Oberlin Community Services Council Records

The Oberlin Community Services Council (OCSC) was formed in 1977 by the merger of the Oberlin Community Welfare Council and the Oberlin Health Commission. The Welfare Council was founded in 1955 by a group of Oberlin Citizens in order to provide information and referral services to the community, to improve welfare service in Oberlin by coordinating the activities of various welfare agencies, and to study and attempt to meet social needs. The Oberlin Health Commission was established in 1958 by four local doctors in an effort to coordinate the health services of social welfare agencies operating in the area, to act as a public information service on health matters, and to meet the needs of senior citizens by creating a special program of health care and recreation. The two organizations shared office space and secretarial support at the Oberlin Community Center, and both received funds from the United Way. Because of the shared interests of the two groups and the tendency for their activities to overlap, they merged in 1977 to form the Oberlin Community Services Council, an umbrella organization for social services in Oberlin. The Services Council continued and streamlined the programs of its predecessor organizations. The stated purposes of OCSC are:

1. To serve as an information and referral center on health and welfare services;

2. To foster cooperation between human services organizations;

3. To assess the health and welfare needs of the Oberlin community and to develop programs and provide services for unmet needs where possible;

4. To provide emergency and supplementary health and welfare services; and

5. To provide other human services, such as transportation and recreation to senior citizens.

OCSC receives funding from a variety of sources, including the United Way, the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Salvation Army, and the City of Oberlin. The Oberlin Community Center continues to provide housing for OCSC and the two combined their United way budgets in 1983, although a formal merger of the two groups never actually occurred.

A board of nine to eleven directors, elected at the annual meeting to staggered three-year terms, oversees the management and administration of the Council. Chairpersons of standing committees are also represented on the Council with voice but no vote. The Board of Directors elects officers annually, including a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Presidents of the Oberlin Community Services Council

1977 Jeanne Doneghy (through October)

James Helm (interim) 1978 Dorothy Holbrook

1979-1980 Amy McIlroy, Betty Thomas

1981 Francine Toss

1982-1983 Robert Dixon

1984 Betty Thomas, Betty Spurlock

1985 Betty Spurlock, Kay Witbeck

1986 Margaret Papworth, Nancy Gray

1987 Margaret Papworth

1988-1990 Margaret Papworth, Robert Dixon

1991 Rev. D. Darrell Woomer

1993 Elaine Orr

1996 Jean Peacock

1997 Sue Simonson

2000 Deborah Cocco

Sources Consulted: Oberlin Community Services Council case file