The idea of the Charity Newsies organization in Columbus began on a blustery day in December 1907. George Baker, Harry Shunk and C.C. Philbrick were having lunch at Billy’s Chophouse when they noticed a newsboy standing on the corner of Broad and High streets selling newspapers in clothing that was inadequate for the cold temperatures.
The men brought the boy into the restaurant and took the boy’s newspapers to sell on the street corner while yelling “it’s all for charity!” The men were able to sell the newspapers rather quickly and they sent the boy home with more money than he had ever brought in selling newspapers on his own.
Soon after, the three friends decided to gather more men to sell The Ohio Sun on the Sunday before Christmas and to donate all the money they made to the poor. The 50 men who participated in selling newspapers that day collected $702.42, and every penny was given to buy clothing, food, coal, and other necessities for needy families. Harry Krumm, the postmaster and organizer of the group, suggested that they become a permanent organization, and soon it was.
Charity Newsies artifacts including a newspaper carrier bag and a 1909 Newsie edition of The Ohio State Journal.
By the next year, The Ohio Sun had closed, which meant the newsies needed a new newspaper to sell for charity. Robert F. Wolfe, the publisher of The Ohio State Journal and The Columbus Dispatch, saw the benefit of the endeavor and he offered up copies of The Ohio State Journal to be sold for the benefit of the charity.
By 1909, the newsies had city leaders and business leaders selling newspapers on every street corner Downtown. A total of 20,000 copies of six special editions of the newspaper were sold that year, gathering nearly $3,000 (over $100,000 today) for the charity in only its third year of operation.
Former Columbus Mayor George J. Karb (left) and Head Librarian John J. Pugh (right) selling newspapers for the Charity Newsies on a Downtown street, circa 1910.
Each subsequent year the newsies added to their membership and raised more money. The organization had opened the Newsie Store at 112 S. High St. by 1919 after collecting $20,000 in donations. The store provided free clothing and groceries to families who patroned the store in December. During the Great Depression, the Newsies raised more than $30,000 a year.
Charles B. Wolfe Jr. was the president of Wolfe Realty Company as well as the president of the Charity Newsies from 1922-1923. He followed in his father’s footsteps as a president of the Newsies organization.
In addition to selling newspapers, the newsies found other innovative ways to collect money for their cause. They introduced a Pep Dinner fundraiser in 1934, an air show from 1934 to 1937, and they sponsored a motorcycle race for 38 years until 1980. When The Ohio State Journal merged with The Columbus Citizen in 1959, The Columbus Citizen-Journal became the publisher of the newsies special edition paper.
Jack Dempsey, famous champion boxer, was the guest speaker at the 1961 Charity Newsies Pep Dinner. The annual dinner is a fun and inspiring evening to help financially support the organization.
Beginning in 1986, the printing of the newsies paper was printed by The Columbus Dispatch after The Columbus Citizen-Journal ceased operations. Some 300 members collected over $177,000 in donations on drive day during the charity season that year thanks to the generosity of The Dispatch printing the annual special edition of the Charity Newsies newspaper.
The headquarters of the Charity Newsies moved from 716 S. High St. to 4300 Indianola Ave. in 1995, where the operation is based today. The charity has expanded its services to aid children in need of clothing year-round instead of just the holidays, but the original mission of the newsies is still very much at the heart of what the organization does. Last year, Charity Newsies and its approximately 600 members served more than 18,000 children in the Columbus area.
A group of Charity Newsies members in 1990 in their familiar white jumpsuits at the intersection of East Broad and 3rd streets in downtown Columbus, looking north.
The Charity Newsies newspaper fundraising drive this year will be held on Saturday, Dec. 14, with newsies stationed at street corners all around Franklin County collecting doantions. You can start saving your bills and change today to share at a corner then, or you can give online to support the work of Charity Newsies at charitynewsies.org.
Delbert Johnson (left to right), mayor of Harrisburg, Ohio; Whitehall Mayor John Bishop and Charity Newsies Drive Chairman Dana Desher Jr. pose with “Charley”, a stuffed bird who was considered a good luck charm for good weather for the nonprofit organization’s annual fund drive in 1976.
Aaron O’Donovan is Special Collections Manager with the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Newsies who help clothe Franklin County children got start in 1907