A – Alms Box

As Boston Children’s grew, there was an increasing need for non-acute, long-term convalescent care. Responding to this need the Ladies’ Aid Association established and ran a convalescent home for patients, first in Weston and then Wellesley, beginning in 1874. It was independently run and funded by members of the association until it was brought under the management of Boston Children’s Hospital in 1949. 

The Convalescent Home changed over the years with the needs of patients – in the early 20th century, it was equipped with open-air shacks and then a solarium, believed to be the best treatments for tuberculosis; by the 1950s, it included a nursery school for patients with cerebral palsy and a respirator unit for the treatment of polio paralysis. By 1958, the Convalescent Home no longer served the needs of the hospital and closed. 

The legacy of generosity of the Ladies Aid Association carried through many volunteer and fundraising organizations as the hospital has grown, including, but not limited to, the Welfare Committee, the Women’s Committee, and the Children’s Hospital League. Boston Children’s Hospital Trust, established in 1997, is now the major philanthropic resource of the hospital.