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Show HEADS "BIG SISTERS" SOCIETY I KsM5J Mem Wlfl V m J The organization in New York of Big Sisters, formed to work on the lines of the now eight-year-old society of Big Brothers, is the result of the individual effort of Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt in the children's court. The society has already more than a hundred members, has an office in the suite occupied by the Big Brothers, Broth-ers, at 200 Fifth avenue, with a secretary sec-retary and assistant secretary to attend at-tend to the clerical work, and to be always at the court whenever it is in session and look after little girls who need assistance when the members of the society are not able to he present. Mrs. Vanderbilt, whose practical charitable work is illustrated In the apartment homes, with the maximum amount of sun and air, which she had put up for people with incipient cases of tuberculosis, began her visits to the children's court about two years ago. There she found representatives of lewish and Catholic organizations do ing excellent work among their people, but thete was no one from the- Protestant Prot-estant denominations to make a special effort to look after the children of their churches. There was so much work to be done that Mrs. Vanderbilt visited the courts at least once and sometimes two or three times a week, interesting herself in cases when there seemed need of assistance. Finding a little ragtag rag-tag baby at the front of the stairs she would pick it up and carry it until she found the person who was supposed to be in charge of it. She visited the children she found in need in their homes. They did not know her by name, but only knew that some one kind and motherly was interested in them. Then, the personal equation being such an important part of the work, she interested her two sisters, Mrs. F. C. Havemeyer and Mrs. Stephen H. Olin, whose names are among the incorporators, and some of her friends also came in. |