| | Abstract: | Bellefaire, a residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed adolescents, is the oldest Jewish social-service agency in Cleveland, Ohio. It was dedicated on July 14, 1868 as the Jewish Orphan Asylum, established to care for Civil War orphans. By 1900, more than 400 orphans lived there. The name was changed to the Jewish Orphan Home (JOH) in 1919, and later to Bellefaire when its facilities moved to the corner of Belvoir and Fairmount Boulevards in 1929. In 1942 the orphanage changed its focus to include residential therapeutic care for emotionally disturbed children. It stopped accepting orphans in 1943. In 1954, Bellefaire opened its admissions to children of all faiths and today provides counseling, substance abuse treatment, foster care, adoption services, and residential treatment. Jack Girick, whose papers are included in this collection, was a resident of the Jewish Orphan Asylum from 1902 to 1912. While a resident, he served as a monitor, assisted the superintendent in conducting Sabbath religious services, and was elected president of the Literary Union and the Athletic Association of the Home. Girick was sent to Central High School, and then to Hebrew Union College to train for the rabbinate. In 1917 he left school and returned to the Jewish Orphan Home, where he became governor of the Home from 1917 to 1922 and then assistant superintendent from 1922 to 1938. He remained active in the Jewish Orphan Home Alumni Association until his death in 1988. The Jewish Orphan Home Alumni Association was established in 1888 to serve and connect the orphans who formerly lived at the Jewish Orphan Home. The Association held Homecomings each year in Cleveland and had several active chapters located throughout the country. "Graduates" of JOH were designated by the year of their confirmation class. The collection consists of bulletins, correspondence, books, membership lists, minutes, magazines, and directories. | |
