Brooklyn Bureau of Charities

On December 2, 1905, Mrs. Tunis G. Bergen brought together a group of Brooklyn residents at the Barnard Club House on Remsen Street to form New York City's first borough-based Red Cross organization. With an initial membership roster of 300, the Brooklyn Chapter of the American Red Cross embarked on its first major campaign to aid victims of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, collecting over $100,000 and thousands of articles of clothing to contribute to the relief effort. From this point on, the Brooklyn Chapter continued to provide disaster relief on both a local and national level in the form of relief funds, emergency first aid, first aid materials, and access to social services. As of 2010, the American Red Cross, Brooklyn Chapter is located at 200 Schermerhorn Street in Downtown Brooklyn.

From the guide to the American Red Cross, Brooklyn Chapter records, Bulk, 1940-1948, 1918-1958, (Brooklyn Historical Society)

bbcs

From the guide to the Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service records, circa 1860 to 1990, (Brooklyn Historical Society)