Sociedad de Beneficencia de Buenos Aires
The Sociedad de Beneficencia de Buenos Aires, also known as Sociedad de Damas de Beneficencia, or Sociedad de Beneficencia, was an Argentine charitable organization. The association was created by president Bernardino Rivadavia in 1823. The purpose was to transfer social work from the Catholic church to the association after the Argentine independence.
The first president was the patrician Mercedes de Lasala de Riglos.
The organisation was administered by female Argentine philanthropists from the upper classes.
Among the organisations placed under the supervision of the society were schools for girls, hospitals and orphanages, such as Casa de Niños Expósitos, Hospital Rivadavia and Casa de Huérfanas.
In 1838, the Governor of Buenos Aires Juan Manuel de Rosas suspended state funding for the Sociedad de Beneficencia. The organization was not formally reinstated until after the end of Rosas's reign in 1852. During the second half of the nineteenth century, the Socieded de Beneficencia administered various schools for girls, women's hospitals, mental intsitutions, and penitentiaries. The organization also contributed to charitable causes and relief funds outside of Buenos Aires. The Sociedad de Beneficencia was disbanded during the first presidency of Juan Perón.
