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This subseries documents Schenectady County's Human Rights Committee and its day-to-day activities, as well as learning materials developed by the group for the community. The subseries contains agendas, annual reports, minutes, news clippings, magazines, pamphlets and booklets. It features materials on the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration, the March 19th Coalition and information on other coalitions that combated racism. Included in this subseries are the 1972 Mont Pleasant High School hearings, during which Helen Quirini questioned students at her alma mater about escalating racial tension.

Helen Quirini joined the Schenectady YWCA in 1943 and later became one of its strongest advocates. She went on to serve on the board of directors and was elected president in 1979. This subseries contains materials illustrating the YWCA's day-to-day activities and its contributions to the community. The subseries consists of agendas, minutes, newsletters, magazines and flyers. It also features pamphlets on domestic violence, racism, feminism and equality as well as information on the YWCA-run battered women's shelter in Schenectady.

Despite not having children of her own, Helen Quirini was very involved in Schenectady County day care. She originally represented labor on the Child Care Coordinating Council during World War II. She chaired the Schenectady County Child Care Council and was also a board member of the New York State Child Care Coordinating Council. She worked directly with day care centers such as the Christ Church Day Care center and the Refreshing Springs Day Care where she was an administrator alongside her longtime friend Reverend Georgetta Dix, who founded and ran the center.

The materials in this subseries concern housing, energy and development in Schenectady County. Some materials were gathered by Helen Quirini in response to development plans by the Metroplex Development Authority in Schenectady County, Industrial Development Agencies (IDA) and Schenectady Economic Development Corporation (SEDC). Metroplex was created in 1998 to coordinate economic development activities. Several of Metroplex's proposals met with resistance from the public, including the proposal to tear down the Gazette Building on State and Broadway and replace it with a new Department of Transportation office building. Quirini, with others from Preserve Schenectady's Future, filed a lawsuit to save the Gazette Building. Citizens for Preservation and Revitalization (CPR) and the March 19th Coalition were organizations formed in opposition to Metroplex and its proposals. In 2002, the Glenville Energy Park was proposed and Citizens Advocating Responsible Development (CARD) petitioned against it. Quirini gathered other materials as part of activities with consumer advocacy groups. She joined Better Neighborhoods Inc. in 1971, was elected to the board in 1981 and served as president from 1984-1986. She also served on the Consumer Advisory Council of Niagara Mohawk in the late 1980s.

During her retirement, Helen Quirini was extremely active in many organizations for senior citizens on local, statewide and national levels. In addition to work on behalf of the GE Retirees, she served for many years as president of Chapter 490 (Schenectady County) of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and as president of the Schenectady County Council of Senior Organizations. The files contain meeting minutes, events materials, financial records, correspondence, newsletters and petitions from these two groups.

This subseries contains documents from different social service and relief organizations in Schenectady County. These include the Human Services Planning Council, the Schenectady Friends of Human Services, the Youth Employment Services Committee, and Quest. It documents their day-to-day activities as well as their contributions to the community. The subseries contains agendas, annual reports, by-laws, correspondence, financials, meeting minutes, news clippings, pamphlets, and reports. It includes information on social service, job referral in the Schenectady area, as well as each organization's efforts to help members of the Schenectady community. It also contains information on Judy Atchinson, a prominent member of Quest who wrote consistently in her blog, which is included in the subseries. Helen Quirini was active with these organizations during her retirement and kept up-to-date with these committees until 2009.

Helen Quirini was active with the United Way for several decades, both through Local 301 and during her retirement. This subseries documents United Way's day-to-day activities and its contributions to Schenectady and nearby areas. It contains agendas, meeting minutes, allocations, financials, fund distribution materials, newsletters, magazines, flyers, and pamphlets. It also features information on the Joseph A. Beirne Community Services Award, which Quirini received in 1978. The subseries includes Quirini's handwritten notes and her personal binders. There is also information on United Way's executive committee and the group Concerned Citizens for a Fair and Inclusive United Way.

This subseries is composed of materials produced and collected by Helen Quirini during her work with a number of organizations on the issues of health care and health care reform. It features correspondence, news clippings, publications, meeting agendas and minutes, reports and subject files. One organization documented in this subseries is the Health Systems Agency of Northeastern New York (HSA/NENY). Quirini served on its board of directors for many years beginning in the late 1970s. Established by Congress during the Gerald Ford administration, HSA/NENY was one of eight agencies in New York created to control rising health care costs. The materials for HSA/NENY were frequently shipped in bundles in preparation for upcoming meetings and much of the material in this subseries has been maintained in that order. Other organizations documented in the subseries include the Schenectady County Committee on Health Care Issues, an advocacy organization for quality regional health care, and the Health Care Action Line, a help line started to assist people with questions about health care reach trained volunteers. The Berger Commission's recommendations to reform and restructure New York's health care became legal mandates on January 1, 2007. In Schenectady, St. Clare's Hospital, Bellevue Woman's Hospital, and Ellis Hospital were restructured or merged as a result. Quirini was very active in seeking to maintain high quality care in the community.