The statutes of the community Association for the Establishment and Maintenance of Early Childcare Facilities ( Verein zur Errichtung und Erhaltung von Klein-Kinder-Bewahr- Anstalten) dating to 1870 underlines the goal behind the activity of the organisation: the provision of appropriate day care to children aged from 2 to 7 years during the time when their unwealthy parents work. In compliance with the guidelines of the authorities of the Association, the staff of the facilities shaped the moral attitudes of the children, educated them, taught them hygiene habits, and provided them with a good start to subsequent stages of their school education by conducting classes. Towards the end of the 1860s, the four Facilities – located in the Old Town (as of 1839), in the Lower Town (as of 1844), in the Old Suburbs (as of 1848) and on the edge of the Main Town (as of 1858) – provided care to about 700 little children. The Association activated the inhabitants of Gdansk – not only the ones actively participating in the work of the organisation, but also the ones providing financial support and support in kind. What should be stressed is the involvement of women in the activity: they were not only members of the Association, but, in line with the 1870 Statutes – which was exceptional in the social realities of the time – could sit on the Governing Council ( Verwaltungs-Rath), and even (in one case) on the Board ( Vorstand).