[Identification of item],The San Antonio Chapter of Hadassah Records, 1928-1996, MS 4, Archives and Special Collections, Library, University of Texas at San Antonio.
The San Antonio Chapter of Hadassah is a non-profit Zionist organization supporting the improvement of health services in the Jewish homeland of Israel. The San Antonio organization also seeks to educate Americans on Jewish traditions and culture. Henrietta Szold (1860-1945), founder of the national organization of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, was the guest of honor at a preliminary meeting to organize the San Antonio Chapter in 1920. Szold, a Jewish American dedicated to the Zionist movement, forged a strong identity for American Jewish women as the providers of health care and social services in Israel. The San Antonio Chapter of Hadassah was formally organized April 9, 1921, with a charter membership of 20 women and Mrs. Max Goot (Leah) elected as the first President. Mrs. Goot remained President for the next 10 years.
A primary function of the San Antonio Chapter is raising money to support the Hadassah Medical Organization and Medical Center in Jerusalem. During the first fund-raiser in 1921, women went door to door around San Antonio and stood on street corners with tin cans to collect change. The women also held 'linen showers' to collect sheets and towels for the hospital. Later, the San Antonio organization started the annual Donor Dinner, which quickly became a popular event in the community and was the largest fund-raiser of the San Antonio Chapter. Fund-raisers in later decades included special beauty clinics and fashion shows in San Antonio. During World War II, the San Antonio Chapter of Hadassah rolled bandages, saved tin cans, and helped the Jewish Welfare Board with their projects for Jewish soldiers. Rose Treiman became a prominent member for her work during that time.
The San Antonio Chapter also raised money locally for Youth Aliyah, a program originally for the rescue of Jewish children in Germany during the World War II era. Youth Aliyah evolved into sponsoring disadvantaged youth in Israel by raising funds to provide these youth with food, clothes, and education. One fund-raiser involved selling napkins for a dollar, on which the buyers' names were embroidered. All the napkins were sewn together into a tablecloth that was used at meetings and events of the organization for many years. The Silver Tea is an annual fund-raiser of Youth Aliyah.
The San Antonio Chapter of Hadassah is committed to a dynamic program of Jewish education and guidance of Jewish American youth. Junior Hadassah was started for the younger generation of women in Hadassah, and a business and professionals group was organized for working women. The San Antonio Chapter also sponsors the Young Judaea Camp in Wimberly, Texas, for children from eight years old to high school age. Oneg Shabbat, a monthly meeting of study and discussion to celebrate the holidays and review Jewish culture and literature, is another educational effort of the San Antonio Chapter.
The San Antonio Chapter of Hadassah is composed of three meeting groups: Aviva, Leah Goot, and Rose Treiman, totaling 685 members as of 1987. The San Antonio Chapter publishes an annual yearbook and regularly issues a newsletter of the latest news and events in Israel and America.
The collection contains histories, minutes, correspondence, newspaper clippings, printed material, scrapbooks, photographs, and sound recordings. Together, the records document the local chapter's organizational beginnings and structure, membership, functions, projects, programs, growth, presence in the community, and relations with the state and national organizations. The collection is particularly strong in documenting membership and the Donor Dinners that raised money to support the Hadassah Medical Organization and the Medical Center in Kerem, Jerusalem.
Of the collection's 14 series, the strongest document the
organization's
The organization's membership and functions are conveyed through
several series.
The papers are arranged as follows:
Collection is open to researchers.
Permission to publish material from the Records must be obtained from the Archives and Special Collections, Library, University of Texas at San Antonio.
Researchers are required to wear gloves provided by the Archives when reviewing photographic materials.
Processed by Jill Jackson and Toni Jeske, January 1999.
Encoded by: Nikki Lynn Thomas, Manuscripts Archivist, September 2007
Consists of essays and a scrapbook documenting the founder of the national organization, as well as the beginnings of the Texas and San Antonio Chapters.
Arranged by type.
Contains by-laws of the San Antonio Chapter. A few model constitutions are also included, however, the organization's own constitution is not present.
Arranged by type.
This series is weak in its coverage in terms of date span and the number of officers documented. The series lacks explanation of officer roles and responsibilities. Included is brief and fragmentary correspondence, reports, and speeches of two past presidents of the organization, dating 1936-1969. Also included is a treasurer's ledger dating 1966-1981, and printed material and press releases dating 1964-1971.
Arranged by office.
This is a short series documenting a 12 year span of committee membership.
Arranged chronologically.
These records contain a full run of executive and general meeting minutes for the years indicated of one of the meeting groups within the Chapter. No minutes exist in the collection for years prior to 1977 nor of any other meeting groups.
Arranged by group and chronologically thereunder.
Correspondence is extremely fragmentary in its span of 19 years. Correspondents include Leah Goot and other officers of the organization concerning arrangements for events such as the Donor Dinner.
Arranged chronologically.
Yearbooks date from 1928-1993, and provide a list of officers and members, a brief history of the organization, and short messages from the national and chapter presidents. Also included are bulletins and newspaper clippings featuring events and activities.
Arranged by type and chronologically thereunder.
Includes Donor Dinner programs, publicity, and invitations. Also included are newspaper clippings on Youth Aliyah's projects which encompasses the annual Silver Tea fund-raiser.
Arranged by type and chronologically thereunder.
Contains program publicity materials, and scripts of presentations. Programs include dramas and Hanukkah events.
Arranged by type and chronologically thereunder.
This series is fragmentary in its coverage of five Texas Southern Region of Hadassah conferences and one Greater Texas Region conference. Materials mainly consist of handouts and flyers received at the conferences. The series documents participation of the San Antonio Chapter and the content of the conferences. Additional conference materials are located in Scrapbooks (S12).
Arranged by conference and chronologically thereunder.
The records provide information on the national organization and are limited to print materials and a bulletin. The gem of the series is the Hadassah Magazine, 60th Anniversary Issue that highlights the history and significant accomplishments of the organization.
Arranged by type.
21 scrapbooks containing invitations, programs, publicity, newsclippings, and photographs documenting the organization's events and highlights of the year. Activities include installation of new officers, conferences, and Donor Dinners. Several scrapbooks focus on Donor Dinners, and the Leah Goot and Rose Treiman meeting groups.
Arranged by topic and chronologically thereunder.
Contains negatives of photos from the Donor Dinner in 1966, photographs of ceremonies at the Medical Center at Mt. Scopus Jerusalem, and a ceremony honoring Itamar Ben Ami. Additional photographs document local Hadassah events. Also included are two audio tapes labelled 'Hadassah President to President' and 'Russia-Zinna, Hilla, & Fiena', and three videotapes of National Hadassah Updates.
This scattered series contains Israeli stamps, and memorabilia from regional and national conferences.