The Society’s motto “Relieve the Distressed” was in its first century concentrated upon immigrant Scots who needed help to find shelter, money, and assistance in finding work. However disasters at home and abroad were given significant assistance such as for the suffering poor in the Highlands and Islands in 1846-7 and through the Army Relief Bazaar during the Civil War. By the end of the 19th century the flood of Scottish immigrants required that special arrangements were made with boarding houses and restaurants to provide shelter and food for the newcomers. In the 20th century, however, the Society made it the practice to support a broad range of Albany area charities each year.