AUNT HILDA’S LETTER

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19108, 28 June 1930, Page 18 (Supplement)

AUNT HILDA’S LETTER

The Need for Help:— If every man would mend a man Then all mankind were mended. TALK OF OUR PARTY. HELP FOR THE HANDICAPPED J)EAR LITTLE PEOPLE,—

... you , had the Snow-Fairies to visit you last week-end I Such stealthy il t i!f„ pe ° ple .V ley are to °- The y float down so quietly, painting alt the landscape as they pass ever so thoroughly and artistically. Not a twig, not a leaf escapes their brushes, and the old grey world is transformed to a thing of scintillating beauty. It was hard work to find enough snow for a snow-man though. How many of you made one? And did you do w “f t use d to do: put a carrot for his nose, pieces of coal for his eyes, and a bent stick for a mouth? And did you steal Father’s cherished oldest hat (the one Mother longs to burn), placing it at a rakish angle on his snow-white head?

r, a^° W T , Week 1 h a y e two surprises to tell you of. First about the davs a, * h A nk ,.. We v Wlll bold . n the T v ®ry first day of the next term holi- - 2n’.u- break up ' 1 beheve - °n August 22. So you can f ° rward a!1 this term to- the lovely fancy dress party at the end be calllag the mothers - committee together very shortly and getting sy on all the arrangements. The greatest worry of the lot is going to De where to hold it, for our family has outgrown any hall in the city. r' a st year we had a wet day, and yet do you remember the crowd? And now Aunt Hildas face ached with smiling at you all! Yet since then we have put on another 1000 n£w members! So what will it be like this 3 ear. I really ought to hire Hagley Park! Now about the proceeds. Very many of you this last year or two have been through the fever hospital at Bottle Lake, and I am told by au ex-patient that there is no wireless set down there for the patients. So what could we do better than mstal one, as we did in the Fre'sh Air Home for children on Cashmere? Then all those grateful mothers Who received their little ones back safe and sound from the kindly ministering hands would be delighted to help such a good project. Don't you think it's a lovely idea? But, here’s the rub. I cannot do it without the help of every single boy or girl member, and as many parents as possible. I shall want the older girls and boys to help the women’s committee, and dozens and dozens of ticketsellers, all over the city. Those who live too far away to come in could help with a few postage stamps if they wished. Now please tell me straight away if you think the idea a sound one, and also if you will make up your mind to help in every possible way, and also to come to the party and bring all your family, all your neighbours, all your friends, all your foes too (if you can coax them!), in fact simply every single person within a radius of sixty miles! It won’t matter if there’s not enough cake or drinks, so long as we are able to help someone out of our fun. You can lie awake in bed these cold nights thinking it all out and I will be ever so glad to receive suggestions for the sucfcess of the project in any way. I am just longing to look over that sea of eager little faces once more, and to hear the patter of hundreds and hundreds of dancing feet. I want to meet, too, all the little baby people who belong to our family, but who cannot toddle up the stairs to Starland yet, and I want, too, to meet the mothers who oversee the work their boys and girls send in to me; and of course I want to shake hands with the "dads” who go out 'and work and find the money to buy the " Star,” helping in their own quiet way the great work still to progress. Often when people thank me for work amongst their children, I feel like thanking them back, because without their support, I shouldn’t be here doing the work at all. Life is such a complex thing; it is like a stone thrown into a pool of water. Every ripple is touched by other ripples all over the surface. Arid every life is touched by other lives, and they in turn by other lives, spreading out over the whole community. We are really, underneath, all one, although we may have our differences on the surface. ' HELP FOR THE BACK-MARKERS. Besides those handicapped by sickness, there are others more seriously handicapped still, and ’I have a great desire to help these others, too. Some are handicapped physically, with twisTed arms and legs, others are handicapped mentally, and life to them is a most complex problem Latterly these boys and girls are being graded and helped, but there is room for much more. Now if any of you older ones wanted to do something really helpful to the community would you care to take "under your wing” one of these back-markers, and try and brighten their lives by a kindly visit, or perhaps an outing or the loan of some nice books, etc? These children are situated all over the city and do so want a little encouragement and help. We have one splendid example, where a bighearted man leaves his fireside once every fortnight to bring a little cripple up to Starland to learn Esperanto, and he has done this for a long time. He will never know the radiance he brought into that little life by his great kindness. Now will any responsible boy or girl reader (not necessarily a member) who feels he or she would like to help a "lame dog,” please send his or her address to me and I will try to find you a little ‘case” as near your own home as possible. Remem her *tis not their fault these little ones are handicapped; poverty, unemployment, cruelty, sickness and a host of other bogeys have done their worst for them. And their want and their loneliness are sad things to witness. Yet on every hand there must be generous-hearted boys and girls ready and willing to help. You will not require money for the work, only a kindly interest and a genuine desire to help. It will also be a good training-ground for social service of a wider character later on. Now, volunteers, please, one, two, three, up to 50 or 60 in the meantime. Ages from fifteen years upwards. Who will be the very first to proffer help? Aunt Hilda has so many to try and help, and it’s a glorious privilege. Little people, make yourselves happy by helping others. Love to you all—