thedrifter
02-02-07, 07:40 PM
A LOOK BACK: Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society celebrates 103 years of service
Friday, February 02, 2007
By Lisa Aszklar Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society
American society as a whole witnessed stunning advances in medicine, the arts, and technology during the 20th century, each milestone serving as a building block for future accomplishments. Similarly, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society attributes its development to the events and accomplishments of those volunteers and employees who worked so diligently in its infancy to ensure that the organization not only survived, but thrived.
Now in its second century, the organization's basic mission has not changed since its incorporation: Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society is dedicated to providing financial assistance to Sailors, Marines, and their families. However, in the past hundred years, the ways by which the Society has come to accomplish that mission have expanded beyond what our founders ever could have imagined.
One hundred years ago, both America and its naval services were quite different from what we would recognize today. In 1907, a loaf of bread cost 5¢; a first class stamp was 2¢; and a new Ford carried a $500 price tag. Average household income was less than $900 per year, and only 8 percent of American homes had electricity. Theodore Roosevelt occupied the White House.
In 1907 Roosevelt sent his "Great White Fleet" on a 43,000-mile cruise around the world. The fleet, comprised of 16 steam-powered battleships manned by 14,000 Sailors and Marines, was the perfect vehicle to establish the United States as a dominant player in world politics.
In those days, no safety net existed to assist any U.S. Navy personnel or their families if disaster struck.
Originally funded with $9,000 in proceeds from the 1903 Army-Navy game, the Navy Relief Society soon realized that additional funds would be required to meet requests for aid. By 1907 the nascent organization faced a crisis. That year, the Society assisted in securing pensions for "six widows and orphans," filled 48 requests for assistance in amounts as small as $5, and approved payment of tuition for "one minor child."
Admiral George Dewey, Society president at the time, believed personal appeals could better explain the Society's mission.
"Surely some good would result," Dewey wrote, from such a personal campaign.
Much has changed since President Roosevelt sent his Great White Fleet around the world. Prices of goods and services have risen dramatically in the last century, and the U.S. Navy now uses technology that certainly would have fascinated Roosevelt. Today, the Society continues the vital work it began in 1904, assisting Sailors, Marines, and their families in meeting unforeseen financial challenges.
In 2006, the Society disbursed more than $33.6 million in aid to 34,900 individual service members and their dependents for reasons as varied as natural disaster, unforeseen emergencies, and delayed receipt of government benefits.
Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society's Certificate of Incorporation states that the "term for which said Society is organized is one thousand years"-proof that our founders intended for the organization to meet the needs of Sailors, Marines, and their families for generations to come. As our world and our military evolve and adapt, so too will Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.
Ellie
Friday, February 02, 2007
By Lisa Aszklar Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society
American society as a whole witnessed stunning advances in medicine, the arts, and technology during the 20th century, each milestone serving as a building block for future accomplishments. Similarly, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society attributes its development to the events and accomplishments of those volunteers and employees who worked so diligently in its infancy to ensure that the organization not only survived, but thrived.
Now in its second century, the organization's basic mission has not changed since its incorporation: Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society is dedicated to providing financial assistance to Sailors, Marines, and their families. However, in the past hundred years, the ways by which the Society has come to accomplish that mission have expanded beyond what our founders ever could have imagined.
One hundred years ago, both America and its naval services were quite different from what we would recognize today. In 1907, a loaf of bread cost 5¢; a first class stamp was 2¢; and a new Ford carried a $500 price tag. Average household income was less than $900 per year, and only 8 percent of American homes had electricity. Theodore Roosevelt occupied the White House.
In 1907 Roosevelt sent his "Great White Fleet" on a 43,000-mile cruise around the world. The fleet, comprised of 16 steam-powered battleships manned by 14,000 Sailors and Marines, was the perfect vehicle to establish the United States as a dominant player in world politics.
In those days, no safety net existed to assist any U.S. Navy personnel or their families if disaster struck.
Originally funded with $9,000 in proceeds from the 1903 Army-Navy game, the Navy Relief Society soon realized that additional funds would be required to meet requests for aid. By 1907 the nascent organization faced a crisis. That year, the Society assisted in securing pensions for "six widows and orphans," filled 48 requests for assistance in amounts as small as $5, and approved payment of tuition for "one minor child."
Admiral George Dewey, Society president at the time, believed personal appeals could better explain the Society's mission.
"Surely some good would result," Dewey wrote, from such a personal campaign.
Much has changed since President Roosevelt sent his Great White Fleet around the world. Prices of goods and services have risen dramatically in the last century, and the U.S. Navy now uses technology that certainly would have fascinated Roosevelt. Today, the Society continues the vital work it began in 1904, assisting Sailors, Marines, and their families in meeting unforeseen financial challenges.
In 2006, the Society disbursed more than $33.6 million in aid to 34,900 individual service members and their dependents for reasons as varied as natural disaster, unforeseen emergencies, and delayed receipt of government benefits.
Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society's Certificate of Incorporation states that the "term for which said Society is organized is one thousand years"-proof that our founders intended for the organization to meet the needs of Sailors, Marines, and their families for generations to come. As our world and our military evolve and adapt, so too will Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.
Ellie