The Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society (Albany, Ga.) Records

The 13 original founders were all members of Temple B’nai Israel. The organization would later work in harmony with The Ladies Aid Society established in 1895, which later became the Temple Sisterhood, and with the Young Ladies Cooperative Society, which was founded in 1901. The Benevolent Society is considered to be the oldest extant Jewish women’s organization in the State of Georgia. One of the main by-laws of the organization instructed its members that “in the case of sickness of a member of the Society or any female member of their family or a male child under 12 years of age where watch is required, a faithful nurse shall be provided and paid for by the society.” This practice was continued throughout much of the organization’s 125-year-long history. Over the years, the Society has furnished rooms at the Albany hospital, has provided free lunches for school children in need, sunshine baskets for the sick and needy, Thanksgiving baskets to the Department of Family and Children Services, and contributed financially to numerous charitable societies in Albany, including The Light House for the Blind, the Cancer and Loan Closet, Albany League of Active Teens, the Flint River TB Association, the March of Dimes, and the Youth Association For Retarded Children. In 1979, the board and congregation of Temple B’nai Israel passed a resolution recognizing the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society as the charitable arm of the Jewish community of Albany.