Y.M.C.A. BUILDING FUND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2914, 19 January 1910, Page 70

Y.M.C.A. BUILDING FUND.

THE LAST £2OOO. i ANOTHER COLLECTION ARRANGED FOR. j A united and well-organised collection I will be commenced in Dunedin by the I local Y.M.O.A. on Monday, and, during the fortnight over which it will be continued, every effort will be made by the collectors to gather a sum totalling- £2OOO. By means of the big collection of some two years ago the association netted £14,000 for building purposes. By means of a supplementary collection in September last another £3OOO was obtained, so that therq is now £17,000 in hand. As soon as a total of £19,000 is obtained the association will go right ahead with the erection and equipment of its building, and will enter into occupation of it without any unnecessary delay. As is well known, a site has already been secured in Moray place. By means of the collection commencing- on Monday it is believed that the £19,000 mark will be at last reached. In order that public interest in the campaign might be aroused, and that an opportunity might be given for a full and free discussion of the whole project, a public dinner was given by the Y.M.C.A. authorities on Friday evening. There was a large -attendance of members (about 69), and Mr G. M. Thomson, M.P., president of the association, | was chairman. Other gentlemen present were —Messrs T. K. Sidey, M.P., J. B. I Waters, (.!. R. Smith, J. Wilkinson, A. S. ■ Adams, N. Paterson, W. G. Somerville, H. Webb, and Captain Strang. The Chairman extended a hearty welcome to the visitors and members, and proceeded to explain the purcjpse of the gathering. By having the boarding- establishment attached they would have a regular source of revenue, and should be able to successfully maintain the institution. He recog- i nised that they must have this new bujld 1 -. j ing. The present rooms were not by any | means satisfactory—were enough, almost, < to kill the association. The association building should bo a centre of attractive- ] ness to young people, and it was hoped i that when they had the new building they 1 would have attractions that would draw I young men to them to a greater extent than was the case at the present time. They had a great number of energetic and enthusiastic) young men who were the j mainstay of the association, but they i wanted to get beyond them, and at the young men outside. They therefore asked members of the association to do their, best to raise this sum of £2OOO from the community so as to enable the board to : make a start and at once call for tenders. Ho hoped that by February or March they would have the building under way. As for the collection, they would find that there were a great many people who were not called upon during the last collection who * might be now communicated with, and asked to assist the movement, and there were many others who, since the last col- i lection, had prospered in their businesses ■ and other circumstances, and who might ; be now inclined to give additional help. : The movement would be started on Monday raorning, and carried bn for & fortnight

! and he believed that if the work was i dene in a spirit of prayerful enthusiasm j it would be crowned with success, j Mr J. B. Waters, acting treasurer, ' briefly addressed the young men concernj ing >tbe canvass they proposed to make. I They had a fortnight in, which to raise j the money, and from a commercial point of view it was quite feasible. It was never : very difficult to dispose of a good line, I and the Y.M.O.A. associations were the I very best thing known in the world for the forming of character, and no better proposition could be put before the com- , inunity than that of asking it to assist the , organisation. | Mr Hughes exhibited the plans of the i new building to the assembled company, j Before doing so, he said that the building, | from a departmental point of view, was | better planned than any building either j standing or in course of erection anywhere I in Australasia: there was none to compare I with it. There was no doubt about it that SMr Ansoombe, their architect, was thoroughly acquainted with the association s , needs, and the building, when finished I and equipped, would be the finest in Australasia.—(Applause). Mr C. R. Smith gave the collectors some practical advice. They should always aim high, and try to meet every person they talked ihe matter over with with the utmost confidence, assuming that they were going to get a sympathetic and generous response. Mr A. S. Adams wished the canvassers j every success. They had a definite object I before them—not the acquisition of a few . thousand pounds, but the attainment of the building, which meant the crystallisation. of the hopes and efforts of the past few years. Ho congratulated the association on the fact that the board had determined the pursue a sound policy, and altogether avoid an incubus of debt, and he gave the young men some excellent practical advice. | Other fipeakers were Messrs Morten and I Gilmour (one of the original members of I the Dunedin association. Mr Hughes told the men what arrange- I merits had been made in connection with I the collection, and said each man must do his level best.