Documents for "Private Organizations":

• AARP a nonprofit, nonpartisan national organization dedicated to "enriching the experience of aging" ; membership is open to people age 50 or older. Founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus as American Association of Retired Persons, AARP now has over 30 million members, enabling it to act as a...

• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), worldwide organization dedicated to the treatment of alcoholics; founded 1935 by two alcoholics, one a New York broker, the other an Ohio physician. They developed a 12-step program that has...

• American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters honorary academy of notable American artists, writers, and composers. The National Institute of Arts and Letters, founded in 1898, served as the parent body for the American Academy of Arts and...

• American Association of Retired Persons see AARP.

• American Bar Association (ABA), voluntary organization of lawyers admitted to the bar of any state. Founded (1878) largely through the efforts of the Connecticut Bar Association, it is devoted to improving the...

• American Geographical Society (AGS), oldest geographical society in the United States, founded 1852 in New York City. Its purpose is to advance the science of geography through discussion and publication. The society maintains...

• American Kennel Club (AKC), national organization in the United States devoted to the advancement and welfare of pure-bred dogs. It is comprised of approximately 500 autonomous clubs. A delegate represents each club in...

• American Legion national association of male and female war veterans, founded (1919) in Paris. Membership is open to veterans of World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The preamble to the...

• American Library Association founded 1876, organization whose purpose is to increase the usefulness of books through the improvement and extension of library services. As the major professional association for librarians and...

• American Medical Association (AMA), professional physicians' organization (founded 1847). Its goals are to protect the interests of American physicians, advance public health, and support the growth of medical science. The AMA...

• American Red Cross see Red Cross.

• Better Business Bureaus (BBBs), agencies devoted to promoting ethical practices on the part of business through voluntary self-regulation. BBBs are supported by businesses in communities throughout the United States. They...

• Boy Scouts organization of boys 11 to 17 years old, founded (1907) in Great Britain by Sir Robert (later Lord) Baden-Powell. It was incorporated in 1910 in the United States, where its appearance was connected with earlier organizations—the Sons of Daniel Boone, organized by Daniel Carter Beard , and the Woodcraft Indians, organized by Ernest Thompson Seton. In the United States, James E. West was chief scout during the organization's early years (1911-43). The movement spread throughout most of the world, with the organization and program basically...

• Boys and Girls Clubs of America federation of more than 1,006 organizations established (1906) in Boston as the Federated Boys' Clubs to help young people, especially those who are disadvantaged. Later called Boys' Clubs of...

• Business Roundtable (BRT), an association consisting of the chief executive officers of major U.S. corporations that was founded in 1972 through the merger of the three preexisting business organizations. The BRT was...

• Camp Fire Boys and Girls American organization for boys and girls from birth to age 21, originally the Camp Fire Girls, for girls 6 to 18 years old. It was founded (1910) by Luther Halsey Gulick (1865-1918) and other educators "to perpetuate the spiritual ideals of the home" and "to stimulate and aid in the formation of habits making for health and character." Boys were invited to join in 1975, and the organization was renamed; boys now comprise 45% of the membership of 667,000 (1999). Camp Fire runs resident camping, child-care, and self-reliance...

• CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere), nonprofit, nonsectarian federation of agencies devoted to channeling relief and self-help materials to needy people in foreign countries...

• Carlton Club British political and social club (founded 1832). Located in London, it was long the center of the Conservative party organization. Since World War II the club has been primarily social.

• chamber of commerce local association of business people organized to promote the welfare of their community, especially its commercial interests. Each chamber of commerce usually has an elected board of directors,...

• Christian Coalition organization founded to advance the agenda of political and social conservatives, mostly comprised of evangelical Protestant Republicans, and to preserve what it deems traditional American values...

• community chest cooperative organization of citizens and social welfare agencies in a city. Also known as a united fund, it has two purposes: to raise funds through an annual campaign for its member agencies and...

• Consumers' Union product testing and rating organization founded (1936) to provide consumers with information and counsel regarding major retail goods and services. Through its monthly Consumer Reports (circulation c.4.5 million) and its Internet site (c.325,000 subscribers), the union reports on a diverse range of products, from major appliances and automobiles to health-care and family-planning...

• Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), a Colonial patriotic society in the United States, open to women having one or more ancestors who aided the cause of the Revolution. The society was organized (1890) at Washington, D.C., and...

• Elks, Benevolent and Protective Order of fraternal and charitable society founded (1868) in New York City. Through the Elks National Foundation, located in Chicago, the group carries on a broad-ranging program of charity and welfare,...

• Four-H clubs or 4-H clubs, organizations for boys and girls from 9 to 19 years of age. The group is part of an educational program designed to improve techniques of agriculture and home economics, promote high ideals of...

• fraternal orders organizations whose members are usually bound by oath and who make extensive use of secret ritual in the conduct of their meetings. Most fraternal orders are limited to members of one sex, although...

• Freemasonry teachings and practices of the secret fraternal order officially known as the Free and Accepted Masons, or Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

• George Junior Republic any of several communities founded by the American philanthropist William Reuben George (1866-1936) for neglected and maladjusted adolescents. The first (1895) was at Freeville, N.Y. The...

• Girl Scouts recreational and service organization founded (1912) in Savannah, Ga., by Mrs. Juliette Gordon Low (1860-1927). It was originally modeled after the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, organizations created in Great Britain by Sir Robert Baden-Powell during the early 20th cent. The membership is divided into five age groups—Daisies (5 to 6), Brownies (6 to 8), Junior Girl Scouts (8 to 11), Cadette Girl Scouts (11 to 14), and Senior Girl Scouts...

• Kiwanis International community service organization of active and retired business and professional people, founded in 1915 at Detroit, Mich. Local Kiwanis clubs now exist in more than 90 countries. Kiwanis clubs...

• Knights Templars see Freemasonry.

• Lions International organization of business and professional people, founded (1917) by Melvin Jones. The International Association of Lions Clubs (popularly known as Lions International) is devoted to meeting...

• Masonic orders see Freemasonry.

• National Institute of Arts and Letters see American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

• National Rifle Association of America (NRA), group founded (1871) to promote shooting, hunting, firearm safety, and wildlife conservation. The NRA has nearly 3 million members. The association sponsors shooting competitions and...

• Rotary International organization of business and professional people, founded (1905) by Paul Percy Harris, a Chicago lawyer. Beginning with one club in Chicago, it spread to other cities, and in 1910 the National...

• scouting see Boy Scouts ; Girl Scouts.

• Turnverein society of a type originated in Prussia by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn. The first hall of such a society was built in 1811 on the Hasenheide athletic grounds, near Berlin. The organization emphasized gymnastic exercises, but it also had important social and patriotic...

• United Service Organizations (USO), organization that supplies social, recreational, welfare, and spiritual facilities to members of the armed services. The associated agencies include the YMCA, the YWCA, the National Catholic...

• United Way of America see community chest.

• USO see United Service Organizations.

• Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), organization created (1899) at Columbus, Ohio, by veterans of the Spanish-American War. It received a charter from Congress in 1936. The organization later admitted veterans who saw action in subsequent wars and U.S. military expeditions. At the close of World War II, the VFW vastly...

• Volunteers of America national nondenominational organization providing a wide variety of human services as part of a Christian ministry of service. Founded (1896) by Ballington and Maud Booth (see Booth , family) after their withdrawal from the Salvation Army, the Volunteers has developed an extensive system of programs for abused and neglected children, youths, the homeless, and others. The group...

• women's clubs groups that offer social, recreational, and cultural activities for adult females. Particularly strong in the United States, they became an important part of American town and village life in the...

• Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Associations (YMHA, YWHA), organizations that promote health, social activities, recreation, acculturation of new Jewish Americans, and Jewish culture among Jews of all ages. The first YMHA was founded in...

• Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), organization having as its objective the development of values and behaviors that are consistent with Christian principles. Despite the retention of the name, membership is not limited to...

• Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), organization whose stated mission is "to empower women and girls and to eliminate racism." The movement is nondenominational. It grew out of the homes for young women and female prayer unions established throughout Great Britain during the mid-19th cent., most notable of which was the...