[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” background_image=”47882″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”150px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”grid” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1648483373898{padding-top: 15px !important;padding-right: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;padding-left: 15px !important;background-color: rgba(24,41,87,0.8) !important;*background-color: rgb(24,41,87) !important;}”]<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”150px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” background_color=”#7eb1dc” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]Every November, for longer than anyone can remember, the River Campus Libraries has celebrated its very best tradition: providing donations for a Thanksgiving basket for families selected by the Baden Street Settlement. Just before Thanksgiving, a caravan of library volunteers heads to Baden Street and gets to hand the donations directly to each family. It\u2019s a time of much hugging (pre-COVID) and smiling. It\u2019s sad that this is needed in Rochester, but RCL is honored to help, and it is an important part of who we are in Rochester\u2019s community. What can you tell us about the origins of this tradition?\u2014Lois Metcalf, Eileen Daly-Boas, Ashlee Huff, Jeffery Jones, Katie Papas, Diana Golemb, and Jenny Arbelo<\/strong><\/p>\n Founded in 1901 by Therese Katz and Fannie Adler Garson of Temple B\u2019rith Kodesh, the Social Settlement of Rochester taught the young women of the area \u201ckitchen gardening, sewing, and primary education.\u201d Renamed the Baden Street Settlement in 1922, it has grown to support a wide variety of needs from emergency services to day care to counseling and educational resources.<\/p>\n The libraries\u2019 annual gift was well established by 1988 when it received a plaque for \u201cdistinguished volunteer service\u201d from Baden Street. The earliest call-to-action may be this request in the December 1968 University Librarian<\/em> newsletter:<\/p>\n Christmas is a time of giving\u2014or so we are told. . . Would you like that good feeling that comes when you give\u2014even to a stranger? Then, between Thanksgiving and December 20th, bring . . . clothing for Baden Street Settlement children to the Library office. Let\u2019s make this a significant and meaningful project for the entire Staff Association.<\/em><\/p>\n A 1965 issue of the newsletter notes that Interlibrary Loan Office staffer Juanita Paige was president of the Achievement Club, a community group whose mission was to encourage Black teenagers to continue their education after high school. The club met at the settlement house and arranged lectures, including one by then Kodak executive Walter Cooper \u201957 (PhD).[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”] More settlement houses followed\u2014the Lewis Street Center (initially named the Association for Practical Housekeeping) in 1907 and the Genesee Settlement House in 1918. And the University\u2019s connections, particularly among students, grew as well. In 1928, the College for Women\u2019s YWCA group requested donations of food or money to provide Thanksgiving baskets for families recommended by the settlement houses. By 1931, 30 women students were volunteering as tutors. Fraternities and sororities also became involved, including Theta Eta, Gamma Phi, Alpha Delta Phi, and Tau Kappa Epsilon.<\/p>\n One of the most vital services of the settlement houses is health care. Among the many Medical Center staff involved were Paul Beaven, Class of 1913, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics emeritus, and Kenneth Woodward \u201953M (MD), \u201972S (MBA), who was integral to the introduction of health clinics to the houses and, in particular, in efforts to expand Baden Street\u2019s health clinic into the current Jordan Health Center.<\/p>\n The words incised on the pediment of the Eastman Theatre\u2014\u201cfor the enrichment of community life\u201d\u2014reflect the close association of the faculty and students of the Eastman School with Rochester\u2019s residents. While a member of George Eastman\u2019s Kilbourn Quartet, future Eastman School Professor Samuel Belov tutored students of the David Hochstein Music School Settlement, founded in 1920.<\/p>\n The University\u2019s involvement with community service organizations continues to this day and occurs year-round with examples too numerous to mention in this space. In a 1958 Campus Times<\/em> article, Kay Hartman \u201959 gives a detailed description of her experience as a volunteer. Although she questions her abilities and effectiveness, she concludes: \u201cLife is beautiful when the group decides to spend the day doing things for others.\u201d<\/p>\n Ask the Archivist features a question for Melissa Mead, the John M. and Barbara Keil University Archivist and Rochester Collections Librarian.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_empty_space height=”20px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_empty_space height=”20px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_single_image image=”46772″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” mkd_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_single_image image=”46782″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” mkd_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_single_image image=”46832″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” mkd_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” background_color=”#e7e7e7″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Mary Gannett, professor Kendrick Shedd, and physician Kenneth Woodward played pivotal roles in the establishment and success of the settlement house movement in Rochester, and the longevity of the University\u2019s connections.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”20px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” background_color=”#e9e5d7″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n For more about the University\u2019s history, <\/em>visit the University Archives blog<\/em><\/a>. To ask a question for Ask the Archivist, send an email to <\/em>rochrev@rochester.edu<\/em><\/a> with \u201cAsk the Archivist\u201d in the subject line.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1648564633388{border-top-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;border-top-color: #999999 !important;border-top-style: solid !important;}”]This article originally appeared in the winter 2022 issue of the Rochester Review<\/a> magazine.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every November, for longer than anyone can remember, the River Campus Libraries has celebrated its very best tradition: providing donations for a Thanksgiving basket for families selected by the Baden Street Settlement. Just before Thanksgiving, a caravan of library volunteers heads to Baden Street and gets to hand the donations directly to each family. It\u2019s a time of much hugging (pre-COVID) and smiling. It\u2019s sad that this is needed in Rochester, but RCL is honored to help, and it is an important part of who we are in Rochester\u2019s community. What can you tell us about the origins of this tradition?\u2014Lois Metcalf, Eileen Daly-Boas, Ashlee Huff, Jeffery Jones, Katie Papas, Diana Golemb, and Jenny Arbelo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":47922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[162],"tags":[272,82,722,52],"class_list":["post-46642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-memories","tag-alumni","tag-history","tag-rochester","tag-volunteers"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/i><\/span>
But the connections between the University and Rochester\u2019s community service institutions stretch back much further, and include faculty and students as well as staff from all divisions.<\/span><\/h6><\/blockquote>[vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]In 1889, Unitarian minister William Channing Gannett and his wife, Mary Thorn Lewis Gannett, arrived in Rochester, and established the Boys\u2019 Evening Home. Its focus was on the physical well-being and education of immigrant children, many of them newsboys and bootblacks. Professor Kendrick Shedd, Class of 1889, an ardent supporter of the progressive movement, served as the home\u2019s superintendent beginning in 1900. Articles in the Campus<\/em> newspaper encouraged students to volunteer as tutors and record their efforts.<\/p>\n
Learn more<\/strong><\/h3>\n