Douglas County Community Improvement Association records
Overview
The Douglas County Community Improvement Association, popularly known as Penn House due to its location in Lawrence, Kansas, is concerned with developing resources for low-income families. This collection of organizational records includes correspondence, board meeting minutes, financial records, information about service activities, and other office files from the organization's founding in 1969 through its operation into the 1990s.
Dates
- Creation: 1969, 1971-1976, 1984-1990
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions.
Certain records have been designated confidential by the Executive Board of Penn House and are only open to researchers with the written permission of the Penn House Executive Board. Contact staff at ksrlref@ku.edu or (785) 864-4334 for assistance if wishing to access these materials.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
History of Penn House
Douglas County Community Improvement Association was founded in 1969, its initial operations funded through grants. The association first focused its operations solely on welfare recipients, but within a year the membership voted to expand to include any and all low-income families wishing to participate in the association's activities.
Known as Penn House because of its location on Pennsylvania Street in Lawrence, Kansas, the association's programs and projects in the early years included providing emergy food and other goods (including clothing, bedding, and small household items); providing emergency medical funds to cover costs of routine medical items that were not covered through welfare; hosting Speakers Bureau presentations; providing counseling and referral services to other social agencies; transportation services; and other programs to assist low-income families become more secure and independent.
In 2005 Penn House's board of directors voted to merge with the Ballard Community Center, which provides affordable, high-quality early education programs and services for essential basic life assistance to low-income families and individuals in need.
Extent
11 Linear Feet (23 boxes + 1 volume, 1 oversize folder)
Language of Materials
English
Physical Location
RH MS 156
Physical Location
RH MS 1037
Physical Location
RH MS R12
Physical Location
RH MS B39
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Deposit, Douglas County Community Improvement Association, 1974, 1975, 1976.
Subject
- Kansas. Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (Organization)
- Kansas. Council on Developmental Disabilities (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Douglas County Community Improvement Association Collection
- Subtitle
- Douglas County Community Improvement Association records
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by lgg, 1974, js, 1976. Finding aid encoded by skt, 2006. Finding aid revised by mt, 2007; cl, 2010; mwh, 2017; mah, 2021.
- Date
- 2006
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English.
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/4539249171
- Preferred citation
-
Douglas County Community Improvement Association records, Kansas Collection, RH MS 156, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository