Syrian Women's Charity Society celebrates 100 years

Syrian Women's Charity Society celebrates 100 years
The Florida Times Union

Posted:January 4, 2011

JOHN PEMBERTON/The Times-Union
Members of the Syrian Women’s Charity Society gather round a table at a covered dish lunch at the Salaam Club on Beach Boulevard at Parental Home Road. The group, which recently marked its 100th anniversary, was formed with a simple mission: to help make a better life in the land of opportunity.

Sylvia Yazgi has fond memories of growing up in Jacksonville and going to “the club” as a young child with her mother, grandmother, aunts and cousins.
“It was just what we did,” said the 61-year-old Yazgi. “It was our everything and a big part of our lives.”

“The club” is the Syrian Women’s Charity Society, where Yazgi is finishing up her two-year term as president. Founded in 1910 in Jacksonville, the club recently celebrated its 100th anniversary with a dinner commemorating a century of service to the community and honoring the women who started it all.

It all began with a simple intention, said Yazgi: to help make a better life in the land of opportunity.

During the early 1900s, the Ottoman Turks controlled Syria and discriminated against Christians in the area. Seeking religious and political freedom, young Christian Syrian families started to immigrate to the U.S. during this time. Yazgi explained that many of those who came to Jacksonville, either because they already had relatives here or because they knew others in the area who could help them settle.

Faced with little or no knowledge of the English language or American culture, these women bonded together to form a sisterhood to help themselves and their families assimilate in American society, and to preserve their rich Syrian heritage.

“They were proud women who embraced their new homeland, but still wanted to hold on to the traditions of their native country,” said Yazgi. “They worked hard to give their families the best of both cultures.”

In the beginning, they would gather in homes to help each other become a little more assimilated and to plan ways to help their families prosper in a new country.

Most of their husbands found work as peddlers or became small business owners, which helped change the role of these traditional Syrian women within their family dynamics.

Instead of mainly raising and tending to children and their husbands’ needs, they took on more active roles as partners with their husbands, often working side by side with them and, at times, managing the family business while their husbands were traveling.

“These were pioneer women in every sense,” said Yazgi. “They left one country that offered them no status in society or chance for education and now were blazing new trails in their new country.”

Eventually, many of these women became naturalized citizens of the United States and were eager to give back to a country that welcomed and offered their families so much opportunity.

One such occasion was in 1915, when they held a “hafli,” an Arabic-themed party, and invited members of the local YWCA to join them.

“It was as much a part of their assimilation into American society as it was the beginning of a legacy that lives on today,” said Yazgi.

She said the successful hafli and the blending of the two cultures reinforced the Syrian women’s role within American society and showed that they had the same work ethic and Christian-based family values as their guests.

Also, it was the impetus that led members to establish their club’s well-known charitable efforts, which continue today.

During World War I and II, the women volunteered to roll bandages, visited sick and injured servicemen, and donated funds from their events to local military bases.

Today, members still carry on the longtime charitable legacy of the club by funding various local and overseas projects. Some of the club’s beneficiaries include: Springfield’s St. Mary’s Episcopal Church’s outreach program, The Boy’s Home, Hope Haven, and many churches and orphanages in their native Syria.

“These remarkable women never turned down a request for their assistance,” said Lorraine Corey, another lifelong member of the SWCS. Corey, who served as president of the club in 2007 and 2008, also remembers attending the club as a child with her mother, grandmother, aunts and cousins. And later, with her mother-in-law and other family members.

“In my family alone, there are four generations of members,” said Corey, whose four daughters (one of whom is State Attorney Angela Corey) and two granddaughters are members. “It’s an understood rite of passage, and an honor to be a part of this club.”

Following in her mother’s footsteps is Susan Corey, who will be sworn-in Thursday as co-president along with Mary Helen Mashour.

“From one generation to the next, we have a long history in this community,” said Susan Corey. “We’re proud of our many accomplishments and look forward to another 100 years of making a difference.”

Although the average age of today’s members is approximately 70, Susan and her co-president hope to recruit more younger members.

“Mary Helen and I are working on some ways in which to include more younger women to the club,” said Susan. “While there are some members in their 30s and 40s, most wait to join after their children are grown or after they retire. We want them to join sooner.”

That would be a blessing, said Yazgi, and one way to help solve the club’s current dilemma.

“Our biggest challenge today is raising enough money to continue funding our charities,” said Yazgi. “Most of our members are elderly and don’t have the stamina to help host these fundraisers. That’s why it’s so important to encourage our younger women to join and help carry on this wonderful tradition.”

A wonderful tradition indeed, added Lorraine Corey.

“The Syrian Women’s Society is an institution that was created with hope and vision,” Corey said. “It’s our responsibility to continue the legacy of our charter members for another 100 years and more.”

The Salaam Club
The 50th Anniversary of the Syrian Women’s Charity Club and the Salaam Club.
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