Church Women United in Atlanta records

Collection

Collection number: ahc.MSS928

Scope and Content

The records include by-laws, constitution, correspondence, newsletters, handbooks, meeting minutes, and materials documenting the social welfare projects. The meeting minutes include records of executive board meetings, annual meetings, and board of managers meetings. General minutes of the organization contain information on some of the social and welfare projects dealing with the youth of Atlanta. The group's involvement with the Savannah Street Neighborhood House is particularly well-documented through correspondence, reports, program schedules, and meeting minutes. The transition of this mission from a cooperative venture between the City of Atlanta and the Church Women United to an independent project of the church women is also documented through the records. There is less information on other projects of the Church Women United. Items gathered for inclusion in a scrapbook, which was never compiled, include literature from the national Church Women United, invitations, newsletters, and surveys. These records are an excellent resource for documenting the response of a women's civic group to the changing needs of the community in the mid-to-late 1960s.

Dates

1958-1980

Creator

Church Women United in Atlanta (Ga.) (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. All requests to publish, quote, or reproduce must be submitted through the Kenan Research Center.

Administrative/Biographical History

The United Church Women of Atlanta was organized in 1941 as a local chapter of the national United Church Women. The organization assisted with national and worldwide projects and worked and prayed for ecumenical fellowship. The formation of the business women's group in 1945 permitted the involvement of women who held full-time jobs. The organization has worked with local welfare projects such as the nursery at Felton Williams Mission, the Women's Prison Farm, the Christian Youth Mission on Capitol Avenue, the Savannah Street Neighborhood House (formerly Savannah Street Mission), Grady Hospital, and the Juvenile Detention Home. The women also donated funds for day rooms at Milledgeville State Hospital. They answered occasional calls for immediate help and sponsored a fledgling young woman in need of financial and spiritual assistance. The organization also participated in Women in Community Service (WICS), a joint effort of the National Council of Catholic Women, the National Council of Jewish Women, the National Council of Negro Women, and the United Church Women. The United Church Women of Atlanta also sponsored annual events, including the World Day of Prayer, on the first Friday in Lent; May Fellowship Day, the first Friday in May; and the World Community Day, the first Friday in November. In 1968, the group changed its name to Church Women United in Atlanta, consistent with the name change of the national organization.