Dorcas society

A Dorcas society is a local group of people, usually based in a church, with a mission of providing clothing to the poor.

[2][3] One Dorcas society was founded in Douglas, Isle of Man, in December 1834 as part of the community's thanksgiving for being spared from an outbreak of cholera.

[8][9][10] One English Dorcas society in Sydenham, London, met during five Tuesdays in Lent, producing 166 garments in one year.

[4] The Dorcas Society at St Paul's Chapel of Trinity Church Parish, New York City, was founded in 1850; another Trinity Chapel, St John's, also had a Dorcas Society; the two provided clothing to school children in the parish.

[12] The Dorcas Society of Maine is still active and provides academic scholarships and charitable contributions within its community.

Edwin Long 's A Dorcas Meeting in the 6th Century (painted 1873–1877) imagines a Dorcas society of Late antiquity .