Building fund considered

Press, 22 April 1977, Page 10

Building fund considered

The Mid-Canterbury Federation of Country Women’s Institutes at its annual meeting considered the establishment of a building fund for - the eventual' purchase of a i building in Ashburton for use [ i as the organisation's head-; > quarters. Members generally agreed i ; on the need for a permanentl headquarters building, but I thought financing such a veni ture would be a problem. • l The topic was referred to ' the affiliated institutes for ’ further discussion and will be ‘ considered again by the federation at a later date. '; A letter from an institute led to discussion on the lack ■ of employment for school • leavers. No resolutions were passed at the meeting, but, isome members contended that '[the employment of married ■'women full or part-time re-,' • duced opportunities for young i ’■people seeking careers. One member, however, said- [ married women in some cases; ! i were advised by their doctor ! to take a job to avoid depres- . sion after their families had, . grown up and left home. Some delegates considered that the situation, although sometimes fairly acute at the •start of the year, when ■school leavers were seeking } i employment, “stabilised itself i[for the remainder of the 3 year." A collection of home pro-, iduce, including preserves,!

jams and fresh vegetables, was handed in by members at the annual meeting for the recently opened Ashburton! Intellectually Handicapped | Children Society hostel. Pro-' [ceeds from a sales table at [ ■the meeting went towards ■ the federation’s fund for its [ I sponsorship of a'n Indian •child, Suresh Kumar, now [aged six. Mrs J. H. Porter, supervisor of domiciliary services at Ashburton Hospital, and; Mrs J. Coughlan. a hospital board member, addressed the. meeting and explained the scope of the hospital’s home-! care services, including the, district nursing service, meals-on-wheels, and home ■ aid. Mrs Coughlan suggested! that C.W.I.s and W.D.F.F.s; •conduct a survey of country! districts to ascertain if there! [were any people in need of! special care. • Nine members were pre-! [sented with good service I badges in recognition of their work for their institutes and ,the federation. They were. ■Mesdames G. Kilgour; (Chertsey-Pendarves), R. Ashworth (Fairton), G. Fechney! (Allenton), T. R. Gilpin (Lau- • riston), E. F. Stericker (Eal-' ing), I. Mcllwrick (Dorie), E.| Blvth (Tinwald). G. Sowden (Netherby). Mrs P. A. Dickie was re- . elected the federation's presiident I