MS 1153 - Pan-Pacific and Southeast Asia Women’s Association USA, Toledo Chapter
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| Title | MS 1153 - Pan-Pacific and Southeast Asia Women’s Association USA, Toledo Chapter |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The PPSEAWA collection primarily dates from 1961, the founding year of the Toledo Chapter, to 2011. Chapter, National, and International materials including minutes, bylaws, various printed materials, news clippings, correspondence, photographs, and memorabilia comprise the collection. The collection was donated to the Center for Archival Collections on May 19, 2011 by Sharron Vass, President of the PPSEAWA Toledo Chapter, and accepted by Marilyn Levinson. |
| Agency History | The Pan-Pacific and Southeast Asia Women’s Association originally began as the Pan Pacific Women’s Association, a branch of the Pan Pacific Union. The Pan Pacific Union had existed to bring together people within the Pacific Basin to build friendships, mutual understandings, and peaceful, united relationships. In 1924, the idea of having a separate gathering centered on issues important to women began and in 1928 the first conference was held in Honolulu. At the second conference in 1930, the Pan Pacific Women’s Association was officially organized with the purpose to improve relationships, promote peace, and better understandings among the diverse women and people within the Pan-Pacific region. Since the 1st conference in 1928, twenty-three conferences have been held in many different locations including New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Tonga, Thailand, Cook Islands, and the United States. The conference topics have included themes such as: Peace Promotion in the Pan Pacific (1937), Social and Economic Interdependency (1955), Education of Women in a Changing World (1961), Women and the Environment (1975), Family and Health (1984), Ignite the Power of Peace, 2000. Since the formation of the United Nations, the PPSEAWA took an active role in participating as a non-governmental organization and have an active vision of increasing participation in UN affairs. Over the next 50 years, the Toledo Chapter remained a very active chapter. Members were involved in regularly scheduled chapter meetings, community events, workshops, presentations, and fundraising efforts to donate money to causes such as disaster victims, children’s education, and women’s economic independence. Additionally, members participated in PPSEAWA-USAboard and annual meetings, acted as UN delegates, presented to UNESCO, attended the international conferences and much more. The Toledo Chapter celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2007 at Georgio’s Café International in downtown Toledo. The years following the 50th anniversary celebration appeared to be rough ones for the local chapter. The death of five prominent members between 2007 and 2008 greatly impacted the chapter and its members. Activities of the chapter appear to have dwindled between 2007 and 2011 when the collection was donated to the Center for Archival Collections by member Sharron Vaas. |
| Scope and Content | The records of the Pan Pacific and South East Asia Women’s Association (1961 – 2011) document the history of both PPSEAWA as an international organization and as a local Toledo Chapter. The collection consists of materials from the Toledo Chapter, USA Chapter, and International membership. This includes meeting minutes, membership records, correspondence, reports, newsletters, Toledo Chapter yearbooks, international conference books, photographs, artifacts, as well as a variety of subject folders containing information on presentations, workshops, related organizations, and events. The Proceedings are most complete between the years of 1980 and 2008. Chapter minutes include primarily basic reports, election information, and financial records. The USA Board and Annual Meeting minutes are more complete and provide a broader look at the work of the PPSEAWA-USA (including the Toledo Chapter). Membership records within this series are fairly random, but do usefully outline the officers and board of directors for the given years. The Chapter Correspondence is most complete between 1981 and 2008. The correspondence is primarily chapter business related including announcements and chapter updates. Some personal correspondence among chapter members is also included, such as holiday cards or thank-you cards. Much of the collection is comprised of subject files, which range from various workshops or presentations sponsored by the Toledo Chapter to prominent chapter members such as Ella P. Stewart and Mani Chari. The Chapter events and workshops are well accounted for and often include planning documents, brochures, flyers, and in some cases financial documents as well. The files on Ella P. Stewart and Mani Chari consist primarily of news clippings, but both document the close relationship they had with the organization. Additionally included in these subject files are the various organizations that the PPSEAWA Toledo Chapter worked alongside. In some cases, it is clearer what the relationship was, such as in the Dosti and UN files. Whereas in other instances, such as the American Friends Service Committee and Great Lakes Consortium a direct link is unclear, but overlapping visions and missions are understandable. The Toledo Chapter’s annual reports were often comprised by the standing president and relayed a concise description of the year’s events. These reports provide a brief, but illustrative picture of the chapter’s accomplishment for that year. The Literary Productions series and Financial Documents series are both less complete and more random within the collection. The Literary Productions include obituaries, resolutions, music, inspirational writings, and chapter/organization history, while the financial documents include random year’s budgets or financial reports. Most useful within these two series would be the history folder which includes some early history essays that provide a basic outline and timeline of both the PPSEAWA International history, but also the Toledo Chapter early history. The Printed Materials are vast and complete and include USA and International newsletters, Toledo Chapter Yearbooks, and the International Conference books. Combine, this series provides the most detailed perspective of not only the local chapter’s activities, but also the happenings at the national and international level. Many identified and some unidentified photographs as well as artifacts complete the collection and put a face and tangibility to the organization and its fifty year history in Northwest, Ohio. This collection could be beneficial to a researcher interested in local, national, and international women’s organizations. |
| Series Description | PROCEEDINGS MINUTES MEMBERSHIP RECORDS CORRESPONDENCE CHAPTER CORRESPONDENCE SRI LANKA TSUNAMI CORRESPONDENCE SUBJECT FILES CHAPTER EVENTS AND PROGRAMS CONFERENCES ELLA P. STEWART MANI CHARI AND FAMILY ROBIN LINN RELATED ORGANIZATIONS SCHOLARSHIPS REPORTS CHAPTER ANNUAL REPORTS INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENTIAL REPORTS LITERARY PRODUCTIONS OBITUARIES AND RESOLUTIONS MUSIC INSPIRATIONAL WRITINGS CHAPTER/ORGANIZATION HISTORY LEGAL DOCUMENTS BYLAWS FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS PRINTED MATERIAL NEWS CLIPPINGS NEWS CLIPPINGS BLANK STATIONERY NEWSLETTERS PPSEAWA BROCHURES PROGRAMS AND FLYERS VARIOUS BROCHURES AND FLYERS VARIOUS PAMPHLETS AND BOOKLETS HERITAGE AND HISTORY BOOKS RECIPE BOOK FUN FACTS ABOUT THE UN POSTER PROCLAMATIONS CONFERENCE BOOKS YEAR BOOKS PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS POSITIVE PRINTS POSITIVE PRINTS POSITIVE PRINTS POSITIVE PRINTS POSITIVE PRINTS AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDINGS AUDIO CASSETTE AUDIO CASSETTE CD VIDEOTAPE VIDEOTAPE ARTIFACTS PPSEAWA T-SHIRT (x2) WOODEN GAVEL PPSEAWA INTERNATIONAL PIN PPSEAWA USA BANDANA RUBBER BRACELET RUBBER STAMP AND INK PAD PPSEAWA TONGA – WOVEN BAG LEATHER AND CLOTH BAG |
| Inventory | Box 1 Folders
Box 2 Folders
Box 3 Folder
Box 4 Folder
Box 5 Folder
Box 6 Folder
Box 7 Folder
Box 8 Folder
Box 9 Folder
Box 10 Folder
Box 11: Oversized
Box 12 (Artifacts) Oversized
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