Eureka Benevolent Society (San Francisco)
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The Eureka Benevolent Society (EBS) was one of San Francisco's earliest philanthropic organizations. With a pledge to "afford aid and relief to indigent, sick and infirm Jews; to bury the dead; and in general to relieve and aid co-religionists who might be in poverty or distress," August Helbing and twelve other men formed the Eureka Benevolent Association in 1850. The name was changed to Society in 1907.
[edit] Overview
Concerned about the rising numbers of Jewish orphans and poor widows, the Society initiated a "Widows and Orphans Fund." Then, in 1860, together with San Francisco's Congregation Emanu-El, the members purchased a cemetery block near Dolores and 18th Street, under the name of the Home of Peace Association. In 1888, the Home of Peace Cemetery was relocated to Colma in 1888 and the Congregation assumed full responsibility for it.
As the Jewish population grew in both numbers and diversity, the Eureka Benevolent Society was joined by other social service agencies which broadened the scope of service, and eventually formed the nucleus of the federation movement of the early 20th century. In 1900 the Hebrew Board of Relief was incorporated with the First Hebrew Benevolent Society, Jewish Ladies Relief Society, Ladies United Hebrew Benevolent Society and the Eureka Benevolent Society becoming constituent agencies. These organizations entered the Federation of Jewish Charities in 1910 and the Hebrew Board of Relief was officially disbanded in 1918 at which time the other three associations merged into the Eureka Benevolent Society. At this time, another organization named the Helpers joined the Society membership. The Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum, an early contemporary of the Eureka Benevolent Society, expanded its services to include clinical assistance to disturbed adolescents, and was renamed Homewood Terrace in 1921.
The 1920s brought a marked change in attitudes regarding welfare agencies, particularly in the ways in which institutions dealt with family problems. Mirroring these new approaches, the Eureka Benevolent Society redirected its efforts and launched a complex and sophisticated program characterized by "a scientific approach to the problem, by thorough investigation to reveal the human assets and liabilities in the situation." With this new pioneering spirit, the Society took the name Jewish Family Service Agency, although the Eureka Benevolent Society remained incorporated for business purposes until 1977.
In 1955 the Federation of Jewish Charities and the Jewish National Welfare Fund merged into the Jewish Welfare Federation of San Francisco, Marin County and the Peninsula. In 1977 the Jewish Family Service Agency merged with Homewood Terrace to become the Jewish Family and Children's Service, and the Eureka Benevolent Society books were closed.
The Western Jewish History Center, of the Judah L. Magnes Museum, in Berkeley, California contains a large archival collection of materials and historical records relating to and documenting the history of the Eureka Benevolent Society, from its beginnings until 1977.[[Category:Jews and Judaism in the United States]
