Lions Club Help For Foster Parents

Press, Volume C, Issue 29624, 21 September 1961, Page 2

Lions Club Help For Foster Parents

The Lions Club in Christchurch—a “service club” of businessmen—devotes its time to providing help where it is needed in the city. In December, 1959, an article in “The Press” drew their attention to Mrs L. Miles, of Lincoln Road, who had increased her modest family of three to more than a dozen children by “adopting” foster children who were in need of specialised care.

Mr and Mrs Miles were paying off a mortgage on their home which they had bought in order to care for the children. The Lions Club quickly offered to reline and redecorate the main bedroom. The job was done by a working bee of members. Yesterday club members again paid a visit to the house in Lincoln road. This time it was formally to “hand over” a new room they had built on to the front of the house. They had raised the money by making the spacious front lawn into a car park while the New Zealand Industries Fair was being held at Canterbury Court and a builder had built the room free of charge. Members of the club manned the car park during the fair, “This will be an extra bedroom (or the girls." said Mrs Miles yesterday. “At present five are sleeping in one room and that is really too many.” With wide windows cut to catch the sun, the room has been painted in a pretty coral shade and lime green. A white ceiling gives it an airy freshness.

• Mrs Miles has been caring 1 for foster children for 21 1 years and her mother did the r same before her. Mrs Miles j has had 64 children who 1 have stayed for more than - a month, and more than she r can recall who have stayed for shorter periods. 5 At present there are 12 5 children living there and all s of them are clothed and fed ’ with the same affectionate 1 attention. 1 Mrs Miles makes all their clothes, does all their wash1 ing and all the cooking and 1 housework. She organises all s the treats that a real mother s would like birthday parties ' for each child and camping J holidays. , One of her own daughters, - Valerie, aged 21, will be 5 married at the Methodist . Church at Springston on j October 7. Valerie will have more attendants than any ' other bride in Christchurch. * Three bridesmaids, seven ’ flower girls and seven pages will make the bridal group. s "The party will include her f fiance's brothers,” said Mrs Miles. “All the children here i will take part. lam making my daughter’s wedding dress

and all the frocks for the little girls.” The attendants’ dainty gowns were hanging in a wardrobe. Pale blue nylon, embroidered with sprays of pink and blue flowers made the flower girls’ frocks and hailstone-spotted nylon with wide sashed waists will be worn by the bridesmaids. But to the children the wedding day still seems a long way off and in the meantime they are finding their amusement with the numbers of pets they keep on the acre section. There is a small dog. and i guinea pigs, pheasants, ringnecked doves, Chinese bantams and other fowls. There is a donkey called Jenny and ; there may also be a lamb as : well soon. The goat was a favourite pet but it died from ‘ eating deadly nightshade. During the day nearly all the children go to school. The ' daughters, Beverley and ; Valerie, are psychiatric nurses. After 9 a.m., Mrs Miles can relax like most ' mothers, for a few minutes 1 anyway, before she really be- ' gins her behind-scenes work I of housekeeping for her 12 1 foster children.