The Annie Eaton Society
In 1874, a group of visionary women at All Souls, including the minister’s wife, established the first women-led charitable organization incorporated in New York State. Originally named “The Society for the Relief of Poor and Indigent Women,” our organization began with a revolutionary concept: women raising and controlling their own charitable funds to help other women in need.
How the Society Began
Annie B. Eaton (whose husband was Dorman Bridgman Eaton, a lawyer instrumental in American federal civil service reform) established, with the other ladies of the First and Second Churches, the Society for the Employment and Relief of Poor Women.
Seeking to counteract “pauperism,” female parishioners in 1844 began paying poor women to sew dresses, aprons and children’s clothing, and operated a sales room to sell them. (Church women also formed a Coal Club to jointly buy coal by the ton rather than pay higher rates by the pail-full.)
The sewing continued into the 1960s and the program lives on today as the Annie Eaton Society, a 501(c)3 charity that donates to groups that support women, funded mainly by a bequest from Annie Eaton.
Early Initiatives Included:
- Creating a cottage industry providing sewing materials to homebound women
- Establishing a weekly lunch program with professional social work support
- Partnering with the Burden Center to support elderly women
- Pioneering the first American chapter of Hospice in Manhattan
Current Projects:
- Supporting nursing and college students with essential technology and equipment
- Funding home safety assessments for elderly women
- Providing emergency assistance through ministerial discretionary funds
Upcoming Events
Our upcoming events are listed below.
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