MONTREAL — After almost a century of community service, the Montreal section of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada (NCJW) is closing due to a lack of membership and funds.

Its longest-running project, the Boys’ and Girls’ Library on Darlington Avenue in Côte des Neiges, also closes that day.

Past president Lillian Shoub, one of a small core of stalwarts who have tried to keep the organization going, said regretfully that they couldn’t carry on any longer.

There continued to be a paid-up membership, but few were active as volunteers, she said, and no one held the post of president at the end.

The NCJW, which has its national headquarters in Toronto, had its Montreal office in the last couple of years at the library, located in rented premises in an apartment building.

The two staff members, an office manager and a librarian, have lost their jobs. The library’s more than 5,000 books are being distributed to other libraries and organizations, including the Jewish Public Library.

The library was being supported by private donors, as well as a modest grant from the City of Montreal, but with rising costs, the revenue wasn’t enough, Shoub said.

The library was founded more than 70 years ago mainly to serve an immigrant population, and over the decades, it’s continued to be a hub for the various ethnic communities that live in the neighbourhood.

In its heyday, the library offered numerous services, such as tutoring and a haven for “latch-key kids” who would otherwise go to an empty home after school, all for little or no charge.

In recent years, children from the haredi communities have been the largest single group of users, Shoub said, and the library had a large section of books that were approved by those communities.

Founded in Canada in 1897, the NCJW has always worked on a non-sectarian basis, identifying social needs and finding the resources to initiate programs that address them.

In Montreal, the NCJW’s major project of the later 20th century was the founding of Auberge Shalom, a kosher shelter for battered women, unique in the city. That organization is now financially independent of the NCJW and will not be affected by the section’s demise, Shoub said.

A couple of other recent projects, support for autistic children and children living with HIV/AIDS, will continue to be associated with the NCJW name through funds set up at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, to which donations can continue to be made.

At the height of the AIDS crisis, NCJW was in the forefront of providing support and counselling for adults suffering from the disease. Another successful project that ran for years was Centre Yeladim, an after-school program for children of families under stress.

The Montreal section was officially formed in 1918, although there were NCJW activities earlier than that. Over its history, the section was instrumental in the founding of such institutions and programs as the Golden Age Association, Meals on Wheels, a girls’ camp, Block Parents, and a head-start remedial aid for preschoolers.

It raised awareness of elder abuse, drug addiction, women’s health and genetic diseases, working with universities, school boards and hospitals.

“The raison d’etre of council was education, service, advocacy and social action. Our motto ‘Faith and Humanity’ says it all. While we were behind Judaism 100 per cent, we were always open to other cultures and world views,” Shoub said.

“Everything we became involved with was researched thoroughly to make sure it was valid.”

Shoub, who is now in her 70s, joined NCJW not long after she graduated from high school. “I heard about the organization just by chance, that Tony Robinson [then the legendary leader of NCJW] was starting a women’s study group.”

Shoub could not afford at the time to go to university, but was an eager student.

She credits NCJW with giving her the confidence to finally enrol in university when she was in her mid-30s, earning a bachelor’s and then a master’s degree, which led to a career at Collège Marie-Victorin.

The NCJW was a training ground for many women of her generation, giving them the taste for further education or professional advancement.

Onetime president Dorothy Reitman went on to become president of Canadian Jewish Congress. The late Sheila Finestone came up the NCJW ranks and later became a member of Parliament and senator.

“The highlight of being involved with council was their excellent leadership training. We were aligned with universities and received an education far better than university alone,” Shoub said.