of us who have been closely in contact with what they have done.”
“States that have already reported ‘over the top’ are:
Alabama, which exceeded its original quota of $100,000 by $40,000; Arkansas which raised $75,244.50 against a quota of $75,000; Indiana raised $37,500 above its quota of $300,000; Kentucky passed its $200,000 goal by $38,969.77. Michigan went its $400,000 quota $82,251.11 better; Ohio’s original quota of $1,000,000 has been exceeded by $16,631.50; Oklahoma with an original quota of $125,000 raised $151,547.21. Texas voluntarily increased its original quota of $250,000 to $350,000 and they have about raised that figure. The Province of Quebec has exceeded its quota of $100,000 by $25,320.
“Many other states where campaigns are drawing to a close are sanguine that they, too, will go over the top in the next few days. New York City with an original quota of $4,000,000 increased its allotment to $6,000,000 and raised over $6,800,000. The second largest exclusive of Mr. Rosenwald’s outright gift of $1,000,000,” the report stated.
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