During the war, Wald spent her
time shuttling back and forth between New York and
Washington. In New York, Wald volunteered Henry Street
as the headquarters for wartime Red Cross and Food
Council drives and spearheaded the NYC arm of the
Children's Bureau Baby Saving Campaign. In Washington,
Wald served as chair of the Committee on Home Nursing
for the Council of National Defense. The Spanish
influenza epidemic outbreak of 1918, however, captured
Wald's undivided attention. Flying home to NYC, Wald
recruited and rallied support for treatment centers
that she established throughout the city.
“A form for a handbill was
drawn up, and given to the printer in a small shop
in the neighborhood of Henry Street. He worked all
night to print these. In the morning, dignified and
discerning women stood on the steps at Altman's and
Tiffany's Fifth Avenue shops and accosted passers-by.
Before the day was half spent, hundreds of men and
women came to the office to volunteer their services.
At headquarters we were quick in sizing up, accepting,
and assigning to their posts those who seemed
competent.”
Wald and other nurses
noted how the epidemic demonstrated the desperate
need for trained nurses.
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