Eleanor's Accomplishments: The Wiltwyck School For Boys

The Wiltwyck School for Boys was a school that originally opened its doors to African American juvenile delinquents in 1936. The school was located in Esopus, New York on the opposite side of the Hudson River from the Roosevelt's family home. In the beginning, the school had much success treating boys from troubled areas of New York. However, in 1942, there was a lack of funds and the school was in danger of closing.
Later on that year, many remarkable women, on of which was Eleanor Roosevelt, helped reorganize the school and joined the board. Seeing as how Eleanor Roosevelt was a former teacher, she was inspired and moved by the goals that Wiltwyck had for its students and she immediately wanted to help in any which way that she could. Later on that year, the school ended its affiliation with the protestant church and became in interracial treatment center for boys between the ages of eight and twelve.
Because of the fact that a great portion of the schools income came from donations, Roosevelt’s role in making money became that much more important to the survival of the school. She became dedicated to raising money for the school even until her death in 1962. The school managed to stay open for another nineteen years after Roosevelt’s death but it was forced to close its doors because of lack of money.