UNIVERSITY SOCIAL SETTLEMENT. See UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT.
The URBAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL, located on the near west side of Cleveland, educates inner city students in grades K to 8. The students are primarily from economically disadvantaged families, and there is racial and ethnic diversity among the students.
The URBAN LEAGUE OF GREATER CLEVELAND, an interracial organization incorporated on 17 Dec. 1917 as the Negro Welfare Association of Cleveland, confronts racial barriers to economic opportunities. It has supplemented its early focus on employment with an emphasis on housing, education, and research.
URBAN, HELEN E. WILLIAMS (8 Nov. 1904-19 Dec. 1988), fundraiser for health causes, helped establish the HEALTH FUND OF GREATER CLEVELAND (1959) and the SOUTH EUCLID HISTORICAL SOCIETY (1966). Urban was born in Oil City, PA, to Dora Keltner and James B. Williams.
The VISITING NURSE ASSN. OF CLEVELAND (VNA) is a nonprofit, voluntary health organization dedicated to assisting homebound, mainly indigent patients. Officially organized in 1901, it is one of the oldest organizations of its type in the U.S.
VOCATIONAL ADJUSTMENT DEPARTMENT. See JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE ASSN.
VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE SERVICES is a private, non-profit organization that offers vocational training, employment, community services, and remedial education classes. The organization traces its history to the Sunbeam Circle, formed in 1890, a group of young women who sewed items for sale to benefit children at Lakeside Hospital.
VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA OHIO & INDIANA (formerly known as Volunteers of America of Northeast Ohio, Inc.), has provided relief for Cleveland's poor since 1896, as part of a national agency organized along quasi-military lines, an American offshoot of the SALVATION ARMY. The Volunteers of America formed in New York City in March 1896.
WADE, EDWARD (22 Nov. 1802-13 Aug. 1866), lawyer and member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1853-61), was born in W. Springfield, Mass., son of James and Mary Upham Wade. He was educated locally and admitted to the bar in 1827. Wade practiced in Jefferson, Ashtabula County, Ohio and in 1831 became Justice of the Peace for the county for 1 year.
WADE, ELLEN GARRETSON (18 Jul. 1857 - 21 May 1917) was a prominent Cleveland philanthropist and public benefactor during the late 19th century.
Wade was born on July 18th, 1857 to Ellen Howe Abbott Garretson and Hiram Garretson in Cleveland, Ohio.
WADSWORTH, HOMER C. (3 Apr. 1913-13 Apr. 1994) spent most of his career in community planning and trust work, including ten years as the director of the CLEVELAND FOUNDATION. Born to Leon K.
WAGNER, MARGARET W. (19 Oct. 1892-19 Aug. 1984), innovative director of the BENJAMIN ROSE INSTITUTE for 29 years, was born in Cleveland to financier Frank B. and May Warnock Wagner.
WAYFARERS' LODGE. See BETHEL UNION.
WEIL, HELEN KAHN (3 Jan. 1902-20 Aug. 1992), pioneer in gerontology, introduced innovations at the MONTEFIORE HOME for the aged with her husband Julius (see WEIL, JULIUS), such as the sheltered workshop, which were later modeled nationwide.
WEIL, JULIUS (6 Oct. 1902-9 April 1989) spent forty-five years of his life in working with senior citizens in Greater Cleveland. His contributions earned him national and international recognition. Born in Steinsfurt, Germany, to Gustav and Matilda Weil, Julius was educated in Germany, eventually earning his Ph.D in clinical psychology from the University of Munich. On 20 Nov.
WELFARE ASSN. FOR JEWISH CHILDREN. See JEWISH CHILDREN'S BUREAU.
WELFARE DEPT. See CUYAHOGA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES.
WELFARE FEDERATION. See CENTER FOR COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS.
WELFARE/RELIEF. The relief of destitution has been a responsibility of local government since Colonial times. Territorial laws to prevent extreme suffering and death (but not to relieve poverty) existed before Cleveland's founding and settlement. Relief was kept low and unattractive, lest workers be lured into dependency, requiring more taxes from other workers.
The WEST SIDE COMMUNITY HOUSE, a settlement house serving Cleveland's near west side which opened in May 1922, has roots in the Methodist Episcopal Deaconness Home. The Women's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church opened the home in Apr. 1890 (inc. Jan. 1892). Located at 1058 E. Madison Ave. (E.
The WEST SIDE ECUMENICAL MINISTRY, founded in 1966, is dedicated to making the west side a better place to live. This community and service organization serves a multi-cultural constituency through 12 core programs. The ministry is an ecumenical agency where churches from different denominations work together through social development programs.
The WESTERN RESERVE CHILD WELFARE COUNCIL (1911-17) represented the first organizational effort to regulate services for CHILDREN AND YOUTH in Cleveland. The council resulted from the Western Reserve Conference on the Care of Neglected and Dependent Children, held on 17-19 November 1910, a year after the White House Conference on Dependent Children.
The WESTERN SEAMEN'S FRIEND SOCIETY, the western branch of the American Seaman's Friend Society, organized in Cleveland on 10 Nov. 1830 and was chartered by the Ohio Senate on 9 Mar.
WHITE CHARITABLE TRUST. See THOMAS H. WHITE CHARITABLE TRUST.
The WHITE CONSOLIDATED INDUSTRIES FOUNDATION, INC., was founded in 1951 by WHITE CONSOLIDATED INDUSTRIES, INC., and the Tappan Co.
