Bell Greve

Class of 1918

(1894-1957)

    Bell Greve, an international pioneer in rehabilitative and reform services, left behind a legacy of compassionate concern for disabled children and adults and zealous advocacy for those whose lives were devastated by war or natural disasters. Following the carnage of World War I, the Red Cross sent Greve to Czechoslovakia to establish child health agencies and to Armenia to lead an orphanage sheltering 2,000 homeless children. During the Great Depression, she headed Cleveland’s Rehabilitative Center, where she initiated a workshop for disabled citizens, the Curative Playroom for disabled children, and the city’s first nursing home for the elderly. Later, she helped establish rehabilitative and relief agencies in Mexico, Greece and the West Indies.