COUNTRY WOMEN’S INSTITUTES

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28099, 15 October 1956, Page 2

COUNTRY WOMEN’S INSTITUTES

NORTH CANTERBURY FEDERATION The half-yearly report of the North Canterbury Federation of Country! Women’s Institutes, to be presented at. a meeting in Culverden next Wednes-| day, shows progress in all spheres of work. Twenty .of the 23 institutes in the federation sent delegates to the biennial conference in Auckland in July. It was announced at the conference that the federation had contributed to “Operation Snowball” the sum of £l§s Ils 7d, the largest amount raised! by a federation in New Zealand. I The president (Mrs J. A. Clemett) attended a wide variety of meetings and social gatherings. She travelled! more than 800 miles by road and air to attend these functions. Meetings of • the executive were held in her home and at the homes of Mesdames Fitzgerald and H. E. Giles. Five institutes have celebrated the silver jubilee of their formation, and Spotswood, -after being in recess for four years, has held its twenty-first birthday party. Voluntary organisersj have arranged schools of procedure 1 and given talks at many meetings of institutes. Classes and schools in millinery and dressmaking have been conducted as well as drama festivals. Twenty-two of the institutes in the federation supplied news of their activities in the report. The institutes have conducted competitions at the monthly meetings, and talks have been given on varying subjects. The use of home appliances have £een demonstrated as well as the making of utility and novelty articles, floral decorations and gardening. Film evenings and social gatherings have also been part of the activities.

Institutes have contributed to local and overseas welfare organisations. Gifts of money have been made to various appeals as well as parcels of home produce and articles of clothing, scrapbooks, novelty gifts, soap, face flannels, books and magazines. Children have been sponsored under -the Save the Children Fund, and assistance given to CORSO. Knitted articles have been forwarded to hospitals for the aged patients, and wool sent to patients in leper colonies.