The History of Easter Seals

In the early 1900’s, there was no hospital in the town of Elyria, Ohio. This lack of medical care left a gaping hole of need in the community. It also left a hole in a man’s heart. In 1907, a businessman by the name of Edgar Allen lived with his family in Elyria. One unfortunate day, Allen’s son Homer was seriously injured in an accident involving a street car. (In fact, seventy-nine other people were injured, and nine were killed in the accident.) Because there was no hospital close by to take him to, the younger Allen died as a result from his injuries. (Homer had been scheduled to graduate from high school in a few days.) His father was devastated. But he wasn’t beaten. The incident involving his son led Edgar Allen to sell his business. He then ambitiously started a fund-raising crusade. The money that was raised built a hospital in Elyria.

In building the Elyria Memorial Hospital, which opened in 1908, Allen learned that the two hundred children in Lorain County who were physically disabled were generally just kept out of sight. The only care they received was whatever could be done for them at home. This discovery spurred the man to found the “National Society for Crippled Children” in 1919.

As another fund-raising crusade to raise money, the society developed “Easter Seals” in the spring of 1934. The seals, which resembled postage stamps, were associated with “bringing a new life to the disabled.” That’s why they were called “Easter Seals”, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The seals were sold to raise money. The contributors then placed the seals on envelopes to show they supported the National Society for Crippled Children.

In 1952, the lily flower, which is a symbol of spring, was officially adopted as the new logo for the (now) National Easter Seal Society.

The National Easter Seal Society has expanded its helping hands over the past many years. It started the “first national voluntary agency to speak and act on behalf of children with disabilities in the 1920s.” It also has expanded its focus on not just children, but disabled adults as well.

Today, The National Easter Seal Society aids the “one in every five” Americans who suffer from physical disabilities. The organization helps each person find a wider level of freedom for themselves. There are more than four hundred services available to qualified persons. These services include physical rehabilitation and training so disabled persons can become gainfully employed.

The society was instrumental in the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. This act disallows discrimination against any person who has a mental or physical disability.

More than one million disabled children and adults are aided by the society every calendar year. Easter Seals is financed by private donors, federal agencies, fee-for-service, and by contributions.

From Edgar Allen’s tragic loss of his son Homer in 1907, to what Easter Seals has become today, the man truly lived what he believed: “We live but one life; we get nothing out of that life except by putting something into it. To relieve suffering, to help the unfortunate, to do kind acts and deeds is, after all, the one sure way to secure happiness or to achieve real success.” – -Edgar Allen in 1914.