Fragment Society

The Fragment Society is a charitable women's society, founded in 1812 in Boston and incorporated in 1816.^[1]

The members of the Fragment Society make and buy clothing to be given to those in need.^[2] It is one of the oldest continuously-operating sewing circles in the United States, and the oldest continuous sewing circle in Boston.^[3] The first meeting of the Fragment Society was held on October 19, 1812, and the constitution of the organization was adopted during their second meeting, held October 22 of that same year.^[3] There were eleven original members of the Fragment Society, six single women and five married women.^[4] They chose their name from the parable of Jesus feeding the multitude with loaves of bread and fish, in which Jesus reminds his disciples to leave nothing behind, “to gather up the fragments that remained, that nothing be lost.”^[3] Their original aim was to meet the increasing needs of the widows and orphans quickly cropping up in the wake of the War of 1812.^[4] Shortly after the founding meetings, the founders of the Society recruited four hundred other members from Boston's leading families, many of whom joined as family groups.^[4] In the first year of operation, at least 506 requests for assistance were answered by the Society.^[4] Since the beginning, the Fragment Society has been particularly concerned with pregnant women, and adopted the practice of creating layettes for needy mothers.^[4] The Fragment Society was incorporated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1816.^[3] The society celebrated their bicentennial in October 2012.^[1]

The Fragment Society purchases the clothes that they give away as donations, with the exception of layettes, which members sew at meetings.^[3] They have been known to occasionally give aid in the form of scholarships or fundraising, but only very rarely.^[3] Their charitable efforts are mostly focused on the greater Boston area, but in times of national emergency, their aid work has been more widespread.^[3]

La membresía en la Sociedad Fragment es relativamente limitada, y la organización generalmente consta de unos 200 miembros que pagan cuotas, muchos de los cuales son descendientes de miembros anteriores. ^{[ 3 ]} Las cuotas pagadas por los miembros se destinan al fondo permanente de la Sociedad, cuyos intereses financian gran parte de la labor caritativa de la Sociedad. ^{[ 3 ]} La administración de la Sociedad está compuesta por un presidente, un vicepresidente, un secretario, un tesorero y una junta directiva. ^{[ 3 ]} Se realizan cinco reuniones al año. ^{[ 3 ]}

• Círculo de costura

• Anne Firor Scott (1993). Aliadas naturales: Asociaciones de mujeres en la historia estadounidense . University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252063206.
• Sarah Deutsch (2000). Mujeres y la ciudad  : género, espacio y poder en Boston, 1870-1940 . Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199728107.

• El sitio web de Fragment Society
• Actas de las reuniones de la Sociedad de Fragmentos, 1812-1825
• Vídeo «Un legado de amor» producido para el 200 aniversario de la Fragment Society.
• Perfil de Guidestar
• Archivos de la Fragment Society (Boston, Massachusetts), 1812-1993: Guía de consulta . Biblioteca Schlesinger, Instituto Radcliffe, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• Fragment Society (Boston, Massachusetts). Registros adicionales: Guía de consulta . Biblioteca Schlesinger, Instituto Radcliffe, Cambridge, Massachusetts.