Russian Children's Welfare Society
| Formation | 1926 |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(3) nonprofit |
| Headquarters |
 New York |
| Beatrice Fekula | |
| Website | www.rcws.org |
The Russian Children's Welfare Society is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization based in New York City with branches in Moscow and San Francisco. It was founded in 1926 to help Russian children whose families fled to other countries after the onset of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Society has refocused all of its efforts solely on Russia. The RCWS funds scholarship programs, medical procedures, pediatric hospitals, rehabilitation programs, and orphanages throughout Russia.
In forming the RCWS in 1926, the Society's founders announced their commitment to improving the lives of Russian children throughout the world, outside of the Soviet Union, at the 125th Street YMCA in New York City. They embarked on their mission with a modest contribution that was sent to support Russian shelters in Latvia. The Society's many programs today reflect that legacy. The direction of the Russian Children's Welfare Society has been shaped by many of the 20th century's tumultuous events. The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 prompted the emigration of large numbers of Russians to Europe, Asia, North and South America. By the early 1930s, the Society had ten branches operating throughout the United States and was sending money and material assistance to schools and organizations, assisting Russian children in Estonia, Poland, Finland, France, Germany, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, China, and Turkey.
The occupation of many of these countries during World War II suspended much of the Society's work, which was prohibited after America's entry into the war in 1941. After the liberation of France from Hitler's occupation in 1944, the Society worked closely with the American Committee for Assistance to France and sent $25,000 in cash, food and clothing. By 1945, RCWS assistance was providing hot breakfasts in French schools, serving approximately 1,100 children.
During World War II, the Society's leadership decided to professionalize its operations and expanded its staff. The RCWS eventually gained recognition by the Presidential War Relief Control Board as an approved charity for work abroad during the war. By 1950, the Society was again sending relief to 14 countries.
Among the long-term volunteers of the RCWS was Princess Vera Constantinovna of Russia (1906–2001), a great-granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and the youngest child of Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia. Princess Vera was born in Imperial Russia and was a childhood playmate of Nicholas II's younger children. At the age of twelve she escaped revolutionary Russia and spent the rest of her life in exile, first in Europe and from the 1950s in the United States. From November 1952 until 1969, Princess Vera worked at the Russian Children's Welfare Society, assisting with day-to-day activities of the organization. She died at the Tolstoy Foundation's elderly care home in Nyack, New York, at the age of 94. Princess Vera was the last member of the Romanov dynasty who was born in Russia.
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Wikipedia