HELPING HALIFAX
From the very start, the work was done quietly and effectively. First, the Christian Science Church structure was repaired, and no claim was presented to the city or to their Commission for damages to the church property. Next, those members of the church who had suffered damages to their homes were reimbursed. Then individual cases of great need were investigated and helped. Donations were made to various organizations which were engaged in helping the sufferers: the Y. M. C. A., Community Hall, Protestant Orphans' Home, Halifax Playgrounds Commission, Halifax Welfare Bureau, the Jost Mission under Methodist Auspices, Bureau of Social Service, Y. W. C. A. and the Old Ladies' Home. Braille Christian Science literature was provided for the blind. A number of one-year subscriptions to the Monitor were placed in hotels, the Naval Y. M. C. A., and given to some prominent social workers. Lastly, the Committee, in agreement with the Board of Directors of The Mother Church, established a downtown reading room, in order to reach the public in a more direct way than the former reading room in the church structure could do. Here was a great opportunity to reach soldiers, sailors, and refugees from the devastated region, and the establishment of the reading room could truly aid the situation created by the explosion. As the Committee had gone a long way toward helping along material lines, they felt that now there should be an opportunity to make Christian Science felt locally through its literature and periodicals. The Christian Science Church in Halifax aided in the support of this downtown reading room. The amounts expended by the Committee are given elsewhere.
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