*3 
 
 Membership Support 
 For a Foreign Post 
 
 How One Association Gains 
 And Holds It 
 
Membership Support For a Foreign 
 Post How One Association 
 Gains and Holds It 
 
 By E. Graham Wilson 
 
 Religious Work Director, West Side Branch, New York City 
 Young Men’s Christian Association 
 
 Foreign Department 
 
 The International Committee of Young Men’s Christian 
 Associations 
 
 124 East Twenty-Eighth St., New York City 
 
SECTION OF WEST SIDE LOBBY EXHIBIT DURING HAVANA WEEK 
 
The West Side Branch of New York City believes in the 
 foreign work of the Young Men’s Christian Association. 
 First, because of the obligation resting upon every organiza- 
 tion bearing the name of Christian to spread abroad Christ’s 
 spirit and His teachings. Second, because of the opportun- 
 ity which the foreign work affords of developing among the 
 membership the spirit of service which is the spirit of Christ. 
 
 While the branch was still young, it became interested in 
 the foreign work. The beginnings were small. The first 
 year $900 was contributed toward the support of M. A. 
 Clark in South America. The next year it was decided that 
 West Side should have its own special representative. Joseph 
 E. Hubbard, Harvard 1 900, then student secretary of Vir- 
 ginia, who was about to begin work in Havana, Cuba, was 
 assigned. With the taking on of the special representative, 
 the budget was increased to $3,600. This amount was 
 given annually for four years, when the withdrawal of a large 
 contributor reduced it to $2,400. 1 he Cuban budget now 
 
 is raised from among the general membership. In addition 
 to this, there are special contributions of $2,000 from a 
 member of the Committee of Management for the work in 
 Madras and of $1,000 from two others for the China work. 
 Thus, the total raised by the West Side Branch for foreign 
 work in the year 1913 amounted to $5,400. 
 
 The raising of the money is in the hands of a committee 
 of fifteen known as the Havana Committee. Every depart- 
 ment of the Association is represented on this committee. In 
 this way the foreign work is made an activity of the entire 
 Association and not the work of any one department. This 
 committee conducted recently its annual foreign work week, 
 including a canvass for funds. 
 
 On the Friday preceding the foreign work week, a com- 
 plimentary dinner was tendered the members who had con- 
 sented to serve on the teams, to acquaint them with the 
 Havana work and the methods of the canvass. A foreign 
 
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secretary was present and spoke. His message sent the men 
 forth with enthusiasm and a determination to win. 
 
 An effort is made to keep the Havana work a live issue 
 the year around. Frequent notes of the work and extracts 
 from letters from our representative appear in West Side Men, 
 the weekly paper of the branch. News-letters are sent to 
 all contributors several times a year. Copies of his annual 
 report are sent to the larger contributors. 
 
 For five or six weeks previous to the canvass, brief articles 
 pertaining to the Havana work appeared in West Side Men. 
 In the issue immediately preceding the week, a full-page 
 article with a half-tone of Mr. Hubbard, our representative, 
 was run, reprints of which were used as campaign literature. 
 
 It was planned so to decorate the lobby of the Associa- 
 tion that no one could pass through without having his atten- 
 tion called to the Havana work. American and Cuban flags 
 were draped at conspicuous points. On the wall over the 
 office hung a large painting of New York and Havana har- 
 bors. As the money was raised a boat made its way from 
 New ’f ork to Havana, advancing one mile for each dollar 
 subscribed. The best piece of publicity was the Havana 
 building which w'as erected in the center of the lobby, with 
 w'ax figures representing Mr. Flubbard and his associates 
 welcoming the young men of Havana. This exhibit afforded 
 a point of contact for the appeal to contribute. 
 
 The Publicity Committee’s duties were to create an 
 atmosphere so that it would be easier to approach men for 
 gifts for the Havana Fund. The effort of this committee was 
 to get men thinking and talking about the Havana work. 
 Where we succeeded it had two effects. First was the one 
 made directly on the man who was thinking of giving. He 
 saw the lobby decorated with Cuban flags and his curiosity 
 was aroused when he saw the scene from Havana, arranged 
 with scenery borrowed from a theater and wax figures 
 borrowed from a department store. He also saw the 
 
 pictures of scenes in Havana. He felt that we were giving 
 
 4 
 
some thought to our work abroad, and, realizing its impor- 
 tance, he could not very well refuse the appeals that were 
 made to him by committeemen. 1 he second value was 
 the encouragement to men who had volunteered to act as 
 solicitors. They, knowing this previous advertising had been 
 done, felt they had the backing of the Association and could 
 approach men much more easily for contributions. 
 
 The foreign work week canvass was started at the Sunday 
 meeting, when a short statement of the foreign work of the 
 Association was made. On Monday morning all the teams 
 started out in earnest. There were eight teams representing 
 the physical, educational, religious, boys, social, business and 
 employment departments, and the dormitory men. The 
 various teams were made responsible for certain amounts 
 based on opportunity for solicitation and success in previous 
 campaigns. Whether the apportionment was reached or not 
 the effect was good and better results were secured than if 
 no definite apportionment had been made. 
 
 One of the things that made for the pleasure and success 
 of the campaign was the competition which developed 
 between several of the teams. One team had held the record 
 for subscriptions for several years. It started off with a rush 
 and within a few days had reached its apportionment. 
 Another team, which in previous years had run a poor third, 
 started off slowly with the secret determination to win out. 
 On the last day of the campaign it had passed the first. 
 When the fact became known the first team got busy again, 
 which in turn stirred the second on. As a result both teams 
 far exceeded their apportionment and, even after the campaign 
 had theoretically closed, they were still at it. 
 
 The teams used various methods. The chairman of one 
 team used three subscription lists. One, which he called the 
 “de luxe,” was for subscriptions of $10 or over, a second for 
 $5 subscriptions, and the third for all subscriptions under $5. 
 The man to be approached was sized up and the proper 
 list presented. In the educational department a letter was 
 
written to each student enrolled in the classes. This was 
 followed by a personal appeal before all classes when sub- 
 scriptions were made. Other teams worked largely in the 
 lobby. As far as possible cash subscriptions were secured. 
 When this was not possible a pledge was taken, made payable 
 within thirty days. About half of the subscriptions were by 
 pledges. 
 
 Each night a report, as accurate as possible, was turned 
 in so that it was known at the close of each day exactly how 
 the campaign stood. In this way the teams that were falling 
 down could be strengthened. 
 
 A special feature was made of the closing of the campaign. 
 At the conclusion of the Saturday Nighter, the announcement 
 was made that the amount had been raised and the boat was 
 about to reach Havana. Passing to the office, several 
 hundred men took hold of a rope which was attached to the 
 boat on the wall. At the signal from the chairman of the 
 committee, amid shouts and cheers, the boat was pulled into 
 Havana Harbor and the campaign was over. 
 
 The spirit of the campaigners and their enthusiasm for the 
 work are revealed in the following statements. The chairman 
 of the business department committee writes: “I am of the 
 opinion that the campaign conducted in this Association for 
 the foreign work is of immense value to the membership and 
 to those of us who participate in the work, chiefly because it 
 gives the secretaries an opportunity to meet a large number of 
 the men, thereby enlarging their circle of acquaintances in the 
 membership. In the second place, it has its value to the 
 members by not only bringing them in touch with the secre- 
 taries but in cultivating the habit of giving for foreign work. 
 Moreover, it has a value in enlarging the vision both of 
 secretaries and members of the task in which they participate. 
 It seems to me that the much lauded personal contact method 
 is worked to the largest possible degree and with very 
 satisfactory results in our campaign here. I am sure that the 
 men in the business department enjoyed the time they spent 
 
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in procuring the funds for this work. It is needless to say 
 here that in the internal workings of the Association a cam- 
 paign of this sort affords large opportunity for the spirit of 
 cooperation among the different departments, which in itself 
 is sufficient cause for undertaking a piece of work of this 
 kind.” 
 
 The work of the dormitory team was so unique and so 
 different from that of the other teams that special mention 
 should be made of it. The dormitories accommodate 308 
 men. To work among these men a special dormitory com- 
 mittee of thirty-seven men was organized, three from each 
 of the twelve floors with a chairman. By this organization 
 the chairman supervised the work through his twelve sub- 
 chairmen. Much enthusiasm was shown by the men. The 
 element of competition between the various floors entered in 
 and helped in the raising of the money. That the committee- 
 men were in earnest is evidenced by the following incident. 
 As one of the secretaries who lived in the dormitory got off 
 the elevator in the wee hours of the morning, one of the doors 
 opened and a fellow rushed out and said, “Well, now, 1 have 
 you at last.” As the secretary straightened up, wondering 
 what he had done, the excited fellow saw his mistake and 
 
 apologized: “I beg your pardon, I thought you were . 
 
 I am after him for Havana and I will get him if I have to 
 stay up all night to do it.” 
 
 The dormitory committee chairman writes: “The appeal 
 was made to the fellows not as a foreign mission enterprise 
 but as a West Side extension movement. Some of the men 
 might have been antagonized by the term foreign missions. 
 But when the proposition was put up to them as an oppor- 
 tunity to help give the fellows in Havana some of the same 
 privileges which they themselves enjoy at West Side, they 
 saw it in a new light. Their interest was secured at once 
 and in the majority of instances their contributions as well.” 
 
 The physical department team won the contest, raising 
 $600 from the men in the gymnasium. “The basis of the 
 
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appeal,” said the physical director, ‘‘was that there are young 
 men down in Cuba who need just the same kind of recreation 
 center that we have here at West Side, and when put up to 
 them in this way they respond generously. To the man who 
 could not quite see the proposition from the above standpoint, 
 the situation was placed before him that it was because some- 
 one was thinking of the New York boy and others were 
 contributing to the support of our Association to place its 
 privileges within the reach of the average man. Someone 
 had to do this for a new Association in a new community 
 where the people were not educated up to the Association 
 standard. Therefore, we appealed to our members because 
 they know from actual use what the Association can do for 
 a young man.” 
 
 The amount needed was raised and money provided in 
 addition for the expenses of the Foreign Work Committee. 
 1 he by-products were as valuable as the product itself. 
 Ninety men were banded together in unselfish service for the 
 promotion of an unselfish work. Eight hundred and fifty- 
 three members were led to give of their means to their fellow 
 men. Better still, hundreds of men, as they passed through 
 the lobby and the various classes of the Association during 
 that week, were reminded of the Christ spirit which regards 
 all men as brothers and love as the greatest thing in the 
 world. 
 
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FOREIGN WORK LITERATURE 
 
 CHRISTIAN PAN-AMERICANISM. By P. A. Conard. Twenty- 
 four pages descriptive of the South American countries — their glory, 
 power and perils, and the operations of the Young Men’s Christian 
 Association against common enemies of character and civilization. 
 Prepaid, per hundred, $3.00; dozen, 50 cents; 5 cents each. 
 
 FIVE YEARS OF PROGRESS. A review of Association work in 
 China and Korea from 1907 to 1912— a stimulating record of ac- 
 complishment. Price prepaid, per hundred, $10.00; dozen copies, 
 $2.00; single copy, 20 cents. 
 
 ANOTHER YEAR’S PROGRESS. Report of the China National 
 Committee tor 1913 — “a year of unexpected opportunities, problems 
 and results.” Price prepaid, per hundred, $10.00; dozen copies, 
 $2.00; single copy, 20 cents. 
 
 MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT FOR A FOREIGN POST-HOW ONE 
 ASSOCIATION GAINS AND HOLDS IT. By E. Graham Wilson. 
 Prepaid, per hundred, $2.00; dozen, 25 cents, single copies gratis. 
 
 SHALL WE SPEND HALF A MILLION? By Arthur Rush. A 
 sixteen-page pamphlet of concise answers to the questions Why, 
 When, Where, How the Foreign Work is done. Prepaid, per hun- 
 dred, $2.00; fifty, $1.00; dozen, 25 cents. Sample free. 
 
 THE SECOND CITY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. By B. R. 
 
 Barber. A fresh twenty-page pamphlet, illustrated, describing 
 Calcutta and the program and achievement of the Young Men’s 
 Christian Association toward meeting the moral and religious 
 needs of its youth and manhood. Prepaid, per hundred, $3.00; 
 dozen, 50 cents; 5 cents each. 
 
 THE MEN OF INDIA AND CEYLON. By E. C. Carter. In a recent 
 revision are marshaled fresh facts concerning the history, develop- 
 ment, present status and opportunity of the Young Men’s Chris- 
 tian Association in India and Ceylon. Prepaid, per hundred, $3.00; 
 dozen, 50 cents; 5 cents each. 
 
 FOREIGN MAIL ANNUAL, 1914. An annual review of the For- 
 eign Work. Prepaid, per hundred, $10.00; dozen, $2.00; 20 cents each. 
 
 FOREIGN MAIL. A bi-monthly periodical of 32 pages, illustrated. 
 Annual subscription 25 cents; in clubs of ten or more 15 cents each. 
 
 Foreign Department, The International Com- 
 mittee 124 East Twenty-Eighth St., New York City