HISTORY OF
THE COMMUNITY SERVICE SOCIETY

The Community Service Society was formed by the merger of two of New York City's most prominent social welfare organizations, the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, organized in 1843 and incorporated in 1848, and the Charity Organization Society, founded in 1882.

Child with scrap wood (19th Century)

Unknown photographer

Throughout its long history, CSS and its predecessor organizations have been committed to improving the lives of New Yorkers in need of help. We continue to follow in the tradition of our predecessors--using objective measures as in policy research to examine the causes of poverty; and to direct services to ameliorate suffering and help individuals and families succeed.

The legacy of achievement includes such innovations as:

• Establishing the first public baths in New York State (1852)
• Erecting the first model tenement in New York City (1855)
• Launching the drive for pure milk laws (1862)
• Starting the first shelter for homeless men (1893)
• Helping establish the Board of Health's child health clinics (1909)
• Setting up the prototype for the free school-lunch program (1913)
• Laying the groundwork for the state's Old Age Assistance Act (1930)
• Completing the long-term tuberculosis control center in Harlem (1947)
• Instituting the Geriatric Rehabilitation Service Project with Goldwater Memorial Hospital (1961)
• Starting the senior volunteer program, now the nation's largest with almost 10,000 participants (1966)
• Establishing the revolving loan fund for low-income tenants to buy their buildings (1984)
• Developing an eviction prevention program to prevent homelessness of people being sued for nonpayment of rent (1988)
• Initiating the Prejudice Reduction Program to teach tolerance and human dignity in public schools (1990)
• Designing the model for financing neighborhood health facilities adopted by the city in its Primary Care Development Corporation (1993)
• Establishing the Public Benefits Resource Center to address government inadequacies that prevent poor, disabled, and elderly people from receiving benefits and services (1994)
• Launching the Experience Corps, where senior volunteers provide literacy tutoring to elementary school children and play a direct role in ensuring that children from their community have a chance to succeed (1996)
• Helping to establish the Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program to assist consumers with managed care problems (1999)