CHARITY STAMP

Temuka Leader, Issue 10488, 28 December 1929, Page 1

CHARITY STAMP

ORIGIN IN DENMARK. A CHRISTMAS INSPIRATION. Twenty-six years ago a young mail clerk in a small post office in Denmark was working far into the night on Christmas Eve distributing holiday greeting cards and letters. He saw that as a rule they would go to comfortable homes, housing happy, vigorous families. But he knew, too, that where kind Christmas wishes and good Christmas deeds were most needed, there likely would not come even a brief word of greeting. An inspiration seized him. Why not spend this money to alleviate the condition of the unfortunate? Perhaps by a tax on greeting cards this could be accomplished. His fertile imagination soon pic- ' tured a device to encourage the practice and put a voluntary tax on it too —and thus in Denmark was born the idea of Christmas Seal, in 1903.

Season Of Giving. "The people of Denmark regard Christmas as the greatest holiday of the year,” stated Mr Holboell, who is now postmaster at Charlotten- ' bund, on a recent visit to New York. ] “Everybody observes it, and all hearts and hands are open at this season. “I saw at once that the Christmas stamp ought to be sold at post of- • flees and should cost only a trifle, *so that everyone could afford to | buy it. The well-to-do, who send I many letters, would spend more ’money, but the poor could have the pleasure of helping, too. “A committee of men of distinction was formed, and through their influence, I obtained the permission of the Ministry to sell the stamps at post offices for the benefit of the fund to erect a hospital for tuberculous children. So a year after the idea came to mte, the first tuberculosis Christmas stamps were sold in 1904.

“The return far exceeded our expectations, totalling 70,000 Danish erowns, or about £2,000. Year by year the income lias increased. Last year it was 217,000 crowns, and during the twenty years they have been sold, a total sum of 2,700,000 crowns has been reolised. Hospital for Tuberculous Children. “Our Committee has erected a. hospital accommodating .105 tuberculous children, and since it was opened, a total of 3,000 little girls and boys have gone to Hie institution al Kohling Fjord and been healed. We now have three homes for weak anil undernourished children, and leesides have contributed generously to societies which aim to help sick and poor children in various ways.” The Seal was introduced into America, in 1908, when about £27,000 was collected. The amount has steadily increased. During the period the seal has been in existence, lhe death rate in the United States from the disease has fallen from 198 per hundred thousand population to 95 —a saving of over 100,000 lives this year! The scheme has now been, introduced into New Zealand, and. Christ mas Seal stamps are now on sale at all Post Offices. A Charity Stamp costs 2d, half for postage and half to go to a fund tx> fight tuberculosis in New Zealand.