POPPY DAY APPEAL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17234, 14 April 1930, Page 6

POPPY DAY APPEAL

RETURNS MAY REACH £350 GISBORNE'S GOOD RESPONSE The response of Gisborne people to the appeal made' by the Gisborne, R.S.A. in connectioii, with the annual sale of poppies on Saturday was remarkably good, and the town sales yielded jus; over £2€o, according to the calculations of those responsible for the direction of the sales. Many suburban dwellers were given an opportunity to support the appeal through a door-to-door canvass of some parts of l the town, and the returns from this canvass to a great extent offset the effects oi the weather on the sales in the business area. The morning was cold, and there were frequent showers that did much to reduce the usual Saturday crowds in town, but nevertheless the poppies sold in Gisborne returned about £4O more than last year's town sales.

When the returns from the country and the Const are available it is expected that the Poppy Day fund will amount to about £340 or £350, including direct donations from various residents of the town and country areas. Last year the R.S.A. funds benefited to the extent of £252 from the sale of poppies and donations, the town returns from actual sides accounting for £162. When the appeal of the current year is finalised, there should be an increase of nearlv £IOO on las' year's figures, and the R..S.A. will be able to face the coming winter with the knowledge that money is available for the relief of distress among ex-service men. WHOLE-HEARTED CO-OPERATION The success of Saturday's effort in town and country was due to the, wholehearted co-operation of a large number of volunteer helpers, and to the good feeling with which the public met the appeal. There were few people in town who refused to buy poppies, and even those who found it hard to spare a shilling were ready enough to admit in most eases that the R.S.A. could do more good with it than they could themselves. Some of the poppy-sellers had commenced operations in a quiet way a day or two before the actual date selected fbn Poppy Day, and this fact accounted for some big individual sales figures, one enthusiastic helper, in the person of Mrs. Hayes, having disposed of no less than 530 of the, flowers of remembrance, while other helpers also returned substantial amounts. In some instances the returns average more than Is for each poppy sold, and from this fact it is evident that the generosity of some buyers did not halt at the Is mark. However, no one was asked for more than the regular price of the poppies, the instances mentioned arising from a warm recognition of the debt due to the ex-service men.

The entire stock of poppies in town was sold out early in the afternoon, and efforts were made,to secure from country centres any surplus blooms held there, some coming in, too, from the Coast. Many townspeople, having bought their poppies early, readily surrendered them in the afternoon when it was pointed out that they could be sold again, and one well-known ex-member of the N.Z. Nursing Division carried out an effective raid of business offices, returning with about 100 poppies which were thus made available for re-sale The attitude of the public towards the appeal was most good-humored, and there was no lack of the popularity of the R.S.A.'s work for distressed "Diggers." Saturday's sales in town set a new record for Gisborne, and when the Coast and country returns are made, it is expected that the district figures will compete on a population "basis with those of any other district in New Zealand.