Today marks the beginning of the second century of the Travelers Aid network. On April 26, 1917, more than 165 Travelers Aid Societies from the U.S. and Canada gathered in New York to form the National Travelers Aid Society to provide a better, more effective way to help stranded travelers. Travelers Aid International is the present-day successor to the National Travelers Aid Society.
Just as our original Travelers Aid aides, dating back to St. Louis in 1851, were primarily volunteers, we continue to be a network where volunteers are willing to give their time to help others. Today, we have more than 2,200 volunteers at our 44 members and service locations.
To each of our volunteers we say, “We could not have provided 100 years of service without your dedication and we are forever grateful to our current volunteers and the many thousands who served before you.”
And while our volunteers have been the face of the network, the nearly 500 employees of our member agencies keep the network moving forward. Thank you for your day-in-and-day-out service and dedication to our clients and our volunteers.
We will mark the 100th Anniversary with a celebratory luncheon at our Annual Conference on June 6 in Atlanta. If you have special memories of Travelers Aid that you would like to share, please write to celebrate@travelersaid.org