Unitarian Service Committee. Service Camps and Work Camps. Records, 1942-1957.
Overview
This collections consists of Unitarian Service Committee service camp and work camp records, and administrative material. The records span .
Dates
- Creation: 1945-1972.
Access
There are no restrictions on access to this collection.
Extent
13 boxesThe bulk of this collection consists of records related to the service camps and work camps run by the Unitarian Service Committee. The records include applications, correspondence, organizational material, and photographs. Records of various domestic and international camps are arranged first domestically, by state and then internationally, by country. The records use the terms service camps and work camps interchangeably, and there does not seem to be a distinction between the two. The collection also contains administrative records of the USC, both dealing with the service camps and work camps and with more general matters, as well as records of affiliated organizations.
Biographical / Historical
The Unitarian Service Committee was formed as a standing committee of the American Unitarian Association in May 1940. Its purpose was to be a committee to investigate opportunities both in America and abroad for humanitarian service. In the 1940s, the USC began a program of establishing service camps and work camps that served as non-sectarian, interracial, and multicultural service opportunities for teenagers and young adults. These camps, both domestic and international, centered around work, education, and recreation. The USC chose projects based on need in particular areas and often with the help of cooperating agencies and organizations. The present-day Unitarian Universalist Service Committee continues to endeavor to advance human rights and social justice throughout the world.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- Series I. Administrative records
- Series II. Service camps and work camps
- Series III. General USC and affiliated records
Acquisition Information
Gift of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.
General note
The number after the slash in each entry in the following list indicates the box number, and the number in parentheses is the folder number.
- Title
- Unitarian Service Committee. Service Camps and Work Camps. Records, 1942-1957: A Finding Aid.
- Author
- Andover-Harvard Theological Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- div16040
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University Repository
Special Collections at Harvard Divinity School Library preserves and makes accessible primary source materials documenting the history of religion and theology, with particular historical emphasis on American liberal religious traditions. Though the historical strengths of the collections have been in the field of Christianity, other religious traditions are increasingly reflected, in step with Harvard Divinity School's evolving focus on global religious studies. Known as Andover-Harvard Theological Library since 1911, it was renamed the Harvard Divinity School Library in 2021.
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