|
Savannah Women's Federation records
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
The Savannah Women's Federation (SWF) was founded as the Savannah Federation of Women's Clubs and chartered in 1913. It was originally a federation of existing women's groups and consisted of about seventy women's organizations. The Federation was sometimes known as a 'Public Service Council.' These groups dealt with a variety of interests, such as education, child welfare, jails and prisons, public health, and housing. This arrangement lasted through World War II. After the war, many of the federated organizations went on their own and some disbanded completely.
The Savannah Women's Federation became an independent group in April 1955. It is the oldest Savannah club affiliate of the Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs (GaFWC) and is the second oldest GaFWC club in the First District. On a national level, the Savannah Women's Federation is a member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs. SWF focuses on six different departments of work. These are the Education, Arts, Home Life, Conservation, Public Affairs, and International Affairs departments. The club met monthly and each month's program focused on a different department. The club won many awards for its work in the community. Some of the areas in which SWF were involved include: tree planting at Jacob G. Smith Elementary, working with Chatham Nursing Home, anti-litter campaigns, Salvation Army, American Red Cross, establishment of a memorial for the victims of the Challenger space shuttle, and the Arthritis Foundation.
Tallulah Falls School, owned and operated by the GaFWC, was another interest of the Savannah Women's Federation. The school was founded in 1909 in the northeast Georgia mountains as a boarding school for boys and girls in Grades 6-12.
| |
Within the six boxes and three volumes of this collection are the organizational files of the Savannah Women's Federation and its predecessor, the Savannah Federation of Women's Clubs. The material can be divided into two separate time brackets and there is a significant gap between the two time periods. The first group of papers deals with material from the founding of the Savannah Federation of Women's Clubs in 1913 up to 1940. There are minutes of the club for 1913-1917, a scrapbook of newspaper articles from 1917-1940, and some other miscellaneous papers from 1916-1926 and 1936.
The second group of materials in this collection dates from 1972 until the club disbanded in January of 1994. It deals with the papers of the Savannah Women's Federation. There are minutes of the club, financial records, president's papers and reports, departmental reports and information, information on the club's monthly meetings, a club history, membership records, correspondence, awards/certificates, newspaper articles about club activities, a scrapbook for 1992-1994, and some material on the Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs and the General Federation of Women's Clubs.
This collection contains a box of photographs of the Savannah Women's Federation club meetings and activities from 1968 to 1989. The photographs are arranged chronologically. They contain images of monthly club meetings, GaFWC district meetings, and GaFWC annual meetings. Except for some images in Folder 1 that appear to be from the 1970s, all of the images are identified by date, location, and/or event. However, the women in the photographs are not usually identified.
The box containing photographs is noted as 'VM' (visual materials) in the collection inventory.
| |
Artifacts were separated and cataloged with the Georgia Historical Society Artifacts Collection.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Copyright has not been assigned to the Georgia Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Division of Library and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Georgia Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
| |
GHS 2137, Savannah Women's Federation records, 1913-1994. Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia.
| | | | |
| |