Feminism and Voluntary Action : Eglantyne Jebb and Save the Children, 1876–1928

"Eglantyne Jebb was a teacher, social investigator and founder of the Save the Children Fund. Her "Declaration of the Rights of the Child," adopted by League of Nations, shows evolution from Charity Organization Society model to philosophy of international mutual responsibility, childrens rights and humanitarianism"--Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-xii Prologue: No Silk-Blouse Social Worker....Pages 1-12 The Lady Bountiful and the Country Squire: Lessons in Life, Love and Woodcarving....Pages 13-33 Raising Rebel Daughters: Lessons for Lives of Social Action....Pages 34-55 Educating Eglantyne: The Young Lady of Lady Margaret Hall....Pages 56-72 Ribbons and Trumpets: Toils and Troubles at Teachers College....Pages 73-87 ‘Hewing out my Future in Defiance to my Friends’: The Life and Times of a Gentlewoman School Mistress....Pages 88-104 Matchmaking Matrons and the Misread Maidens of the Cambridge Charity Organization Society....Pages 105-120 Honour thy Mother: Duty vs ‘Free Unsheltered Life Fraught with Pitfalls and Danger’....Pages 121-141 The Sisters and Social Action....Pages 142-165 ‘A Perfect Jungle of Intrigues, Suspicion and Hypocrisies’: The Early Save the Children Fund in Time of Crisis....Pages 166-184 ‘Internationalization’ of Charity in Peacetime: Declaring the Rights of the Child....Pages 185-205 Epilogue: The Legacy of a Rebel Daughter and Early Save the Children Women....Pages 206-216 Back Matter....Pages 217-291 Eglantyne Jebb, like half a million other women, was drawn into what was called philanthropy, charity work or slumming. A grammar school teacher, publicist and fundraiser for Macedonian Relief Fund, Agricultural Organization Society, Fight the Famine Council and co-founder of Save the Children, Jebb led a group of feminists and pacifists to collaborate on the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Women born late in Victoria's reign were beneficiaries of expanded educational opportunities; however, legal and social conventions stifled many ambitions. Charity work represented a chance for adventure and rebellion, but it was also thankless work that could be physically and morally exhausting. Feminism and Voluntary Action uses Jebb's life as a lens through which to view the role volunteering played in women's lives before and after WWI. By ousting the Lady Bountiful, and promising to give aid to children regardless of race or creed, Jebb created the first international child welfare charity and brought a professional ethos to unpaid social work