Office of Communities and Development, 1983

This series documents the activities of United South End Settlement's executive staff, including project and program development, implementation and oversight of internal management systems, fundraising and resource development, external relations, strategic planning, community development, organizational restructuring, facilities management, and arts and cultural programming. Also documented are tenant organization, urban renewal, and United South End Settlements' relationship with the South End / Lower Roxbury neighborhood.

Records include agendas; budgets; grants and contracts; correspondence to and from the executive staff, funders, outside organizations, program directors, and board members; and reports concerning United South End Settlements program planning, fundraising efforts, facilities development, and long range planning. Also included are job descriptions, staff lists, staff meeting minutes, organizational charts, personnel policies, and program progress reports. Located throughout this series are program descriptions, progress reports, and grant proposals and contracts. See Series 4, Development Office and Series 6, Business Office and Public Grants and Contracts, for complete grant and contract information. See Series 5, Programs, for program descriptions.

A. Charles Liddell (0.1 cubic ft.), 1964-1969.

B. Kenneth Brown (1.3 cubic ft.), 1967-1982, includes correspondence to and from the Board of Directors, staff, funders, and outside organizations; budgets; meeting minutes of Local Development of the South End, Inc.; and Boston Settlement Executives meeting minutes.

C. Frieda Garcia (30 cubic ft.), 1961-2005, includes strategic planning reports; meeting minutes, notes, correspondence; and reports from consultants Natalie Ammarell and Lucy Knight. Minutes of United South End Settlements staff and committees, including Program Directors and Coordinators, Core and Management teams, and Strategic Planning; and minutes of the Board of Directors and its committees, including Executive, Strategic Planning, Development, and Program are also included. The Board of Directors and committee minutes were annotated by Frieda Garcia. Board of Directors meeting minutes date from 1980-2000, although not complete. Committee meeting minutes date from 1980-2000. Records also include correspondence to and from Helen Morton and Henry Newell; government officials, including Senators Edward Brooke, Edward Kennedy and John Kerry; funders; the Board of Directors; and program directors. Histories of United South End Settlements and the settlement house movement in Boston; program development and progress reports; and grant awards are also included. Newsletters and program information from local outside organizations, such as Casa Myrna Vasquez, the Helen Morton Family Care Center, Inc., Federated Dorchester Neighborhood Houses, Inc., the Lower Roxbury Tenant's Association, and the Tenant's Development Corporation provide local context. Reports concerning educational, employment, and health concerns of the South End also provide local context. Reports from national organizations such as the United Neighborhood Centers of America and the Neighborhood Youth Forum were providing historical context. Records from the Massachusetts Association of Settlement Houses, which include meeting minutes, brochures, correspondence to and from settlement house directors, and special events, are also included. Newspaper clippings cover the unveiling of the Emancipation sculpture, the dedication of Harriet Tubman Park, programs, events, and the history of United South End Settlements and people involved with it, such as Helen Morton and Allan Crite.

This subseries also documents the organizations and activities Frieda Garcia was involved with outside of United South End Settlements, such as the Boston Foundation, Boston Panel of Agency Executives, the South End / Lower Roxbury Development Corporation, and the Private Industry Council. Records include meeting minutes, correspondence, speeches, and awards presented to her by various organizations, such as the Boston Foundation.

D. Samia Hakim (2 cubic ft.), 1991-2007, includes Board of Directors and Audit, Executive, and Finance committee minutes that were annotations made by Samia Hakim.

E. Robert Thornell (1 cubic ft.), 1976-1986, includes licenses, agreements, program reports, some of which relate to Camp Ponkapoag, and grants and contracts.

F. Kenneth Wade (1 cubic ft.), 1979-1992, includes the documentation of Boston Citywide Land Trust which was started by United South End Settlements in 1986 to develop affordable housing throughout the city and included organizations such as, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, Boston Aging Concerns, Nuestra Communidad, Allston / Brighton and Fenway Community Development Centers, and Jamaica Plane Neighborhood Development Center.

G. Kevin Hepner (4.5 cubic ft.), 1983-2008, Core Team meeting minutes from 1993-2000. These minutes contain information on planning the Family and Children Center, and planning for United South End Settlements in the 21st century.

H. Sandra Furey Gaither (0.2 cubic ft.), 2001-2003, includes the documents relating to the Timothy Smith Center Re-funding.

I. Ashely McCumber (0.2 cubic ft.), 2004-2007

Of interest are records regarding Boston Citywide Land Trust (Box 40), and Natalie Ammarell's consultant records, which provide detailed explanations about program planning, fundraising strategies, and department reorganization (Box 15). Also of interest are the histories of United South End Settlements and the settlement house movement in Boston (Box 36) and Charles Liddell's remarks, "The Fifties-A Decade of Change and Consolidations" for its background information on the Federation of South End Settlements and urban renewal in the South End (Box 6). In addition, the records documenting the planning of the Harriet Tubman Park is of special interest (Box 9). Also of interest are the 1982 minutes of the Long Range Planning Committee, which provide a good background of the conditions of both United South End Settlements and the South End during a pivotal time (Box 18); newspaper clippings relating to United South End Settlement's programs, services, and cultural events (Box 25); and the Massachusetts Association of Settlement Houses files, which provide information on settlement houses throughout the state (Box 35).