£2,000 WANTED FOR AUCKLAND Y.W.C.A.

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 150, 15 September 1927, Page 9

£2,000 WANTED FOR AUCKLAND Y.W.C.A.

BALANCING THE BUDGET COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR GIRLS THE important part that the Y.W.C.A. plays in the community life of a city is not always sufficiently appreciated. For instance, there were over 1,300 new arrivals at the Auckland Y.W.C.A. during the year. No fewer than 75,000 meals were served in the cafeteria. There is to-day a total membership of 1,800. Of the important community service this organisation is providing Auckland, there can be no denial. Therefore, the association’s appeal for £2,000 with which to balance the annual budget should not fall on deaf ears. HEALTHY RECREATION One of the most important phases of the work carried oilt in Auckland is the holding of nightly gymnastic classes. Swedish drill, country dances and games are all entered into with enthusiasm. Remedial work and massage are available if required. Outdoor sports, including tennis, hockey, swimming, basketball and rambling, likewise have their supporters. Wholesome fun may be had at parties. On Saturday evenings the senior social club is always open to the girls and their men friends. “One of the main essentials of our training,” says Miss Jean Begg, the general secretary, “is self-re-liance. The girls conduct their own clubs. They are their own administrators. A little guidance is, of course, necessary at times, but in the main we leave the conduct of the g rls’ affairs entirely to themselves/ What a boon the comfortable Y.W.C.A. building is to a friendless girl in the city especially to those girls who arrive from the Homeland. There are 20 beds always available for “casual” visitors. In addition, the hostel houses a considerable number of girls in permanent employment in Auckland. The rates are considerate. No girl is asked to pay what she cannot afford. The Y.W.C.A. also provides rest rooms with couches foi weary business girls, and facilities for mothers and children who might be shopping in the city and glad for cheerful surroundings in which to rest for a time. A room in which to change is always available to girls spending the evening in town. EDUCATIONAL CLASSES Classes are held for dressmaking, millinery, singing, public-speaking, cooking, languages, arts and crafts, elocution and other subjects equally of interest to girlhood. In addition, the W.E.A. classes, held in the building, make available such subjects as social science, psychology, debating, modern history, economics, social and politicl history and English literature. A permanent holiday house can be visited at Blockhouse Bay, with its unsurpassed views of Manukau harbour, and with unequalled facilities for walking, swimming and games. There is accommodation for 40 girls. The association meets girls travelling alone. It endeavours to bring girls into closer understanding with each other. It helps to develop their powers to the highest. It provides a home in the centre of a bustling city for girls who otherwise would not have an opportunity of meeting each other in such congenial surroundings. ‘Enter where the Triangle is on the outside,” is Miss Begg’s advice to Auckland girls, “for - ** welcome is within.”