Hilda Weil Stroock was a sponsor of the first Women’s Conference on Jewish Affairs held in 1938 at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. This pioneering event reflected her lifelong interest in the welfare of women and children and the condition of the Jewish community.

Hilda Stroock, a daughter of Max and Gertrude Williamson Weil of New York, was born in 1876. She graduated from Hunter College, an institution in which she continued to take an active interest throughout her life. She married Solomon Marcuse Stroock, a well-known corporation lawyer who was a member of a distinguished family of lawyers and businessmen known for their philanthropic contributions to the general and Jewish communities. They had two children, a daughter Minette and a son Allan.

In the tradition of her husband’s family, Hilda Stroock became a leader in organizational and philanthropic activities. When her family lived in Ossining, New York, she was vice president of the Westchester County Children’s Association. Her special concern for children led her to sponsor a cardiac clinic for youngsters at the Montefiore Hospital, of which she later became a trustee. Prior to that, she was head of the Women’s Auxiliary, a position more typical of women’s volunteer work of the time.

Hilda Stroock was a trailblazer for women volunteers in community service. She served as vice-chair of the New York City Work and Relief Administration, created by Mayor John P. O’Brien in 1933 to administer all relief work in New York City. At its first meeting, the committee drew up a plan to transfer needy persons from home relief to work relief projects. She also served on the board of directors of the State Conference of Social Work, and, in 1931, as chair of the Women’s Division in the emergency appeal of the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies. 

Hilda Stroock died in July 1945, having served as a leader in philanthropic and welfare programs directed to the needs of children in the general and Jewish communities.