Our History

For more than 250 years, St. George’s Society of New York has provided vital assistance for people in need in New York.

Founded on St. George’s Day in 1770, St. George’s Society of New York predates the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War and is the second oldest charitable organization in the city. Our long tradition of good works has been a consistent thread in the ever-changing fabric of New York.

SGSNY was formed as a membership-driven charitable organization with the intent of aiding British settlers and their families as they immigrated to the United States.

Over the years, SGSNY’s assistance has taken a variety of forms:

• A bag of coal or a voucher to a woodpile during the winter months

• Free ship passage on the White Star line back to England when the “American dream” did not work out

• A pawn ticket paid to retrieve a winter coat

• A free hospital bed at St. Luke’s Hospital for the ill

• An employment agency during depressions and periods of economic crisis

• Advice and guidance for British war brides who found themselves in need upon their arrival in the United States

• Burial plots for needy British subjects

Today, St. George’s Society of New York provides support through three core programs:

SGSNY also assists others referred by the British Consulate-General, repatriates persons to the United Kingdom and provides cremation and interment in one of our three cemetery plots.

While our charitable giving has evolved, our purpose has remained the same: to help those in their hour of need. Since our founding, we have aided thousands of people in New York—striving to fulfill our motto: