Gratz's work with the Female Association
exposed her to the plight of poor widows and orphans in her
community. In 1815, she helped found the Philadelphia
Orphan Society, a private non-sectarian organization that
sheltered and educated poor orphaned children until they
were old enough to be apprenticed to families. Gratz soon
became secretary of the board, a key leadership position that she held for more than 40 years.
Through her work, Gratz gained community respect and admiration,
and became an important figure in her own right. Shortly
after the institution's founding, however, it suffered a
terrible tragedy. In 1822, twenty-three of the 106 children
who were living in the facility were killed in a fire. Gratz
helped raise funds to rebuild a new asylum. As a fundraiser,
she understood that "misfortunes... lose us friends" and
worked hard to restore public faith in the institution and
in the value of women's benevolent work. Gratz's success
was well known, and she and the POA became consultants to
other women who hoped to establish similar asylums. She
commented in 1834, "How
abundantly the good seed spreads when planted."
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