BOYS' INSTITUTE

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 80, 1 October 1931, Page 21

BOYS' INSTITUTE

MANIFOLD ACTIVITIES

WELL WORTHY OF SUPPORT

One of the most valuable bits of social work being carried out in Wellington—one of Dominion-wide importance—is that of the Boys' Institute. It is the place where tho men of tho future are having their bodies and characters moulded, hence the value of the work cannot be over-estimated. Boys will be boys, the world over, and those in the Dominion, and in Wellington in particular, are no exception to the rule. Wherever possible, it is natural for them to congregate into gangs, but this gang spirit can by proper organisation be diverted into good and useful channels. This is what the Boys.' Institute does. Its doors are open to all boys under 13 years of age, and attention is paid to all aspects of a boy's make-up. The spiritual, mental, social, and physical sides are all catered for, and the best that is'in the boys is developed for' the good of New Zealand. To this end many adults work hard and without publicity, but, as in all works of this kind, finance plays a big part. Without adequate finance, tho work must suffer. The institute, like everything else at the present time, is feeling the effects of the depression, but carry on it will and must, and it is unthinkable that the people of Wellington will fail it. The Boys' Institute is endowed to the boys of Wellington for air time, and the endowments are so invested, iii' city' properties that they remain as a source of income for all time. But something more than endowments, unless they-swell to an unprecedented degree, is needed, and it. should only need a mere mention of the Institute's work for that something more to be forthcoming. . A street day in aid of the Institute funds will be conducted to-morrow, and the generous support of the public is confidently expected. All the activities of the Boys' Institute ' are so well known that recapitulation seems hardly necessary. The boarding establishment providesa home for the working boy at what is practically a. nominal charge^-a godsend to the lad from the country who is starting in life by working in the city. Owing to. the depression^ , there are fewer lads "in work 'than: Usual, hence the Institute has at the present time a few vacanciestor boarders. Some of their 'previous boarders, who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, have been found work in the country. Within a month or so a new activity in the way of a workshop, made possible by a munificent gift of £350, will be in full swing. ' Then there are the library, the games room,. the ■ Scout, group (ranging f^om^CUbs to Royers), the gymnasium^'the&. eleven cricket teams, the cinema> ..the swimming baths (with' instruction.? in^-swimming), the band,, the orchestra; and public play area.:. All'these, and: more, are part- and parcel: .of:: the Institute's activities, andvall'^need funds to keep them going. la tHeicaso of the Boys' Institute, it is not an instance of a few highly-paid officials doing all the work. No.one is in .the•organisation to make money out .off itr ;many of the hard workers are voluntary ones, and in this .respect the LadiM'1 Auxiliary; deserves as much as the:men: the .thinks of the community. ;>.: .''; •'!'■•' ■ ' •:'..■'•".:- • .-• ■ ■ The Boys '/Institute was founded in 1893.'' Year by yearjits success has become increasingly-manifest. Now it is not far off "its fortieth birthday, and it looks to the> citizens of Wellington to see that its manhood powers are not impaired;;by indifference and' lack of -support, Juid^it knows 'that it .'will: not look!in.vain. |: . . :<