The Columbian School, which would eventually evolve into the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, opened on January 5, 1896, through the efforts of Rabbi Lippman Mayer of Rodef Shalom Congregation, who developed the Russian School for Jewish immigrant children, and Mrs. A. Leo (Cassie) Weil, President of the Columbian Council. With a volunteer staff and philanthropic support, the school enrolled two hundred students by the end of the first year. The Columbian School's first residence was in a small room on Miller Street in the Hill District; it then moved Downtown to the Sunday School rooms of Rodef Shalom in 1897. In 1907, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kaufmann, proprietors of Kaufmann's Department Store in Downtown Pittsburgh, made a donation in memory of their daughter, Irene Kaufmann. The money was to be used to construct a larger building on the site of 1835 Centre Avenue and to be known as the Irene Kaufmann Settlement. KS, as it was called, helped immigrants adjust to their lives in America. It provided social programs for adults as well as a summer camp for youngsters called Emma Farm, or the Emma Kaufman Camp. The Settlement was non-sectarian and continued to aid the Hill District community until 1959, when it moved to Squirrel Hill, merging with the Young Men's Hebrew Association and the Young Women's Hebrew Association to become Y-IKS. In 1972, the Irene Kaufmann Settlement changed its name to the Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh. Also in 1972, the Emma Kaufmann Camp moved to Morgantown, West Virginia, where it continues to operate today.
From the description of Oliver M. Kaufmann photograph collection on the history of the Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh, 1912-1969. (University of Pittsburgh). WorldCat record id: 608087655
