A Dorcas society is a local group of people, usually based in a church, with a mission of providing clothing to the poor. [1] Dorcas societies are named after Dorcas (also called Tabitha), a person described in the Acts of the Apostles (9:36 ). [2] [3]
Dorcas societies were at their height in the 1800s, [4] but there are still Dorcas societies around the world, providing clothing and other physical needs. [2] [3]
One Dorcas society was founded in Douglas, Isle of Man, in December 1834 as part of the community's thanksgiving for being spared from an outbreak of cholera. [1] [5] Other Dorcas societies were established by missionaries in the Americas in the early 1800s. [6] [7] Beatrice Clugston founded the Glasgow Royal Dorcas Society in 1864. [8] [9] [10] One English Dorcas society in Sydenham, London, met during five Tuesdays in Lent, producing 166 garments in one year. [4]
The Dorcas Society at St Paul's Chapel of Trinity Church Parish, New York City, was founded in 1850; another Trinity Chapel, St John's, also had a Dorcas Society; the two provided clothing to school children in the parish. [11] The Dorcas Society of Maine was founded in 1897 by Kate Douglas Wiggin as the Dorcas Society of Hollis & Buxton, Maine. [12] The Dorcas Society of Maine is still active and provides academic scholarships and charitable contributions within its community.
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Dorcas, or Tabitha, was an early disciple of Jesus mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. She lived in the port city of Joppa, today absorbed by Tel Aviv. Acts describes her as being known for her "good works and acts of mercy", sewing clothes for the poor. When she died, the widows of her community mourned her and sent urgently for Peter, who was in nearby Lydda. As evidence of her charity, they showed him some of the clothes she had sewn, and according to the biblical account he raised her from the dead.
Judah Dana was an American lawyer, judge and politician. He served as a United States Senator from Maine and as Judge of the Maine Court of Common Pleas during the early 1800s.
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The African Dorcas Association was a black women's community aid society founded in New York City in January 1828. The women of this group sewed clothes for New York's black children so that they would have appropriate attire for school. They were also one of the first societies where "women met independently and without the supervision of men." Through this work, the members of the African Dorcas Association hoped to make education more accessible for black youth in New York City. After just one year, this organization distributed 168 articles of clothing to school children. They became a prominent contributor to encourage young Black children to attend schools. New Yorkers surrounding the organization did not find it appropriate for black women to be educated or involved in societal issues in this way, yet, despite the opposition, the African Dorcas Association thrived. The society remained in operation into the 1830s.
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