Appeal Plan “Bombshell”

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30561, 2 October 1964, Page 19

Appeal Plan “Bombshell”

The decision of the New Zealand Red Cross Society to hold a National Week during May of each year, when house-to-house appeals would be conducted by all centres, was “rather a bombshell” for the North Canterbury centre, the chairman of the executive (Mr E. W. Reeves) said at the centre's quarterly meeting on Wednesday.

The plan had obvious advantages for smaller centres, he said, and the national publicity which it would entail would be very valuable, but for a smooth-running centre the size of North Canterbury such a change would Involve tremendous problems. The choice of date (the week including May 8) was a difficult one. the president (Mrs R. I. Brake) said, as it would coincide with the Canterbury University students’ appeal and the Salvation Army appeal. Also, many of the Junior Red Cross would be away on holiday, as would many country people—May being a convenient month for farmers to take their holidays. The question of conducting a house-to-house appeal also presented problems, Mrs Brake said. The North Canterbury Centre’s market day in June had become traditional and it would be a pity not to continue it. On the other hand the public would

not want to assist in both » house-to-house and a marketday appeal. Also some subcentres already conducted house-to-house appeals in their own areas, and this would create further difficujties. Asked to express their opinions, several members spoke against house-to-house appeals. They did not seem to be controlled by any official body, a member said, and sometimes collectors for two or three different organisations canvassed the same area in the same day. Mr Reeves recommended

that the centre should “sit on the fence” until it was seen how the national project worked out in other centres.