Scope and Content Note
The records of the American Friends Service Committee span the years 1933-1988, but are concentrated in the period 1933-1938 and consist of correspondence, an article, a diary/journal, photographs, and related documentation. The most significant item is a typescript diary with appended reports written by Herbert and Jo Abraham from daily records kept by their nine-member team of Home Service section volunteer workers serving a mining community in Letcher County, Kentucky, from June to August 1933. The American Friends Service Committee, organized by the Quakers, promotes peace and reconciliation and the relief of human suffering through its social service and relief programs. In 1933, the organization targeted rural coal mining districts as areas of special concern. The diary details the efforts of these Home Service volunteers to improve social conditions in Hemphill, Kentucky.