Collections

Youth Service America (YSA) was founded in 1986 as an independent, not-for-profit organization that has led the charge on creating, supporting, and promoting national and community service programs. Formed to strength the effectiveness, sustainability, and scale of the youth service and service-learning fields, Youth Service America is a resource center that partners with thousands of organizations committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people in America to serve locally, nationally, and globally. Current and former programming created to promote service and solve social and environmental problems include: National Youth Service Day and Global Youth Service Day, New Generation Training Program, Fund for Social Entrepreneurs, National Service SuperConference, Working Group on National and Community Service Policy, and SERVEnet.

In 1973, the Commission on Private Philanthropy and Public Needs was formed to study the relationships between foundations, the government, and the public. To meet the needs of this study the Commission contracted with several individuals to do research and write papers. Adam Yarmolinsky served as both a researcher/author and a special consultant to the Commission. This collection includes the correspondence and papers of Adam Yarmolinsky related to his service to the Commission on Private Philanthropy and Public Needs.

Women & Philanthropy incorporated in 1977 with the purpose of elevating the status of women as decision makers in philanthropy and increasing the amount of funding for women and girls' programs. The organization's research-based advocacy served as the foundation for its agenda. Providing evidence that women were under-represented in a variety of key areas in the field of philanthropy, Women & Philanthropy developed ways to combat the problem and while providing a resource for women in the field to become educators and advocates for their gender. In 2007 Women & Philanthropy ceased as a separate organization and became a special project of the Council on Foundations. Materials in this collection cover the whole of the organization's history from its beginning until its incorporation into the Council on Foundations and provide an excellent resource for understanding the role of women as leaders in the foundation world.

Harris Wofford was a Democratic senator from Pennsylvania, the former CEO of the Corporation of National and Community Service (CNCS, now AmeriCorps), a civil rights advocate, university president, lawyer, and writer. This collection focuses on his work supporting national service, including his time as the CEO of CNCS.

William Vincent Wheeler, founder of Wheeler Mission Ministries of Indianapolis, Indiana, was born in 1845 in Ohio and in 1853, his family moved to Indiana. After serving in the Civil War, Wheeler moved to Indianapolis where he was employed by Layman-Carey Hardware Company beginning as a delivery driver and eventually becoming head of the sales department. In 1868, Wheeler experienced a religious conversion and became active in the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church as well as becoming a lay-preacher. In 1893, the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) opened a home for unwed mothers. Wheeler volunteered his help and suggested the range of services offered be broadened to include men, women and children in the form of a rescue mission. He became part-time superintendent of the mission and in 1895, resigned from the hardware company to become a full-time salaried superintendent of the mission, one of the first charitable operations of its kind in Indianapolis. He remained in this position until his death in 1908. The papers consist of correspondence of members of the Wheeler family, family photographs, Wheeler's civil war diary and family history materials.

Wheeler Mission Ministries is a charitable organization serving the material and spiritual needs of poor individuals and families in Indianapolis, Indiana through Christian evangelism and conversion. Begun in 1893 as a home for unwed mothers by the Meridian Union of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, it was expanded by William Vincent Wheeler later that year to include a Rescue Mission. Coupling its charitable work with programs to develop a sense of self-sufficiency among the poor, Wheeler Mission was among the city's first charitable operations of its kind and continues to serve the needy of Indianapolis. The records, 1904-1992, consist of the administrative files which contain the correspondence and subject files of superintendents Herbert E. Eberhardt and Leonard C. Hunt, financial files, documentation of Wheeler Mission Associated Groups, printed materials, some research materials from the Door of Hope publication, photographs and audio/visual materials.

World War I and World War II necessitated the expansion not only of the combat forces of the U.S. military but also of its medical services. To help meet this need, medical schools and the American Red Cross sponsored the creation of hospital units. The Indianapolis medical community followed this trend during both wars. In 1917, the Indianapolis Chapter of the American Red Cross established the unit eventually designated Base Hospital 32. Almost all of the doctors, nurses, and enlisted men originally assigned to the unit came from Indianapolis or central Indiana. In 1942, the Indiana University Medical Center set up the 32nd General Hospital. Named in honor of its World War I predecessor, this unit drew most of its original medical and nursing staffs from the IU Medical Center. Both units served in Europe. The records consist of photocopies of unit files of the 32nd General Hospital; unit histories, scrapbooks, and personal reminiscences compiled after the wars; records relating to reunions held by members of the 32nd General Hospital, photographs, an 8mm film of the 32nd General Hospital and two videotape copies of the film.