A USEFUL CLUB

Southland Times, Issue 18990, 11 July 1923, Page 4

A USEFUL CLUB

In an unostentatious way the Sixpenny Clothing Club has been carrying on a useful work in the community, making it possible for those who are in comfortable circumstances to assist, without cost to themselves, their neighbours who are not so fortunately situated. Where the growth of population ..has swelled villages into the dignity of towns and (owns io cities, there is always at work a subtle influence which restricts the application of the term "neighbours,” so that in the end the word is squeezed out of existence. In small communities the neighbourly instinct is vigorous and cases of hardship rarely wait long for generous assistance, but in towns there is not the same intimacy, so that the struggles of the unfortunate are often overlooked. An institution like the Sixpenny Clothing Club acts as a corrective to this tendency to isolation, and by eschewing the numbing processes of charity is able to do a great deal of useful w’ork in a sober, practical fashion. This year, we learn, the hard winter has had a dual effect on the club’s operations. The demands have been greater and the donations of clothing have not been equal to those of previous years. The club takes left-off clothing of all kinds, and by voluntary effort fits them for further use. In this way its operations are both economical and altruistic. It is unfortunate that the club should find it necessary to make an appeal,

but we feel sure that the mere mention of its needs will be enough to ensure their being satisfied. A useful club like this one should not be allowed to languish for lack of practical support.