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Epstein Memorial Gift

Donald Epstein, a longtime Pittsburgh resident, recently provided an endowment for the Library through the Foundation. The gift, in memory of his sister, Dorothy Epstein, will provide an annual lecture or books for the library related to the causes she championed during her lifetime.

Activist Dorothy Epstein was born in 1913 in New York City to immigrant parents who set an example for her in their constant efforts to bring fairness and justice to people in the workplace and in their own neighborhood. With this as her primary influence, Dorothy grew into a fighter for causes she believed in and became the first woman to hold many of the positions she achieved.

 As a resident of the city, Dorothy took advantage of a free college education at Hunter College, graduating in 1933 with honors. She showed her gratitude for that privilege throughout her life by creating Hunter’s first endowed chair in Latin American History and being an active and loyal contributor to its programs and scholarship projects. At Hunter, she developed a strong social consciousness and a particular concern for working class people who, she felt, were underrepresented and exploited.

She entered the workforce in the midst of the Great Depression, where she went to work for the New York Emergency Relief Bureau as a social worker for $27.50 per week. Not long after, she found herself involved in organizing co-workers into a new union, the Association of Workers in Public Relief Agencies. The union was the predecessor of today’s gigantic American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. She organized the first sit down strike at the Department of Welfare when their jobs were in jeopardy, , for Russian War Relief and the American Labor Party.  She was a staunch admirer of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and participated in marches, demonstrations and picket lines which helped to persuade the president and Congress to enact the Social Security Act.

In 1942 she became the first woman president of the New York state division of State, County, and Municipal Workers of America. During that time she was also an anti-nuclear activist.

In 1972, Mrs. Epstein helped form a natural vitamin manufacturing business in New Jersey. She served the company, Synergy Plus, as the first female president of a vitamin production company when leading scientists were discovering the important role that vitamins play in people’s lives. This experience engendered her life-long advocacy for health and nutrition programs.

Retirement at age 76 only gave her more time to devote herself to causes for social justice and workers’ rights. At the age of 80, she founded the Institute for Senior Action, a program which trains seniors to advocate for their needs.

Among her many honors was a “Senior of Distinction” award from New York Governor Mario Cuomo.

At her death at age 92 in 2006, she was described as a woman who “fought for just causes and fought against obvious and oppressive wrongs as they presented themselves. Her spirit is bold, impressive and inspiring.”

Urged by her many friends and admirers to write her life story, she published her memoir, A Song of Social Significance, shortly before her death. The book can be found in the collection of Northland Public Library.

 

Northland Library TUTOR goes live at Northland Public Library with support from NPLF!

Northland Library TUTOR is a subscription from Tutor.com, for an online tutoring service that allows students of all ages, from kindergarten through adult, to connect directly and immediately with an expert for one-on-one help in math, science, english and social studies. Adults can use it as well for help in writing resumes and writing projects. It is available daily from 2 pm - 9 pm at the Library, or remotely from any internet-enabled computer for residents of McCandless, Ross, Marshall, Franklin Park, and Bradfordwoods, who hold a NPL library card.

To access this service go to the library homepage (www.northlandlibrary.com), click onto the Live Homework Help portal, and use your library card for authorization.

Students then indicate their grade level and the subject they need help with. Adults select "Adult Learner." They are quickly connected with the best available tutor, where they can chat using text messaging, solve problems using an interactive whiteboard. Students can print their sessions to share with parents and teachers. Both adults and children can upload documents they need help with. All tutors in this program are certified teachers, college professors or professional tutors who pass a rigorous training program and background check.

Tutor.com is used in more 700 public library sites and more than 3,000 academic and special library sites, reaching more than 80,000 students every month. In the first five months it has been available, the program has been used by 1,800 Northland cardholders, and the comments indicate that users are very pleased with the help received.

The program is funded for 2008-09 thanks to a grant from the Praxair Foundation, from the "Food for Thought" fundraising program with Magoo's Restaurant, and from donors to Northland Public Library Foundation. In order to continue funding for the program in 2010, the Foundation is seeking donors and sponsors to raise an additional $16,000.

The Dorothy Epstein Lecture Series will continue in October and will focus on the First Amendment.