Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
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| Founded | 1881 |
|---|---|
| 13-5633307 | |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization |
| Headquarters | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States |
| Mark Hetfield | |
| Dianne F. Lob | |
| Subsidiaries | Charitable Remainder Unitrust |
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Revenue (2014)
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$39,923,260 |
| Expenses (2014) | $36,449,447 |
| Endowment | $62,944,322 |
|
Employees (2014)
|
67 |
|
Volunteers (2014)
|
25 |
| Mission | To rescue people whose lives are in danger for being who they are; to protect the most vulnerable refugees, helping them build new lives and reuniting them with their families in safety and freedom; to advocate for the protection of refugees and assure that displaced people are treated with the dignity they deserve. |
| Website | www |
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Formerly called
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Hebrew Sheltering Aid Society; Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society; Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society; United HIAS Service, Inc.; Association for the Protection of Jewish Immigrants |
HIAS (founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) is an American nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees. The organization works with people whose lives and freedom are believed to be at risk due to war, persecution, or violence. HIAS has offices in the United States and across Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Since its inception, HIAS has helped resettle more than 4.5 million people.
According to HIAS, the acronym HIAS was first used as a cable address and eventually became the universally used name of the organization. A 1909 merger with the Hebrew Sheltering Aid Society resulted in the official name Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society, but the organization continued to be generally known as "H.I.A.S." or more usually as "HIAS", which eventually became the official name.
HIAS was founded in response to the late 19th- and early 20th-century exodus of Jewish emigrants from Imperial Russia. HIAS's web site states that the organization has operated since at least 1891. However, through a merger, it can trace its ancestry back to the Hebrew Sheltering House Association, founded in New York the same year.Lawrence J. Epstein writes that the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society was founded in 1904; several other sources give a date of 1902.The Baltimore Sun mentioned the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in an article published in 1882. HIAS reported its date of formation as 1881 on its annual return with the Internal Revenue Service.
In 1904, HIAS established a formal bureau on Ellis Island, the primary arrival point of European immigrants to the United States at that time.
In March 1909, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society merged with the Hebrew Sheltering House Association to form the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society, which continued to be widely known as HIAS. By 1914, HIAS had branches in Baltimore, Philadelphia,Boston, and an office in Washington, D.C.
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Wikipedia