A Season of Giving
Thursday, November 5th, 2009by Andrea Marroquin, Programming Coordinator
While many Jekyll Island Club Members were known as “Captains of Industry,” lawyer Robert Weeks De Forest was dubbed the “Captain of Philanthropy” for his lifetime of social service.
The Charity Organization Society was just one of many organizations De Forest created to assist others. It coordinated relief for New York’s poor.
Starting the Christmas of 1912, the Charity Organization Society took an active part in the New York Times’ first Christmas fund drive asking its readers not to forget their jobless, orphaned, aged, injured, homeless, and ill neighbors struggling to make ends meet. Headlines read, “Santa Clause please take notice! Here are New York’s 100 neediest cases.” One of four organizations involved in the campaign’s early years, the Charity Organizajtion Society collected stories about the poor and their struggles. It told personal stories of fathers, mothers, small children, and elderly citizens in distress. The appeals did not request money, but simply presented their circumstances and stated their needs.
Aid was given in many ways. People were provided food, shelter, and medicine. The sick and injured were treated. Boys and girls were sent to school and taught skills to help their struggling families. One hundred percent of the funds raised went to the needy, with The New York Times supporting all the costs of the campaign.
Readers rushed to help those in need of Christmas generosity. Some donations were received from the wealthy, but the drive appealed to everyone according to their means. Letters showed that a dollar given by one meant as much as a thousand given by another, and all gifts were sent in the same spirit of generosity and good will. During the Christmas of 1916, De Forest wrote to thank the New York Times for giving readers an opportunity to help. De Forest wrote “The desire on the part of us who are more ‘blessed’ with prosperity to help those who are least ‘blessed,’ is I am glad to say, quite universal among our American people.” Donations poured in from all ages and social classes, and varied from less than one dollar to $1,600, raising $17,000 of Christmas joy that season alone. To De Forest, the Christmas drive was, in part, an opportunity to develop the spirit of giving in the young. “I have been accustomed to encourage each child of my acquaintance to give each year to some particular case on your list and I have provided each with the means for doing so,” he wrote. One child told him she helped a particular family “because the boys are so brave.” Through the touching stories, people came to care about helping others. The “100 Neediest Cases” fund became a year, the “100 Neediest Cases” has raised $250 million.
Robert Weeks De Forest devoted himself to numerous charitable, civic, and cultural activities. President Taft once called his services on behalf of others a “shining record.” Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. Capture the Holiday Spirit this Season!
This holiday season there are many needs in the local community. The Jekyll Island Authority has created some fun and easy ways to make a big difference locally through its sponsorship of United Way of Coastal Georgia. United Way advances the education, health, and financial independence of Glynn and McIntosh Counties through its many partner agencies. Here are some simple ways you can participate in the season of giving on Jekyll Island and help United Way:
United Way Golf Tournament - Support United Way November 14, 2009. 9:00 am Shot-Gun. 2 Person Scramble on Indian Mound’s Course. $50 per person (includes Golf/Cart, Boxed Lunch & prizes). For more information, contact the Jekyll Island Golf Course, 912-635-2368.
Horton, portrayed by Jon Burpee of Fort Frederica National Monument, bellows orders at the 18th century British soldiers drilling with muskets on the grounds, entreats the crowd to join ranks for the safety of the fledgling colony, and explains his grievances against the Spanish. Horton is determined to hold both his Jekyll Island estate and Fort Frederica for England.
Sir Joseph Jekyll, son of John Jekyll, was born in London in 1663. He went to school at the Middle Temple and became a lawyer in 1687. Within the span of ten years, he rose to the position of Chief Justice of Chester. In 1697 he also became a member of Parliament, and retained this position for the rest of his life. He went on to become Sergeant-at-Law and King’s Sergeant. In 1700, King George I made him a Knight. In 1717, he became Master of the Rolls, the third most senior judge in England. His wife was Lady Elizabeth Somers.
Jekyll passed away on August 19, 1738. In his will he designated a portion of his substantial estate to be applied to the national debt. His contemporaries ridiculed Jekyll for this benevolent gesture. One commentator scoffed that he might as well have “attempted to block the middle arch of Blackfriars Bridge with his full-bottomed wig.” In later proceedings, the will was actually set aside on the “ground of imbecility,” even though he was an active member of Parliament at the time he made the will.
On April 7, 1909, far from the warm waters and sandy shores of Jekyll Island, Georgia, American explorer Robert E. Peary was bundled in furs and battling ice. But on that day just one century ago, thanks in part to several Jekyll Island Club Members in the Peary Arctic Club, he still felt the warm glow of success. In a diary showing signs of wear from the polar trail, Peary wrote “The Pole at last. The prize of 3 centuries, my goal for 20 years. Mine at last!” With these words Peary struck his claim as the first person in history to finally reach the geographic North Pole. With him was African-American explorer Matthew Alexander Henson as well as 4 Inuit men Ootah, Egingwah, Seegloo, and Ookeah.
Just five miles away from where Peary posted his “five flags at the top of the world” sat Camp Morris K. Jesup, where Peary declared his igloo “The Most Northerly Human Habitation in the World.” The camp was named for Jekyll Island Club Member Morris Ketchum Jesup. The first president of the Peary Arctic Club, Jesup had contributed $25,000 towards the construction of the Arctic S.S. Roosevelt, the ship which had battled the ice between Greenland and Ellesmere Island to attain the record furthest point north ever reached by ship under her own steam. It was from this ship that Peary and his dogsled teams had embarked on their quest for the North Pole.