RED CROSS ACTIVITIES

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 15, 4 September 1930, Page 10

RED CROSS ACTIVITIES

This has been such a strenuous week at the work, four complete days,having been,'given, to it in the Hutt alone, that if names of kind friends who have helped us with gifts are omitted, I trust that they; will rest assured that their gifts have been appreciated by us and the recipients. '

A fair amount of clerical work is involved in this, besides the actual handling of the goods and visiting homes, so that it is easy to mislay a list of names. The children of the BCutt Valley High School had a

"Clothes drive/ and sent us uj> a lorry load of really, useful things. Besy visions flitted before me of perhaps a jumble sale of the surplus, rather than let the moths get. in it. AH the things the proceeds would buy, such as shoes for school, necessary undies and so on, floated before myf day-dreaming eyes. Alas, the distress is so widespread and real,, that we had to frantically cut open parcel ,after, parcel, \mtil we had given out the whole: lot, plus over twenty pounds worth (jumble sale values) of other goods, many y of which were big things taken by mothers to •tit down. We get a good type of. people on the whole, who if given a garment of decent material, do wonders wth it, and trot Mary or the baby along next week to show what lias been done with the. things/ We had a few shillings, given us this week, and spent it. on repair leather and a pair of 'good:., second-Jiancl s&oes ; . for a school-girl; On Friday more parcels were collected by a, body of helpers, containing many useful things, and one French garment which while not suitable to give to a working mother, (who could.not have afforded the dry cleaning necessary) was <a real help, as it was- brought in and the price realised was sufficient for a dozen .pairs ( . of girls' knickers; one hopes the donor is satisfied with the exchange, and will npt wish it back when .she sees how 1' tres <jhic'' it looks on. the new owner, who can speak French if necessary fto help give effect. . . j .

W« have to acknowledge with, many .thanks, more new goods from Shearers, Drapers, Lower Hutt, Mesdames Nicholls, Epuni St., eggs, jam, dates, 5/-, cot and pram; Davison, Railway Avenue, home-made jam; Bolton, clothes and raisins; Matthews, parcel^and 5/-; Cowden, Norman dal«.:, oggs: Griffiths, "S'oacry," Bond, set of girl's

clothes; Miss G-arlick. finoleum for our "family." Many dt>her donors wi»k ed to remain anonymemsy and list of other names has been mislaid, but to all, many thanks. Our surplus bedstead and wire mattress was offered at the rooms, and advertised in both papers, but no one in the district claimed; it. However, the donor will be glad to know that it we"nt to jjhe following sad case. A man who lives in Wellington had been burnt out—uninsured—and took a furnished room for himself and family at £1 per week. He lost his work, and cannot get any, though\his struggles to do so are heartbreaking. He had orders to quit,; or the ' police would be .there to eject him next day. He had the key of the street so ~ to speak, and came to me to ask if I knew of an old bedstead and cot to give him. Wle sent him ours, meanwhile, he had managed to persuade an agent to :'let him an empty house, and -j there he remained two days with noth^ ing but the floor to lie 3 on, till our bedstead arrived. Even now he has no bed, only some old things over the wires, he had no blankets, but headquarters dipped into . the shrinking "iun<ds and made that right. The truth as to how some people are' existing, especially homeless men, would seem too far-fetched if told, but it:is a fact that many nien are existing ;by persuading certain people ; who are jfeed-. ing numbers of people by contract,' (workers in a/certain trade) to let them haye first chance of the leavings, rather than the seagulls. There are at least three people in the Hutt who can vouch for tlietftith of this matter, having themselves been r glad to be so favoured. Our babies ' flannels and gowns are all exhausted, so I hope the first person who sees, the Stork Covering around anywhere between Koro Koro and the Taita Gorge, will salt his tail, or failing to catch him, send me somethng to make up for his scatter-brained idea of bringing the babies naked, and minus prams. Do you people all know the story of the Stork? and >svhy he, or is he a "she," is the patron of the

babies? Many centuries ago, somewhere in Holland, a terrible fire raged and burnt out the whole of the district, <sr state, I don't know which, and the storks stood over their babies, covering them with their wings to protect them from the fire, allowing themselves to be burnt off their legs, to death. The Stork holds an exalted place amongst the Ihitch now for this reason. At the last moment I. have part Of

another list of donors. Mrs. Doig, vegetables; Mrs Wood;, Mntai St., clothes gathered by her from 'friends; Miss Williams, 14 Tama Street, parcel. F. E. JOYCE, Bod Cross Society.