The records of the International Neighbors document the activities, services, and organization of the International Neighbors. It is significant for showing the development of a community organization to satisfy needs of foreign women in Ann Arbor and for revealing social interactions among American and foreign women. The record group is organized into three series: Administrative Files, Activities, and Publications.
International Neighbors is an independent organization of women in Ann Arbor, Michigan that extends friendship and assistance to women from other countries during their temporary residence in Ann Arbor. In 1958, Esther Dunham approached Kathleen Mead, then Administrative Assistant of the University of Michigan's International Center, for ideas about helping foreign wives of faculty and students of the University of Michigan. Between 1958 and 1960, they coordinated informal, monthly gatherings of neighborhood groups for tea and English conversation. In 1960, as the participation in neighborhood groups expanded, the organization formally adopted by-laws and elected an executive board. Immediate goals were to create a loan center for baby equipment and household items, introduce new foreign wives to the organization, mobilize more Ann Arbor hostesses, and provide booklets about living in Ann Arbor. In 1963, International Neighbors was incorporated as a non-profit charitable organization.
From its beginning in 1958, the organization has provided activities and services to meet the needs of foreign women, particularly those who are wives and mothers concerned with housekeeping and family life. There are two classifications of participants: Participant-Guests and Participant-Hostesses. Any woman may volunteer to be a hostess. Guests include the wives, mothers, or sisters of foreign students, visiting faculty, staff, researchers, or visiting scholars of the university, or other foreigners not affiliated with the university.
Neighborhood Tea Groups are the main activities of the organization. Guests meet in a hostess's home monthly for conversation, refreshment, and companionship. Participation has included more than four hundred hostesses and six hundred guests. International Day is a monthly morning program for hostesses and guests in which various nationalities are given the opportunity to share cultures and learn about American life. The organization also has continued to provide English Conversation Groups for women who wish to learn and improve their English with the assistance of a volunteer teacher. Discussion groups are offered for fluent English-speakers around various topics of interest, such as about books or cooking. International Neighbors also coordinates an exchange for women who need to borrow household items, such as cooking utensils or sewing machines. There is also a special services division that helps women with prenatal care, enrollment of children in school, provision of winter clothing, and other difficult needs.
