HEALTH CAMPS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22628, 16 January 1937, Page 10

HEALTH CAMPS

The health camp system for delicate and under-nourished children is now well established throughout the country, and there has been so wide approval of its purpose and performance that the PostmasterGeneral has the satisfaction of that the objective of the health stamp campaign, £IO,OOO, has been exceeded by over £4OOO. This result is particularly gratifying seeing that the measures taken to prevent the spread of infantile paralysis precluded the opening of most camps during the holidays and might have caused many people to withhold their financial support. Although a considerable part of the fund came from direct donations, it. may be safely assumed that the bulk of the money represents small individual offerings of a few pence from time to time. This method creates a wide community interest. The idea is being followed in Britain in connection with the King George V. Memorial Fund, the main purpose of which, incidentally, is to promote general health by providing open spaces and playing fields. One of the organisers suggested that citizens should contribute the odd shillings and pence of bank balances. To respond to this appeal, however, requires the "effort" that is not . involved in paying twopence for a penny stamp. The stamp money that has been paid into the fund, £5758, has meant the sale of no less than 1,881,020 stamps, or nearly one for every person in the Dominion. Once again a good cause has been well supported, on a scale that measures up to the immediate need, and one may look forward to a steadily rising sense of responsibility toward unfortunate children.