The Avon Home, 1889-1965
Annual Reports, 1889-1965 (inclusive), 1925-1965 (bulk)
Library of Congress Subject Headings
1/2 file box
0.21 linear feet
Processor: Nicole Perrault
Date: November 2011
Acquisition: Although no acquisition records exist, these items were most likely sent to the Cambridge Historical Society by the Avon Home.
Access: There are no restrictions on items in this collection.
Permission to Publish: Requests for permission to publish from the collection should be made to the Executive Director.
Copyright: Although the Cambridge Historical Society does not hold copyright on all items in the collection, copyright has expired for the majority of items.
The Avon Home, founded by James Huntington in 1874, provided shelter to Cambridge children in need. In November of that same year, the Home was officially incorporated as a charitable agency under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Upon opening, the orphanage had enough resources to assist ten children, but the need was much higher. As such, Huntington worked to secure financial assistance and expand the premises of the Avon Home. In 1891, a second building was constructed that could hold up to forty children.
Because the Home was assisting so many children, in 1902 a trial foster care service was implemented in order to ensure that each child received appropriate care. In 1913, it was decided that foster services was the best option for the Home to pursue, and the orphanage was closed. In 1918, the Home expanded its foster care services and added a therapy clinic and community center. Over the years, more services were added including the placement of children in schools, group homes and special institutions; assistance for unwed mothers; and counseling and casework services for children living at home, but still in need of help.
The Avon Home is now known as the Cambridge Family and Children’s Service. It remains a non-profit organization and offers the same services as the Avon Home, as well as assistance to pregnant teenagers, homeless families, and a volunteer mentor program. Although still located in Cambridge, it currently assists children in over forty cities in the Greater Boston area.
The Avon Home for Cambridge Children. (1959). Annual Report.
Cambridge Family & Children’s Service. (2007). “History.” Retrieved from http://www.helpfamilies.org
George G. Wright Papers, 1814-1930, Collection consists of bound volumes of bound material which include annual and other reports produced by the Avon Home. Brinkler Library, Cambridge Historical Society, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
This collection includes annual reports released by the Avon Home between 1889-1965. The reports are organized chronologically.
The reports between 1889-1942 include financial statistics reported by the board of trustees, discussion of the organization’s yearly activities by the general secretary, a list of the trustees for each year and a copy of the organization’s by-laws. Initially, these reports included lists of financial contributors and their respective donations, but this practice ceased in 1943. The reports between 1943-1965 instead are focused on discussing the progress of specific children helped by the Home contain a discussion of specific cases of children, as well as lists of trustee members and yearly expenditures.
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
- Charities
- Cambridge Family and Children’s Service
- Orphanages
- Orphanages–Massachusetts–Boston
The Avon Home, Annual Reports, 1889-1965 (inclusive), 1925-1965 (bulk)
Box|Folder
1|1||Annual Reports: 1889
1|2||Annual Reports: 1925-1928
1|3||Annual Reports: 1929-1932
1|4||Annual Reports: 1933-1937
1|5||Annual Reports: 1938-1941
1|6||Annual Reports: 1943-1947
1|7||Annual Reports: 1949-1953
1|8||Annual Reports: 1955, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1965
