B'nai B'rith

== Community service ==
From its earliest days, a hallmark of the organization's local efforts was service to the communities in which members reside. In 1852, that meant raising money for the first Jewish hospital in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Independent Orders of B'nai B'rith and True Sisters: Pioneers of a New Jewish Identity 1843–1914|pages=131–133|publisher=Wayne State University Press|year=2011|author=Cornelia Wilhelm}}</ref>

With the ageing of the American Jewish population, service to seniors became a major focus with the first of what was to become a network of 36 senior residence buildings in more than 27 communities across the United States and more internationally; this made B'nai B'rith the largest national Jewish sponsor of housing for seniors. The U.S. facilities, built in partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provide housing to more than 6,000 men and women of limited income, age 62 and over, of all races and religions. Residents pay a federally mandated rent based upon income.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bnaibrith.org/prog_serv/sr_housing.cfm |title=Senior Housing, B'nai B'rith International – The Global Voice of the Jewish Community |publisher=Bnaibrith.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518051451/http://www.bnaibrith.org/prog_serv/sr_housing.cfm |archive-date=2011-05-18 }}</ref>

The beginning of the 21st century also saw the senior service program expand and become the Center for Senior Services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bnaibrith.org/centers/senior_services.cfm |title=Center for Senior Services, B'nai B'rith International – The Global Voice of the Jewish Community |publisher=Bnaibrith.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520082627/http://bnaibrith.org/centers/senior_services.cfm |archive-date=2011-05-20 }}</ref>

B'nai B'rith also includes, on its domestic agenda, tolerance issues such as advocating for hate crimes legislation as well as sponsoring a youth writing challenge, Diverse Minds. This annual writing contest asks high school students to create a children's book dedicated to the message of ending intolerance and bigotry. Winners earn college scholarships and the publication and distribution of their books to schools and libraries in their communities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bnaibrith.org/prog_serv/diverse_minds.cfm |title=Diverse Minds Youth Writing Challenge, B'nai B'rith International – The Global Voice of the Jewish Community |publisher=Bnaibrith.org |access-date=2012-07-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725094101/http://bnaibrith.org/prog_serv/diverse_minds.cfm |archive-date=2012-07-25 }}</ref>

B'nai B'rith also sponsors the Enlighten America program, the centerpiece of which is a pledge that individuals can take to refrain from using slang expressions or telling jokes based on race, sexual orientation, gender, nationality or physical or mental challenges that would serve to demean another.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bnaibrith.org/prog_serv/enlighten_america.cfm |title=Enlighten America, B'nai B'rith International – The Global Voice of the Jewish Community |publisher=Bnaibrith.org |access-date=2012-07-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713032720/http://www.bnaibrith.org/prog_serv/enlighten_america.cfm |archive-date=2012-07-13 }}</ref>

B'nai B'rith also produces and distributes "Smarter Kids – Safer Kids," a booklet in both English and Spanish meant to guide parents through discussions with their children about potential dangers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bnaibrith.org/prog_serv/saferkids.cfm |title=Smarter Kids – Safer Kids, B'nai B'rith International – The Global Voice of the Jewish Community |publisher=Bnaibrith.org |access-date=2012-07-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713032725/http://www.bnaibrith.org/prog_serv/saferkids.cfm |archive-date=2012-07-13 }}</ref>

=== Anti-defamation activities ===
The American-based international B'nai B'rith organization founded the [[Anti-Defamation League|Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith]] (ADL) as a response to attacks on Jews in the United States. The announcement of the creation of the ADL mentioned the [[Leo Frank]] lynching in particular.<ref>{{cite book|title=B'nai B'rith and the Challenge of Ethnic Leadership|last=Moore|first=Deborah Dash|publisher=State University of New York Press|year=1981|isbn=978-0-87395-480-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/bnaibrithch00moor/page/108 108]|url=https://archive.org/details/bnaibrithch00moor/page/108}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Jews in American Politics: Essays|author=Jerome A. Chanes|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7425-0181-2|editor1=Louis S|page=105|chapter=Who Does What?|editor2=y Maisel|editor3=Ira N. Forman|editor4=Donald Altschiller|editor5=Charles Walker Bassett}}</ref> The ADL is now an independent organization.

In Australia and New Zealand, the local B'nai B'rith has its own human rights section, called the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC). It is dedicated to eliminating the defamation of Jewish people, combating racism, intolerance, and prejudice. It seeks to secure justice and fair treatment for all citizens.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.antidefamation.com.au/|title=Home|website=Anti Defamation Commission}}</ref>

=== Educational programs and publications ===
Since 1886, B'nai B'rith has published B'nai B'rith Magazine, the oldest continually published Jewish periodical in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bnaibrith.org/magazines |title=B'nai B'rith International – The Global Voice of the Jewish Community |publisher=Bnaibrith.org }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3438-b-nai-b-rith-messenger |title=Periodicals |publisher=JewishEncyclopedia.com }}</ref>

B'nai B'rith also publishes program guides for local Jewish education programs and each year sponsors ''"Unto Every Person There is a Name"''. This program includes community recitations of the names of Holocaust victims, usually on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/remembrance/2011/every_person.asp |title=Fragments of Memory. Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day 2011 |publisher=Yad Vashem |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505022234/http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/remembrance/2011/every_person.asp |archive-date=2011-05-05 }}</ref>

In 1973, the organization converted a former exhibit hall at its Washington, D.C. headquarters into the B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum. The museum featured an extensive collection of Jewish ceremonial objects and art and, for decades featured the 1790 correspondence between George Washington and Moses Seixas, sexton of the [[Touro Synagogue]] in [[Newport, Rhode Island]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm006.html |title=To Bigotry No Sanction (Memory): American Treasures of the Library of Congress |publisher=Loc.gov |date=2010-07-27  |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804080032/http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm006.html |archive-date=2012-08-04 |access-date=2021-07-19}}</ref> Although the organization's move from its own building to rented offices necessitated closing of the museum to public view, select pieces of the collection are still on display at B'nai B'rith's current headquarters and are available for viewing by appointment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bnaibrith.org/prog_serv/museum.cfm |title=B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum and Philip Lax Archive (B'nai B'rith Archives) |publisher=Bnaibrith.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518051019/http://www.bnaibrith.org/prog_serv/museum.cfm |archive-date=2011-05-18 }}</ref>

===Scholarships===
Every year, B'nai B'rith awards the Sally R. Schneider scholarship to a Jewish female graduate student who is studying in a field that will benefit humankind. The scholarship, which is worth $1,000, is named after Sally Schneider, a longtime B'nai B'rith member who was passionate about pro-Israel advocacy and women's education.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bnaibrith.org/5/post/2019/02/bnai-brith-announces-2019-sally-r-schneider-scholarship-for-new-york-city-area-student.html|title=B'nai B'rith Announces 2019 Sally R. Schneider Scholarship for New York City-Area Student|website=B'nai B'rith International|language=en|access-date=2019-08-01}}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Local B'nai B'rith lodges also award scholarships. B'nai B'rith Great Lakes holds an annual golf classic, the proceeds of which fund several college scholarships each year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bnaibrith.org/bnai-brith-great-lakes-scholarship-program.html|title=B'nai B'rith Great Lakes Scholarship Program|website=B'nai B'rith International|language=en|access-date=2019-08-01}}</ref>

=== Philatelic services ===
In affiliation with the [[United States Postal Service]], the B'nai B'rith Philatelic Service was involved in releasing a series of [[first day of issue]] stamps relating to prominent Jewish entrepreneurs, philanthropists, entertainers, and various Jewish organizations throughout the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://digital.cjh.org/view/action/singleViewer.do?dvs=1566593933032~894&locale=en_GB&VIEWER_URL=/view/action/singleViewer.do?&DELIVERY_RULE_ID=6&frameId=1&usePid1=true&usePid2=true |title=B'nai B'rith Philatelic collection 1957–1994 (I-427) |website=[[Center for Jewish History]] |publisher=[[American Jewish Historical Society]], New York, NY, and Boston, MA. |via=Digitool Viewer |access-date=August 24, 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

=== Disaster relief ===
B'nai B'rith has responded to natural and manmade disasters since 1865, when it assisted victims of a cholera epidemic in what was then Palestine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bnaibrith.org/disaster-relief.html |title=B'nai B'rith International – The Global Voice of the Jewish Community |publisher=Bnaibrith.org |access-date=2013-02-15}}</ref> B'nai B'rith later raised funds and distributed them to those affected by the [[Great Chicago Fire of 1871]], the [[1900 Galveston hurricane|Galveston, Texas, flood of 1900]] and the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Disaster Relief |url=https://www.bnaibrith.org/support/disaster_relief.cfm |website=B'nai B'rith International |access-date=2020-04-08 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100519180037/http://bnaibrith.org/support/disaster_relief.cfm |archive-date=2010-05-19 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{cbignore|bot=InternetArchiveBot}}

In recent years, the B'nai B'rith Disaster Relief Fund responded to the 2010 earthquakes in [[2010 Haiti earthquake|Haiti]] and [[2010 Chile earthquake|Chile]],<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.bnaibrith.org/press-releases/bnai-brith-international-provides-disaster-relief-in-haiti |title=B'nai B'rith International Provides Disaster Relief in Haiti |publisher=B'nai B'rith International |date=13 January 2010 |access-date=2020-04-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.bnaibrith.org/press-releases/bnai-brith-international-provides-disaster-relief-in-chile |title=B'nai B'rith International Provides Disaster Relief in Chile |publisher=B'nai B'rith International |date=3 March 2010 |access-date=2020-04-03}}</ref> the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami|2011 Japan tsunami]]<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.bnaibrith.org/press-releases/bnai-brith-opens-disaster-relief-fund-to-aid-japan |title=B'nai B'rith Opens Disaster Relief Fund to Aid Japan |publisher=B'nai B'rith International |date=11 March 2011 |access-date=2020-04-03}}</ref> and the [[Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011|multiple tornadoes and subsequent flooding]] that hit six states in the South and Midwest in 2011.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.bnaibrith.org/press-releases/bnai-brith-extends-disaster-relief-fund-to-aid-victims-of-joplin-mo-tornado-part-of-bnai-briths-us-flood-and-tornado-relief-fund-2011 |title=B'nai B'rith Extends Disaster Relief Fund To Aid Victims Of Joplin, Mo., Tornado; Part of B'nai B'rith's U.S. Flood and Tornado Relief Fund 2011 |publisher=B'nai B'rith International |date=24 May 2011 |access-date=2020-04-03}}</ref> B'nai B'rith also opened a disaster relief fund following [[Mount Carmel forest fire (2010)|the fires]] that raged through [[Mount Carmel]] in northern Israel<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.bnaibrith.org/press-releases/bnai-brith-opens-israel-emergency-fund-to-aid-victims-of-forest-fire |title=B'nai B'rith Opens Israel Emergency Fund to Aid Victims of Forest Fire |publisher=B'nai B'rith International |date=3 December 2010 |access-date=2020-04-03}}</ref> and another fund to help victims of the worst drought to hit East Africa in more than 50 years.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.bnaibrith.org/press-releases/bnai-brith-opens-disaster-relief-fund-to-aid-famine-victims-in-east-africa |title=B'nai B'rith Opens Disaster Relief Fund To Aid Famine Victims In East Africa |publisher=B'nai B'rith International |date=27 July 2011 |access-date=2020-04-03}}</ref>

In Haiti, B'nai B'rith raised $250,000 for shoes, medicine, health supplies and other needs immediately following the [[2010 Haiti earthquake|January 2010 earthquake]] that struck the island nation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bnaibrith.org/--haiti.html |title=B'nai B'rith International – The Global Voice of the Jewish Community |publisher=Bnaibrith.org |access-date=2013-02-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303132649/http://www.bnaibrith.org/--haiti.html |archive-date=2013-03-03 }}</ref>

Following [[Hurricane Sandy]] in 2012, B'nai B'rith's Young Professional Network in New York immediately began assisting in the cleanup. Members descended upon the Rockaways, and over several days helped remove debris and sand from buildings, extract moldy drywall and insulation, and remove water damaged furniture and appliances from homes. B'nai B'rith has also organised several fundraisers for future rebuilding projects.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bnaibrith.org/5/post/2012/10/bnai-brith-international-opens-disaster-relief-fund-to-aid-victims-of-massive-hurricane-sandy.html |title=B'nai B'rith International – The Global Voice of the Jewish Community |publisher=Bnaibrith.org |access-date=2012-10-30}}</ref>

Working with IsraAid, a Zionist humanitarian organization which brings together Israeli and Jewish organizations to form coordinated responses in the wake of humanitarian crises, the B'nai B'rith Disaster Relief Fund allocated funds to survivors of the [[2018 flooding in Japan]].<ref name="Worldwide Disaster Relief">{{cite web |url=https://www.bnaibrith.org/worldwide-disaster-relief.html |title=Worldwide Disaster Relief |website=B'nai B'rith International |language=en |access-date=2019-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801175116/https://www.bnaibrith.org/worldwide-disaster-relief.html |archive-date=2019-08-01 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The B'nai B'rith Disaster Relief Fund also helped after two US disasters, one in California and the other in Hawaii, in 2018. Wildfires struck communities [[2018 California wildfires|in Southern California]], and B'nai B'rith contributed to the disaster recovery by assisting with the costs of food, utility bills and medical supplies for the Idyllwild HELP Center. Normally, the HELP Center is a charity and thrift store that helps needy individuals and families with the costs of food, utilities, housing and other basic needs. In the aftermath of the wildfires, the center helped fire victims.<ref name="Worldwide Disaster Relief"/>

In May 2019, the B'nai B'rith Center for Senior Services (CSS) held its annual B'nai B'rith Managers and Service Coordinators Training meeting in Puerto Rico, which is still recovering from damage caused by 2017's [[Hurricane Maria]]. In choosing to hold the meeting in Puerto Rico, the CSS team wanted to contribute to both Puerto Rico's short-term recovery, by volunteering for a day of service with local non-profit organizations during their trip, and its long-term economic recovery, by bringing business to the island.<ref name="Worldwide Disaster Relief"/>