Contribute One Day's Income to Orphanages, 1916

“Appeal to State for Orphans Aid,” from The Commonwealth, Scotland Neck, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 28, 1916

Every Man, Woman and Child Expected to Take a Part…Give Plan Wide Publicity…”One Day for the Orphans” Movement Expected to be Great Success.

The North Carolina Orphan Association is calling upon every man, woman and child in the state to contribute on or near Thanksgiving Day one day’s income to the orphanage of his or her choice. The publicity committee composed of M.L. Shipman, James R. Young, and Hight C. Moore is making an earnest appeal for orphan aid in this way. A letter has been issued by the commission reading as follows:

The North Carolina Orphan Association again calls upon every man, woman and child in the State to contribute on or near Thanksgiving Day at least one day’s income to the orphanage of his or her choice.

A year ago this appeal was issued for the first time. The response was gratifying, not only because of the unprecedented gifts made to the various orphanages, but also because it revealed the tender and practical sympathy which our people feel toward the thousands of fatherless children.

In order that more adequate equipment and support may be provided, the “One Day for the Orphans” Movement was started calling upon all our people to add to the stream of regular contributions a special Thanksgiving offering equal to a day’s income. This is a reasonable request, for any one can share with the orphans the earnings of one day out of 365. It is practicable, for rich and poor alike can participate in it. It enlists our people of all creeds and classes in beautiful co-operation for the support of a needed civic and Christian philanthropy.

We, therefore, make our appeal to—

The prince of business to give out of his abundance the actual or estimated income of a day.

The landlord or money lender to give one day’s rent of his houses and lands, or one day’s interest on his money.

The professional man to give one day’s earnings, specifying the day or taking the average day.

The salaried worker to give his or her salary for a day.

The laborer with only pick-up jobs to devote some special day to this cause.

The good housewife with her ingenuity and devotion to set apart the work of a day.

The boys and girls with no regular income to get a job after school hours or on some Saturday and give the proceeds to the orphans.

In short, everybody, old and young, rich and poor, learned and illiterate, to join in this holy movement and thus to “visit the fatherless in their affliction.”

To this end we call upon the editors of our papers, daily and weekly, secular and religious, to give the widest possible publicity to this movement which is philanthropic in purpose and statewide in extent; we call upon all church leaders of all denominations, including pastors, Sunday school superintendents, women’s workers, and others of influence to urge in their respective congregations the giving of a day’s income to their respective orphanage; we call upon the officers of the various orders to bring this movement to the attention of each man in their membership and enlist him in this extra offering; we call upon teachers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, manufacturers and all others with local following and influence to induce their friends to unite with them in giving at next Thanksgiving a day’s work or wages to the needy orphans of North Carolina.

Here, then, is our appeal: Make it, if you will, with the prayer that our orphan children may be led into the larger life here and the life eternal hereafter. And may this concerted philanthropy for the fatherless help toward making next Thanksgiving Day the gladdest and best ever observed in North Carolina.