These organizations interested in the instruction of the deaf are of two divisions: bodies actively engaged in the work of this instruction, and bodies only indirectly concerned. The first division includes, on the one hand, associations of instructors of the deaf, and, on the other, societies or corporations formed to promote and establish schools, which have either passed out of existence, their mission being fulfilled, on the taking over of the school by the state, or have remained in control of certain schools--to be considered when we come to the general provisions for the education of the deaf. In the second division are three kinds of organizations: the Volta Bureau, an organization in a class of its own; associations of parents concerned mainly with the instruction of their own children; and undertakings interested in the extension of religious knowledge to the deaf, usually in the form of church missions. THE VOLTA BUREAU The one organization in America of large compass and concerned solely with the interests of the deaf is the Volta Bureau, located in Washington. This has resulted from the gift of Dr. Alexander Graham Bell in 1880, who having received 50,000 francs from the French government in recognition of his services in the field of invention, decided to use the money to establish the bureau for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge relating to the deaf." The bureau now contains much information regarding the deaf as a class, as well as carefully compiled data regarding many individuals; and also publishes works on the deaf, including the "Volta Review," a monthly periodical. It is much interested in the methods of instruction of the deaf, while another important aim may be said to be the elimination of deafness as far as possible, or the removal of many of the effects of deafness. Dr. Bell's total benefactions to this bureau, together with the Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf, to which it is now joined, have amounted to more than a quarter of a million dollars.[147] PARENTS' ASSOCIATIONS FOR THE DEAF Associations of parents have been organized chiefly in relation to the education of their own deaf children, though in some cases friends as well as parents are included. They have often been particularly concerned in the creation of day schools for the deaf, but have also shown an interest in other ways.[148] These associations have been mostly confined to cities, and have been organized in a dozen or so of them, as Boston, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Paul, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.[149] State associations have been rare, being found in only two or three states, as Ohio, Wisconsin and Nebraska.[150] CHURCH MISSIONS TO THE DEAF