YOUNG CITIZENS' LEAGUE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 108, 10 May 1927, Page 5

YOUNG CITIZENS' LEAGUE.

HELP NEEDED FOB GOOD WORK INFLUENCE OF LEAGUE'S JOURNAL There are many appeals to the public for help in these days of heavy calU on philanthropic bodies. Organisations that provide food, shelter and clothing for the poor are hoping for a special measure of assistance this winter. It is hoped that in all this the Young Citizens' League will not be forgotten. Although the league, which is now in its ninth year, is rather different in its scope and objects from organisations that deal direct with conditions of distress, it is affected by the stress of the times. Its work is "not confined to the corporate organisation of young people on lines of good citizenship. It gets into touch with employers and parents, gives advice about the education and emploj-ment of boys and girls, and is a moral and economic agent of great value. One of its main objects is to move public opinion- to an appreciation of the importance of character training in the upbringing and education of children. Nine-tenths of the work it does is not known beyond a small circle. It can be easily realised that, with so much unemployment in the community, there are just now especially heavy calls upon its resources. The league publishes a monthly paper, the "Young Citizen," which has 40,000 readers, and ia highly prized by educationists and social workers as a vehicle of sound instruction and recreation. The "Young Citizen" goes far afield, and is read by parents as well as boys and girls. It has been highly praised by I numbers of public men anil teachers, in- | eluding heads of primary and secondary schools. An Auckland headmaster, for I example, says that the arrival of the } paper is '"always hailed with delight by both teachers and pupils,' , and a country teacher writes that the pupils look forward to the coming of the paper with enthusiasm, and that parents are as enthusiastic to get it as the children. It is greatly valued as a supplementary reader. Overseas educationists have expressed warm- appreciation of the "Young Citizen." Among those who have cordially commended the movement is Sir John Adams, Professor of Education in London University, who visited New Zealand. Though much of the work done by the league is voluntary, expenses are fairly heavy, and the league is now in great need of funds to carry on and extend its programme. Its operai tions are hamperd by lack of money. In policy it is non-politi-cal, non-sectarian, and non-class. Its appeal is to all classes and creeds for help to carry on a desirable work of character building and practical assistance to many who are unfortunately situated in the battle of life.