THREE USEFUL CHARITIES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 495, 30 April 1909, Page 3

THREE USEFUL CHARITIES.

>' -THEIR ANNUAL MEETINGS. -VThree associated charities held their annual, meetings yesterday,' gamely, ,thb Ladies' Christian Association; 'the Alexandra Home, and the Levin Memorial Home. Tho Ladies' Christian Association, which is tho mother of tho'other two,- has been in existence'•. for' thirty years, and ,during. Oiat' time has performed a variety of duties. When it was first started it was the leading womon's charitable j organisation in;Wellington,;and did much of I the work that has • sincn thevurowth of the

sity been undertaken by such; societies as the one for the protection of women and jhildren, two garment societies, and others that specialise their work. The Alexandra Home is a production of the oldest society.' md the Levin Memorial Home was founded to take charge of the many orphans under the association's f care ; and therefore' those two institutions hold their annual meetings simultaneously with the oldest one. ■ : The lqpping-off qf its branches, or perhaps one should say, tho budding-off of new organisations, has left tho. association free to eivo its main attention to the_ work of the Dorcas Society,; and to providing relief for many of tho poor folk in- Wellington. ,; Tho association hand in hand with tho Benevolent Society, and in touch with tho St. John Ambulance nurses. There is a certain graciousness about its work, for, many a time where the barest necessities havo been provided from some other fund, tho assccia- \ tion steps in, and provides a little additional —well, hardly a luxury, say a necessity, less urgently required. It has a boot club, 1 by means of which a very large number of boots aro distributed to women and children—not given to them,,' but supplied on terms of small weekly payments. Tho small weekly payment is a thing that the association clings to, for, anxious as it is on the one hand to provide relief, it has no desire to sap anyone's • spirit of independence, and it finds that, in most cases,/ people are glad to pay their share towards'!thoj goods they are enjoying. Blankets, for instance, aro supplied, and gradually tho price is l paid off. iTho Dorcas' Society gets through a vast amount of work in the year,aiid, as it has many friends, it secures many outside gifts. ■ The annual report, presented to the meeting yesterday, stated that the association anticipates a severe'winter.' The society, which is under the control of Mrs. Annie Anderson,: its president, with Mrs. Badham and ,Mrs. Von Dadelszen, has usod during the last year 2369 yards of material, and mado 428 new garments,''while altogether'B3o new garments have been given away. The : committee received with great regret the. resignation of Miss . Downes, who has been an <. efficient secretary for three years. Miss Ada Loclriq had taken up her; duties, combining them with '■ those of treasurer,. during Mrs. Neil M'Lean's absence in England.. The following aro /the officers for the ensuing; year:—Mr. J. G._ AV.. Aitken, chairman; trustees, Mr. W. Allan, Mrs. Annie Anderson, Mrs. Glasspn," and the Rev. J. Paterson; secretary and treasurer of trustees, Mr. C. P. Powlcs; president, Mrs. Mehzies; v.ice-nresident, Mrs. Glassori; hon. secretary of society, Miss Ada Lockie; hon;• treasure!' 'of society,-Mrs.; N.. M'Lean; committee, Mesdames A. Anderson, Badham,' J.Blundell, Dawson, Duncan, Menzies, M'Lean,'. Muir, : Von Dadelszen, Warren, W.'R. Williams, C. Smith; Miss Lockie, Miss Downes, and Dr. Edith Huntley. Mrs. W. R. Williams ia a life member of the committee. ' The balance-sheet showed an expenditure 0f,£144 ss. on drapery, £53 on clothing,'. £68 on general relief, and £58 lis.'on boots, while subscriptions and .donations amounted" to £87, Government subsidy £192,' boot club £25, Dorcas sales £42, and there was a_ balance from last year of £86. The of the Alexandra Home,: in presenting their thirty-ninth annual report, expressed ther general satisfaction with the conduct of the inmates; some- had conducted themselves very well indeed, and others, at first.; troublesome; had improved. No case of wrong-doing for the. second time has oome to tho knowledge of the committee for some years past., . The: committee expresses its deep gratitude to'Dr.'Ewart, who has, for 'the/ past twenty years, given his I services whenever , they \were required, i During the yoar',23..adults', had been admitted-'.to the home, : and':2s,'discharged. The election 'of officers!resulted as follows:—President, Miss E.; Greenwood; jVice-president, Miss Morrah; Mrs.'L. G. Reicl; treasurer, Mrs. Boyd: committee, Mesdames Tudor Atkinson; Dunning Swart, R. W. Gibbs, Hall;- F. W. Mackenzie, Saimond, Wallis, : and . Young. Mr 4 s. ■ Ashcroft '_and : Mrs. Stock .are -life members.' . : • .' ; >■ , ■' The fifteenth'jeport' -of the Levin Memorial Home was satisfactory as' regarded the health, progress, and- general well-being of the children'.-" -A 1 very Suitable assistant been secmlsJ to help the matron, Miss, Gifford, Miss - Mulgroc having : had ex-1 perience in similar institutions at Homo. There are 26 children in' the' Home between the.,ages-.of -.four' and sixteen: years.i. ■; The, 1 four eldest ~afo being' trained in domestic work,-but will nbtbe.availablefor service for another year. Thanks/wore expressed to Dr. Kemp; who has acted as hon. physician dur-' ing'ithe . absence, of his -brother, Dn Harold Komp, and to Mr. Hoby for: freo attendance.' Several. people had kin Uy provided treats for the children,- among them being Messrs. Ferguson; Hills, and Webb, jJMiss ~ Baber's School, and St. Thomas's Church. .'. Tho following aro: the officers for the-iyear:—Patron, Her .Excellency Lady . Plunket; president, Miss'E,: Greenwood; vice-president, Mrs.'W. Fell; committee, Mesdames Fell, Hoby,, J. P. Luke, F. : Rutherford,: Wallis, and. West Knowles, and Misses .'Archibald, Harding, and I. Morrah; , secretary, Miss Young; treasurer,. Miss Morrah.., .';,