Chicago Relief and Aid Society
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The Chicago Relief and Aid Society was one of several charitable organizations created in Chicago in the latter part of the 19th century to provide aid and support to people and families living in poverty. Founders of the organization modeled it after the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor in New York.[1]
The Chicago Relief and Aid Society was a philanthropic charitable organization formed in Chicago in 1851.[2] With its incorporation, the Society was charged with administering private charity in the City of Chicago and was authorized to receive appropriations from the city,[3] In addition to providing fuel, food, and other necessities the Society worked to find employment for those it helped. Though it was one of many relief and charitable organizations in Chicago during the mid-19th century, the Chicago Relief and Aid Society came to prominence when Mayor Roswell B. Mason appointed the Society as the primary relief organization for the city in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire.
The Great Chicago Fire
In weeks and months following the Fire, the Society provided a great deal of aid to the city's residents. The Society raised over $5 million from sources around the world to provide food, clothing, water, and fuel.[4] Additionally 5,000 sewing machines were provided to women so they could make clothes for their families. Medical care was also a high priority and most notably, over 60,000 people were vaccinated against smallpox.