Accession Number
2004-6-12
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2004-6-12
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
3.3 m of textual records
Date
[ca. 1970]-[ca. 1990]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of the records created or accumulated by the Committee for Yiddish, which operated under the auspices of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region and later, the Toronto Jewish Congress (UJA Federation of Greater Toronto).
Use Conditions
Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
Name Access
Committee for Yiddish (Toronto, Ont.)
Toronto Jewish Congress
Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region (Toronto, Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-1-10
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-1-10
Material Format
graphic material
textual record
Physical Description
1 folder of textual records
1 presentation piece : 50 x 42 cm
Date
[ca. 1982]-[ca. 1983]
Scope and Content
Accession consists of one folder of textual records related to the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and one presentation piece in the form of a framed photograph of Hilda Naiman complete with a commemorative plaque.
Custodial History
Records came via Shelly Rotman, Adminstrative Assistant with the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.
Administrative History
Hilda Naiman was the former Executive Secretary of Toronto Jewish Congress when they were located on Beverley Street in Toronto.
Use Conditions
UJA Federation meeting minutes and general correspondence are closed for 10 years from date of creation. Contracts and donor agreements are permanently closed.
Subjects
Nonprofit organizations
Name Access
Haiman, Hilda
Toronto Jewish Congress
UJA Federation of Greater Toronto
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-5-7
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2014-5-7
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
90 cm of textual records
Date
1968-1985
Scope and Content
Accession consists of the general financial ledgers for the United Jewish Appeal (1975-1978, 1980-1982); the United Jewish Welfare Fund (1975-1980, 1984-1985); the Toronto Jewish Congress (1980-1985); the Bequest and Endowment Fund (1968-1985); and the Toronto Hebrew Memorial Park (1983-1985).
Use Conditions
UJA Federation meeting minutes and general correspondence are closed for 10 years from date of creation. Contracts and donor agreements are permanently closed.
Descriptive Notes
Use Conditions note: Some of the ledgers contain payroll information. This information is closed until 30 years after death of the individual documented.
Name Access
UJA Federation of Greater Toronto
Toronto Jewish Congress
United Jewish Welfare Fund (Toronto, Ont.)
Toronto Hebrew Memorial Park
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-8-10
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2017-8-10
Material Format
multiple media
Physical Description
3 cm of textual records
3 photographs : b&w ; 13 x 9 cm and smaller
1 DVD
Date
[ca. 1920]-2012
Scope and Content
Accession consists of records related to the history of the Dora Wilensky Salsberg Memorial Fund at Jewish Family and Child. Included are: a Canadian Jewish News feature ("Legacy of Life") on Dora Wilensky; a Dora Wilensky Memorial Fund pamphlet; correspondence from J. B. Salsberg regarding Sharyn’s ongoing role with the Jewish Communal Service Graduate Studies Scholarship Program; correspondence regarding the Fund between Sharyn Salsberg Ezrin and Richard Cummings, Ron Levin, Gordon Wolfe, and Sam Helfenbaum; fund and endowment statements regarding the Dora Wilensky Memorial Fund; and correspondence between Sharyn and the Toronto Jewish Congress Endowment Fund. Also includes: records documenting the J. B. Salsberg Tribute Dinner held at Beth Sholom Synagogue on November 13, 1991; Canadian Jewish News and Toronto Life profiles of J. B. Salsberg; an interview of J. B. Salsberg by Sandy Naiman; J. B. Salsberg's eulogy by Irving Abella; and one DVD of a J.B. Salsberg video tribute. Also includes three photographs of J. B. Salsberg and Dora Wilensky, and four issues of various JF&CS publications.
Administrative History
Dora Wilensky Salsberg was one of Toronto’s earliest professionally trained Jewish social workers and a leader in the Canadian social work field. She was born in Russia on July 28, 1902 to Hyman and Mary Wilensky. She had three younger sisters: Bertha (b. 1903) Jenny (b. 1905), and Fagel (b.1910). In 1907, the family immigrated to Toronto where Hyman worked at a cap factory.
Dora had the highest marks in the province of Ontario upon graduating from high school and graduated as a gold medalist in modern history from McMaster University in Toronto. She initially pursued a career in teaching, but had difficulty securing a job due to discrimination. When her only job offer from Oshawa was given on the condition that she change her last name, Dora decided to become a social worker.
After studying at the New York School for Social Work and working briefly in Chicago, Dora returned to Toronto and took up the position as Executive Director of the Jewish Family Welfare Bureau in 1931. When the JF&CS was formed in 1943 she served as its first Executive Director. Under her leadership, JF&CS gained a reputation as being one of the most advanced and progressive agencies in Toronto. She was among the first to hire a psychiatric social worker and to introduce play therapy as part of treatment; she remained on top of advances being made in the field in other countries and encouraged her staff to regularly engage in professional development activities.
Dora attempted to enter the United States for professional development in the fall of 1948. She was refused entry by the commissioner of immigration and naturalization. Her aim was to attend a postgraduate course in social work at the University of Pennsylvania. In spite of numerous official letters of endorsement, her application for admission was denied.
Dora was also actively involved in various professional organizations. She was a member of the National Board of the Canadian Association of Social Workers, served on the Board of Governors and various committees of the Canadian Welfare Council, and was active on the Social Planning Council (formerly the Welfare Council of Toronto). In addition, she was instrumental in the establishment of the University of Toronto’s post-graduate course in social work. For her service to the field, she earned both the King George V and Coronation medals.
In 1927, Dora married J. B. Salsberg. Although she legally adopted his name, she always used her maiden name professionally. They did not have any children. On March 20, 1959, Dora passed away from cancer at the age of 56.
Subjects
Charities
Charities
Name Access
Salsberg, J. B.,1902-1998
Wilensky, Dora, 1902-1959
Places
Toronto, Ont.
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-1-7
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-1-7
Material Format
textual record
graphic material
object
Physical Description
6 cm of textual records
104 photographs : b&w and col. (3 slides) ; 30 x 23 cm and smaller
1 banner
Date
1919-1991
Scope and Content
Accession consists of handwritten Yiddish writings from the 1930s and 1940s; newspaper clippings about Salsberg's move away from the Communist Party; tributes to Dora Wilensky including newsletters and journals from the Canadian Association of Social Workers, the Ontario Welfare Council, and the Neighborhood Workers Association; correspondence and a newspaper clipping about the Dora Wilensky Fund; drafts and newspaper clippings of tributes to poet Melech Ravitch; and miscellany including a banner from the Labour Council of Kiryat Yam commemorating a medical centre named in honour of Salsberg, a floor plan of the 21st legislature of Ontario parliament, and a publication of the story The Young Wanderer by Eliezer Smoli and Moshe Smilansky 1945. In addition, the accession includes letters by J. B. Salsberg to his wife Dora Wilensky and various letters to Salsberg from individuals such as politician Leslie M. Frost, actor Lou Jacobi, and president of the Workmen's Circle Israel Breslow. Of particular note is a letter from the Consulate General of the United States, including a copy of an order from the Department of Justice confirming his defection from the Communist Party and granting entrance into the United States according to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. Also included are photographs of an art exhibition by Israel Kaplansky 1983; family photographs and portraits; photographs of J. B. Salsberg at various events; photographs of Dora Wilensky's family; and three 35 mm slides of J. B. Salsberg.
Administrative History
Joseph Baruch Salsberg (1902-1998) was a labour leader, political activist, politician, insurance salesman, and journalist. He was also active in various Jewish organizations, including: the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto, and the New Fraternal Jewish Association. He is well-remembered by contemporaries, such as Sam Lipshitz, as a “champion of the people”, committed to social justice, the plight of the working class, and the preservation of Jewish culture.
J. B. was born in Lagov, Poland on November 5, 1902 to Abraham and Sarah-Gittel Salsberg. Abraham immigrated to Toronto in 1910 and J. B. followed with his mother and two younger sisters in 1913. They settled at 73 Cecil Street. Abraham and Sarah-Gittel had additional children in Canada: Nathan (b. 1915), Reuven (Bob or Robert, b. 1917), Betty, and Thelma. Abraham worked as a peddler in Toronto.
J. B. briefly attended Landsdowne Public School, but dropped out around 1915, against his parents' wishes, and took a job in a leather goods factory to contribute to his family’s income. J. B.’s parents had hoped he would become a rabbi and, despite his full-time employment, J. B. continued to study the Torah with scholars at the synagogue on Centre Avenue.
In 1917, J. B. decided to pursue the ideas of Zionism and socialism and, abandoning his plans to become a rabbi, became involved in establishing the Young Poale Zion organization, a Labour Zionist youth group dedicated to secular aims. Around 1922, J. B. was made secretary general of the Young Poale Zion of America in New York, where he worked for one year. Shortly after returning to Toronto, he became the organizer for the Hat, Cap, and Millinery Workers Union of North America in Chicago. J. B. married Dora Wilensky in 1927.
In 1926, J. B. joined the Communist Party of Canada (CPC). He was an active member of the CPC for 30 years, serving as the head of its Trade Union Department for two decades. In 1929 he was suspended from the party for one year as a dissenter. In 1932, he became the Southern Ontario District union organizer for the Communist Workers' Unity League.
It was as a member of the CPC that J. B. entered electoral politics. After a series of failed bids in municipal and provincial elections between 1935 and 1937, J. B. was elected alderman of Ward 4 in Toronto in 1938. He only held the position for one year. In 1943, J. B. was elected to the Ontario Legislature as the representative for the St. Andrew riding. J. B. sat as Member of Provincial Parliament for the Labor-Progressive Party (the provincial wing of the CPC) for 12 years. For several years, he was the only elected Communist in North America. As MPP, he helped create legislation banning discrimination in public places and introduced a bill that would ensure fair employment practices in the province. He lost his seat to Allan Grossman in 1955 and unsuccessfully ran in the federal election later that year. Remembered by journalist Gordon Sinclair as “one of the best debaters in the house”, J. B. was well-respected by members of all political parties. Out of admiration for J. B., Conservative Premier Leslie Frost named Salsberg Township in Northern Ontario in his honour.
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, J. B. had grown increasingly concerned about reports of Soviet antisemitism and privately urged party leaders to pursue the issue. In 1956, when Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev exposed the transgressions of Stalin’s regime, J. B. went to Moscow as part of a CPC delegation. After meeting with Khrushchev himself, it became clear to J. B. that antisemitism was indeed a problem in the USSR and that his efforts to probe the situation were being stonewalled.
J. B. publicly expressed his concerns about Soviet antisemitism in a series of articles published in the Vochenblatt from October 25, 1956 to December 13, 1956. He finally left the Communist Party in 1957. However, he remained a member of the United Jewish People’s Order (UJPO), a Communist Jewish fraternal organization.
Entering the business world, J. B. established the Model Insurance Agency Limited in 1957, where he served as president for several years. In 1959 J. B.’s wife, Dora, passed away. Around this time J. B. also resigned from the UJPO, along with other members who felt the organization needed to be more critical of the Soviet Union. They founded an alternative, non-Communist left-wing Jewish organization, the New Fraternal Jewish Association, where J. B. served as president for several terms and edited its publication “Fraternally Yours”.
In his later life, J. B. was active as an executive member of organizations, such as the CJC and the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. He was the first chairman for the CJC Ontario Region’s Soviet Jewry Committee and the Committee for Yiddish. He also began writing an award-winning weekly column for the Canadian Jewish News. J. B. was awarded the CJC’s Samuel Bronfman Medal for distinguished service, and the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto’s Ben Sadowski Award of Merit. A strong supporter of Israel, he was involved in the creation of two Israeli medical centres that are named in his honour. He also helped establish the J. B. and Dora Salsberg Fund and the J. B. Salsberg Fund for Yiddish at the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto. J. B. passed away in 1998.
Name Access
Salsberg, J. B.,1902-1998
Wilensky, Dora, 1902-1959
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-7-2
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-7-2
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
20 cm of textual records
Date
1979, 1989-2005
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting Shoel Silver's involvement with various committees, including: Project Renewal, NECHAMA. Keren Hayesod, Israel Center for Treatment of Psychotrauma and The Jewish Agency for Israel, UJA and others. Included are reports, correspondence, proposals, a 1979 edition of the Jewish Standard, first edition of the Children's Newspaper in Kfar Gvirol and assorted research material.
Use Conditions
Conditional Access. Researchers must receive permission from the donor prior to accessing the records. Please contact the OJA for more information.
Descriptive Notes
Language: Most of the items are in English, with some items partially or fully in Hebrew.
Subjects
Charities
Israel
Name Access
Jewish Agency for Israel
Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto
Project Renewal (Israel)
Silver, Shoel
Toronto Jewish Congress
Places
Israel
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-10-14
Source
Archival Accessions
Accession Number
2018-10-14
Material Format
textual record
Physical Description
7 cm of textual records
Date
1964-2018
Scope and Content
Accession consists of material documenting different public and Jewish organizations in Toronto. Included are: 1964 and 1965 issues of the William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute's Advocate yearbook; a record of the Eglinton chapter of B'nai Brith Women of Canada's opening meeting on 16 September 1992; a booklet with short profiles of the 1998-99 UJA Federation Board of Directors; a 2013 commemorative booklet celebrating Darchei Noam's fortieth anniversary and Rabbi Tina Grimberg's ten-year anniversary at the synagogue; a program for the 8th Annual Symposium in Germanic Studies University of Toronto, which was titled Global Yiddish Culture, 1938-1948; various materials from the 2018 Ashkenaz Festival; newspaper clippings; and informational material for the Canadian Jewish Congress/Toronto Jewish Congress' Heritage-in-a-Box project
Subjects
Festivals
Public schools
Synagogues
Name Access
Ashkenaz Festival
B'nai Brith Women of Canada
Canadian Jewish Congress. Central Region
Congregation Darchei Noam (Toronto, Ont.)
Grimberg, Tina
Toronto Jewish Congress
Troster, Cyrel
University of Toronto
William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Accessions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
ID
Fonds 79; Item 4
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Item
Fonds
79
Item
4
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Nov. 1988
Physical Description
1 photograph : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm
Scope and Content
Item is a group photograph taken at the Dora Wilensky portrait presentation in Nov. 1988.
Name Access
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
Wilensky, Dora, 1902-1959
Subjects
Portraits
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing the records.
Repro Restriction
Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 27; File 541
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
27
File
541
Material Format
graphic material
Date
29 Mar. 1981
Physical Description
11 photographs : b&w (11 negatives) ; 28 x 28 mm
Scope and Content
File consists of eleven negatives depicting a Toronto Jewish Congress awards event at Beth Tzedec. Sheldon Sper is depicted being recognized with a Leadership Development Award. Wilf Posluns and Irwin Gold are also identified.
Notes
Photos by Graphic Artists Photographers, Toronto.
Name Access
Toronto Jewish Congress
Subjects
Awards
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 27; File 549
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
27
File
549
Material Format
graphic material
Date
26 May 1981
Physical Description
5 photographs : b&w (5 negatives) ; 28 x 28 mm
Scope and Content
File consists of five negatives of a TJC event. Identified in the negatives are James Kay and Mark Gryfe.
Notes
Photos by Graphic Artists Photographers, Toronto.
Name Access
Toronto Jewish Congress
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
ID
Fonds 67; Series 27; File 557
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Photographic and audiovisual collection series
Level
File
Fonds
67
Series
27
File
557
Material Format
graphic material
Date
5 Oct. 1981
Physical Description
2 photographs : b&w (2 negatives) ; 28 x 28 mm
Scope and Content
File consists of two negatives of two unknown men at the TJC offices.
Notes
Photos by Graphic Artists Photographers, Toronto.
Name Access
Toronto Jewish Congress
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 6156
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
6156
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[between 1987 and 1989]
Physical Description
1 negative : b&w ; 10 x 12 cm
Scope and Content
This item consists of an original portrait, which is hanging on the fourth-floor wall, and a copy negative. The negative is housed in the OJA's photo cabinet.
Name Access
Rosenfeld, Herb
Toronto Jewish Congress
Subjects
Portraits
Repro Restriction
Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 6149
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
6149
Material Format
graphic material
Date
[19--]
Physical Description
1 negative : b&w ; 10 x 12 cm b&w ; 10 x 12 cm
Admin History/Bio
Campaign Chairman: United Jewish Appeal 1976.
President: Toronto Jewish Congress1980-1982.
Scope and Content
This item consists of an original portrait, which is hanging on the fourth-floor wall, and a copy negative. The negative is housed in the OJA's photo cabinet.
Name Access
Posluns, Wilfred
United Jewish Appeal
Toronto Jewish Congress
Subjects
Portraits
Repro Restriction
Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
ID
Item 3824-3827
Source
Archival Descriptions
Level
Item
Item
3824-3827
Material Format
graphic material
Date
Jan. 1982
Physical Description
4 photographs
Scope and Content
Pictured are Rabbi Sheldon Steinberg (Congress Chaplain), Meyer Feldman (Cairman Book Committee), United Synagogue Day School students.
Name Access
Toronto Jewish Congress
Subjects
Genizah
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Accession Number
1985-11-6
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 79
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
Jewish Family and Child fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
79
Material Format
multiple media
Date
1933-2011
Physical Description
ca. 4.8 m of texutal records and other material
Admin History/Bio
Jewish Family & Child was established in 1943 from the amalgamation of a variety of different social agencies formed as early as 1868. These included the Ladies Benevolent Fund, the Free Burial Society, Jewish Family Welfare Bureau, Jewish Children’s Bureau, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and the Ladies Maternal Aid Society. Much of its funding and support after its inception came from the United Jewish Welfare Fund.
The first executive director of the agency was Dora Wilensky. She was a trained social worker who served for twenty-eight years, until her untimely death from cancer in 1959. Jerome Diamond took over in 1960 and Gordon Wolfe succeeded him in 1981. Ron Levin briefly replaced Wolfe after his retirement in 2003, and was succeeded in 2006 by Dr. Richard Cummings who then retired in 2015. As of 2017, Brian Prousky is the organization’s current executive director.
During the early years, fees were established, but the agency never refused to assist clients because of their inability to pay. JF&CS became one of the first agencies to rely on trained social workers. It was also the first social agency in Canada to become unionized.
Over the years the agency’s role has changed and it has expanded significantly, in terms of its staff and services. After the Second World War it played a pivotal role supporting the Holocaust orphans who came to Canada as refugees, particularly in the area of locating foster parents for these children. By 1957, the agency hired its first counsellor and became a member of the United Community Fund of Greater Toronto. The year 1968 marked the start of JF&CS’ new program involving the use of a mobile treatment centre to reach out to Jewish street kids and in 1974 they established the Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Centre.
In 1981, JF&CS was mandated by the Province of Ontario as a Jewish children’s aid society responsible for the care and protection of all Jewish youth in the GTA. In 1983 they established the Just-A-Second Shop at 3101 Bathurst Street, which took in used goods from the community to pass on to needy families. Two years later they established the Henry G. Goodman Home for developmentally challenged children on Wilmington Avenue. The following year marked the opening of the Elm Ridge Group Living Residence for elderly people. In 1988, they opened a special shelter for abused women and children, and in 1994, they introduced their Homework Club for kids.
The current mission of Jewish Family & Child is to support the healthy development of individuals, children, families, and communities through prevention, protection, counselling, education, and advocacy services, within the context of Jewish values. Their services include counselling, rehabilitation and support, foster care, family services, and community services. These services are offered in a host of different languages including Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, French, and English.
JF&CS is an independent organization that receives its funding from a variety of different sources such as UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, United Way Toronto and York Region, the Government of Ontario, and individual donations.
As of 2017, JF&CS has nearly 130 staff providing more than thirty community services with a budget of almost $20 million. Their main office is located in the Lipa Green Centre for Community Services at 4600 Bathurst Street. They also maintain offices and run services out of their downtown branch at 35 Madison Avenue, their York Region branch inside UJA’s 1 Open Door at the Lebovic JCC, and their Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Centre in midtown Toronto.
Name Access
Jewish Family and Child
Wilensky, Dora, 1902-1959
Wolfe, Gordon
Diamond, Jerome D.
Subjects
Charities
Children
Families
Nonprofit organizations
Access Restriction
Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing the records.
Related Material
See also: Jewish Child Welfare Association fonds (fonds 86); Jewish Family Welfare Bureau fonds (fonds 87); Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto fonds (fonds 66); and, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds (fonds 67).
Creator
Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)
Accession Number
2004-5-101
2004-1-8
2002-10-38
2006-6-7 (Shelf 03-6,Orphan index cards)
2009-12-9
2010-4-1 (Shelf 34-1)
2010-10-5
2015-8/11
2015-9/1
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Level
Fonds
ID
Fonds 67
Source
Archival Descriptions
Part Of
United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds
Level
Fonds
Fonds
67
Material Format
multiple media
Date
1936-2010, predominant 1938-1976
Physical Description
14.3 m of textual records
5593 photographs, 25 x 20 cm and smaller, and other media
Admin History/Bio
The Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto (FJPT) was incorporated in Ontario in March 1917 to coordinate the fundraising activities of Jewish charitable, philanthropic, and social service agencies in Toronto. In 1918, ten separate agencies were funded by the FJPT. By 1937, fourteen agencies were funded. The Great Depression of the 1930s and the development of several newer Jewish aid, education, and medical care organizations created both increased need for resources and growing competition for ever-more scarce dollars. Within a very few years, this funding crisis forced a major review of the organization.
During 1936, a series of special meetings of leading individuals were held to examine the income and expenditures of all Toronto Jewish agencies and also to speculate about the need for a new Toronto Jewish "community chest" as the sole fund-raising organization for a federation of all Jewish agencies, including the FJPT. In 1938, the new United Jewish Welfare Fund was formally constituted. Added to the FJPT's previous list of Toronto client agencies in 1938 were: the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Hebrew National Association, the Jewish Immigrant Aid Association, the Mizrachi Society, the Toronto Free Loan Association, the Geverkshaften, and Old Folks Home, and the United Palestine Appeal, raising the total number of agencies to twenty-two.
When the State of Israel was established in 1948, the UJWF's annual fundraising campaign was combined with the CJC's United Palestine appeal to form a new, combined campaign named the United Jewish Appeal (UJA). In 1967, the UJA name was legally changed to the United Jewish Appeal of Metropolitan Toronto.
In mid-1976, the organization's public name was changed to the Toronto Jewish Congress. Although initially thought of as a merger between the UJWF and the CJC, the actual result was the expansion of the UJWF responsibilities to include local education and welfare services previously shared with the Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region. The UJWF, however, remained the legal senior entity.
In 1991, the public name was again changed to the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto and, in 1999, to UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. By this date, over thirty beneficiary and affiliated agencies, forty-nine affiliated schools and five federation departments were fully or partly funded by the federation.
In June 2010, the organization altered its legal structure, with the senior legal entity becoming the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of 25 series: Annual Meetings, Annual Reports, Board of Directors, Constitution Committee, Executive Committee, Officers Committee, Budget and Finance Committee, Administration Committee, Social Planning Committee, Committee on Capital Needs and Planning, Central Committee on Scholarships in Aid, Joint Committee of the BJE and UJWF Study on Jewish Education, Nominations Committee, Pension Fund Committee, Coordinating Committee, Special Ad Hoc and Temporary Committees, Annual Campaign, Client Agencies, Joint Committee of the CJC and the UJWF, Committee on Community Organization, Sub-Committee on Construction and Administration of Community Schools, Joint Committee on Fundraising, Personnel Committee, Community Leadership Development Council, and Israel at Fifty Community Celebration.
Over 4500 photographs and a variety of other media are managed within Series 17, Campaign records.
Notes
For exact details about the contents of individual series and sub-series, please review their scope and contents notes.
Name Access
United Jewish Welfare Fund
Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto
United Jewish Appeal
Toronto Jewish Congress
Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto
UJA Federation of Greater Toronto
Subjects
Charities
Fund raising
Access Restriction
Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.
Related Material
For records of the predecessor of the UJWF, see Fonds 66, the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto fonds.
Further detailed documentation of the proposed merger between the UJWF and the CJC (creation of the TJC) may be found in Fonds 67, Sub-sub-series 5-5-1, Files 171 and 221.
Further documentation on the United Jewish Welfare Fund may be found within Fonds 9, Series 7, records of the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society.
For further detailed records of a key community leader's involvement with the UJWF see Accession 1982-8-8, the records of Samuel Godfrey, 1943-1972.
Creator
United Jewish Welfare Fund (1938-)
Places
Toronto (Ont.)
Source
Archival Descriptions