American Women's Voluntary Services, Chicago Metropolitan unit records, 1942-1987, bulk 1942-1960

Copyright may be retained by the creators of items or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law, unless otherwise noted.

Gift of Alexandra J. Sopocko Olivera (accession # 1993.0214).

American Women's Voluntary Services, Chicago Metropolitan Unit records (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and box/folder number of a specific item.

Correspondence, minutes, financial records, scrapbooks, and annual reports of the American Women's Voluntary Services (AWVS), Chicago Metropolitan Unit. Collection includes correspondence with members of the Chicago Metropolitan Unit of AWVS and allied organizations, 1943-1983; board minutes, 1960-1974; annual meeting files and other topical files 1944-1976; financial records; two scrapbooks of newsclippings, by-laws, and photographs; annual reports of the national AWVS, 1945-1969; and a book signed by visitors to the AWVS Lounge for Women Officers during World War II at the Bismarck Hotel, Chicago, 1942-1945. Topics include AWVS sponsored activities in civil defense, social work, and services for children, the sick, and senior citizens.

The American Women’s Voluntary Services (AWVS) Chicago unit opened on September 17th, 1942, as part of the largest American women’s service organization (founded in 1940 in New York) during World War II. Subsequent chapters were formed in Villa Park, Elmwood Park, and other suburban locations. To facilitate better cooperation with other agencies such as the American Red Cross and Treasury Department, the Chicago unit expanded to include Cook, DuPage, and Lake Counties in May of 1943, incorporating many of the suburban units, and changed its name to the Chicago Metropolitan unit.

The AWVS consisted of women volunteers who carried out a variety of support services for the war effort, including message delivery, ambulance driving, war bonds sales, and canteen workers. Chicago Metropolitan unit activities between 1942 and 1948 included running a fingerprinting department at City Hall for city employees and defense factory workers; operating a lounge for women military officers; a knitting workshop that distributed blankets and slippers to injured soldiers; and a radio program on WJJD.

Related materials include the American Women's Voluntary Services collection of visual materials (accession # 1993.0214)

• Names
  • American Women's Voluntary Services. Chicago Metropolitan Unit--Archives
  • Lounge for Women Officers (Bismarck Hotel, Chicago, Ill.)
  • United States. Army. Women's Army Corps.
• Subject
  • Civil defense -- Illinois -- Chicago Metropolitan Area -- 20th century
  • Women -- Illinois -- Chicago Metropolitan Area -- Societies and clubs
  • Women soldiers -- Illinois -- Chicago Metropolitan Area -- 20th century
  • Women volunteers in social service -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 20th century
  • World War, 1939-1945 -- Illinois -- Chicago Metropolitan Area.
  • World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, Female
• Geographic CoverageChicago (Ill.) -- Social conditions -- 20th century

The collection is arranged in two series.

Series 1. Organizational Records, ca. 1942-1987 (Box 1-8)

This series contains correspondence, minutes, financial records, scrapbooks, and annual reports of the American Women's Voluntary Services, Chicago Metropolitan Unit (AWVS). It includes correspondence between members of the Chicago Metropolitan Unit of AWVS and allied organizations, 1943-1983; board minutes, 1960-1974; annual reports of the national AWVS, 1945-1969; annual meeting files and other topical files 1944-1976 as well as financial records.

Series 2. Scrapbooks and Ledgers, ca. 1942-1964 (Volumes 1-3)

This series contains two scrapbooks (ca. 1942-1964) of newsclippings, by-laws, and photographs and a visitor log book for the AWVS Lounge for Women Officers during World War II at the Bismarck Hotel, Chicago.