This is an organization that strives to help the needs of the Lebanese and Syrian Arabic Speaking Communities in Boston and abroad. Their mission is to preserve and protect their heritage and to see that no one of their fellow Lebanese or Syrian brethren is ever without their basic needs.

The Society for Relief of Syria and Lebanon (also known as the Syrian Mt. Lebanon Ladies Relief Society) was founded in 1917 by a group of 27 women.

Following the Armistice, the members turned their attention to the needs of the Syrian and Lebanese in Boston and throughout Massachusetts. Officially incorporated as the Syrian Ladies’ Aid Society of Boston in 1920, the Society distributed coal, food, and cash stipends to needy families; accompanied new immigrants to doctor appointments and court appearances; and made arrangements for the care of the elderly and the sick.

In 1929 the Society purchased a townhouse at 44 West Newton Street in Boston to use as a meeting house and central gathering place for the Arabic community, notably, it was used for the wake service before the funeral of Gibran Khalil Gibran in 1933 and the site of many weddings and family celebrations.

In 1962 the Society changed its name to the Lebanese Syrian Ladies’ Aid Society, and in 1964 the Society sold its meeting house and relocated to West Roxbury, Massschusetts. Surviving mostly in name today, the Society continues to provide aid to the community and strives to keep the Arabic culture alive in America.