Sam Smart last week. PHOTOS: EVELYN THORN
‘‘This year’s RSA Poppy Day will be held on Friday, April 21, and the four trustees of the RSA Welfare Trust have been busy getting the 3500 poppies ready for the day.
‘‘Collection buckets will be put out in businesses a week before Anzac Day. On Poppy Day, collection points will be held at the supermarkets and The Warehouse in Balclutha. These will have not only paper poppies, but a good selection of knitted ones for sale. A donation is all that is required for a paper poppy.
‘‘The paper poppies come unpinned and Balclutha local Sandra Booth, who now resides at Clutha Views Lifecare, has been pinning these for over 10 years now. As you can see by the quantities we sell each year, this equates to a lot of poppies. We are most grateful not only for her help but to the many collectors we have on the day, the local businesses for allowing us to put our poppy buckets in their premises and the amazing generosity of the community.
‘‘This is the only annual fundraiser the trusts have. All money is spent in the area and is used for the benefit of our elderly welfare members. We have a monthly afternoon tea with members from the community along with those in rest-homes attending. We have a function at Christmas time and this year we gave all members at $50 Four Square voucher. We have assisted with gardening and clothing in the past and are generally there for anyone who may need some kind of assistance. We also co-ordinate assistance with Veterans Affairs for those that require it.
‘‘This year as in the past we have organised Anzac Day services at the Clutha Views and Holmdene rest-homes.
‘‘We organise this with the same protocol as the Dawn Service incorporating in a Piper and a Bugler.
‘‘We include the younger generation, with the head boy and girl from South Otago High School speaking and the flag bearers that also attend the dawn service. A member of each rest-home will lay a wreath and this year at Holmdene we are privileged to have 100 year old Maureen Pryde, whose late husband was a returned serviceman doing this duty.
We welcome any RSA members to attend our Monthly Afternoon Tea which is held at the RSA the second Wednesday of the month from 2pm-4pm.’’
Pauline Soper
Balclutha RSA Welfare Trustee
