Endowments; Community organization; Public health; Washington (D.C.); National Social Unit Organization; Phillips, Elsie Cole, 1879-1961; Phillips, Wilbur C., 1880-
Format
correspondence
Genre
Business correspondence
Origin Information
1901
Physical Description
microfilm, 16 mm, b&w
digitized microfilm
Note (Reel no.)
Reel 81
Note
PDF may contain multiple grant documents.
Elsie Cole Phillips, who was formerly New York Secretary for the National League of Women Workers under Jean Hamilton, is now working with her husband, Wilbur C. Phillips as Executive Secretary of The Committee on Unit Organization and is living at Th e Judson Hotel 53 Washington Sq. South. On April 11th, the first meeting of The Committee is to be held at the home of Mrs. Willard Strait. The purpose of the meeting is to create a national organization to initiate and develop a social unit in some American community. The methods of the Committee's work have been originated by Mr. and Mrs. Phillips as an outgrowth of their work in charge of a Health Centre in Milwaukee during the Socialist administration." [SOURCE: Associate Alumnae of Vassar College. "Contemporary Notes - Class of 1901." Vassar Quarterly, vol. 1, no. 1, February 1916, pp. 147. Google Books, https://books.google.com/books?id=Jp5GAQAAMAAJ. Accessed 25 Sep. 2018.] "Drawing on his experience in these two positions, he began to develop a concept of community organization that he called the 'social unit plan.' His plan, completed in 1914, envisioned a democratic neighborhood structure through which local residents could participate directly in the control of community affairs without sacrificing any of the advantages of technical expertise. With the support of individuals such as Herbert Croly, Dr. Richard Cabot, and Dr. S. S. Goldwater, he established the National Social Unit Organization (NSUO) with himself as executive director. The NSUO decided to sponsor a three-year demonstration project and selected Cincinnati, Ohio as the site for the experiment. Phillips headed the Mohawk-Brighton Social Unit Organization in a 31-block area of the city from 1917-1920. Despite its success in improving neighborhood health care, the city withdrew its support and the project was terminated." [SOURCE: "Wilbur C. Phillips (1880 — 1967) — Advocate of Child Health and Hygiene and Founder of the National Social Unit Organization." Social Welfare History Project, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2011, http://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/people/phillips-wilbur-c/. Accessed 25 Sep. 2018.]
Language
English
Library Location
Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University