United China Relief pin made by Accessocraft N.Y. The pin on the back is almost too short; it is barely long enough to fit in the clasp. Some wear to the paint.
China, with its recurring famines, has long been the object of charitable and humanitarian aid. The Sino-Japanese War which broke out in 1937 added to the flood of refugees, and sick, wounded, and destitute persons. Throughout the war years, many committees were formed in America for the purpose of raising funds to aid the Chinese people. In order to make the raising of funds more efficient by reducing duplication of effort, several committees joined together in 1941 to found United China Relief which was chartered in the State of New York, with its headquarters in New York City. Among the founding organizations were the American Bureau for Medical Aid to China, the Associated Boards for Christian Colleges in China, the China Emergency Relief Committee, the Church Committee for China Relief, and the China Aid Council. The main function of United China Relief was to provide funds for the relief and rehabilitation of the Chinese people. Ancillary goals were to serve as a medium for informing Americans on events and conditions in China, and to help to reassure the Chinese people of continued American concern and friendship. In practical terms, the mission of United China Relief was to raise money for distribution to the various committees which had joined together in founding it. The founding committees retained their own individual identities and continued their own relief missions in China. The organization sent aid workers to China and aimed to raise $5,000,000 to help the Chinese affected by the war. Almost half of the funds would go directly to medical aid while the rest would be divided into quality of life improvements like training new leaders and taking care of war orphaned children.
