Keswick Ridge WI Branch Report, October 4, 2008.
Like most WI's, our membership has shrunk over the past years leaving us with only eleven active members. We meet on the third Tuesday of the month in our homes.
We do little fund raising now due to our small numbers. Our main fund raiser is our yearly take out dinner in May. We sell 130 tickets and provide a cold plate with lots of home-made rolls and pies, giving us a profit of $800 to $900.
We provide a yearly $500 Scholarship to a local student entering post secondary education, and this we hope to be able to continue doing.
Over the past year we have made donations to 4H, WI Home, UNICEF, Alzheimer Society, WI Office Fund, Keswick Ridge School and the Fredericton Men's Shelter. We also sponsor a child in an orphanage in Haiti through Healing Hands - $300 yearly.
We held our last meeting of the season in June and this past one was a dinner at the Holiday Inn which was to be followed by a tour of Karen Davidge's Organic Farm - canceled due to rain.
In May of this year we entertained the Dumfries WI. Brian Duplessis gave us a talk on his work at the Men's Shelter which was eye-opening for all of us. We played some games with prizes awarded and served a special lunch which all seemed to enjoy. Each of our guests was given a small memento at the end of the evening.
One of the more enjoyable aspects of our group is the Mystery Sister exchange. We draw a name at our Christmas meeting and for the rest of that year we remember that person on special occasions and holidays with a small gift or a card. Everyone is kept guessing until the next Christmas. At that time we tell who we think our mystery sister is and finally unwrap the gift that reveals the secret pal. Our Christmas party usually alternates - one year out at a restaurant and the next a pot luck in one of our homes.
February is our party month and this was held at Joan Hunter's home this past year. We watched the DVD "Across Canada" and a movie titled "Love Comes Softly". Munchies and drinks were enjoyed all evening.
Despite being small in number we still enjoy the camaraderie of a group of women that we might not see on a regular basis if it were not for WI. Reported by Joan Hunter
The 2006-2007 executive of the Keswick Ridge WI are President Marjorie Price (506-363-3176),
Secretary Joan Hunter (506-363-3567) and Treasurer Beryl Ann McCullough (506-363-3106).
As Lower St. Mary's WI president, and possible incoming president of the NBWI Loyalist District 1, I was delighted to attend the January meeting of the Keswick Ridge WI. The meeting was held at the home of Joan and Darrel Hunter at 190 Rocky Road. Joan is the current vice-president of Loyalist District 1. As Jessica Robinson's guest, I was warmly welcomed by President Evelyn Jewett and the 10 members present.
It is fascinating to see the similarities and differences between WI Branches. We all embrace the same goals and objectives and use the same handbook. Like other healthy Branches, the Keswick Ridge ladies are watching their community for people in need. And they have fun together. For example, they each brought trivia quiz questions on New Brunswick resulting in much laughter and learning. It is the way they organize themselves and their charitable commitments that are extraordinary.
At that particular meeting, Keswick Ridge WI gave away $500 without any qualms. Two hundred of this went to support the WI Home in Woodstock. It is clear that they consider the Home an important charity. They visit it, send birthday cards and even take pickles to the ladies.
It was after hearing their second guest, Jeff Campbell, speak that they give away $300 more and committed themselves to similar a expenditure for years to come. Jeff's wife, Dr. Colleen O'Connell of the Stan Cassidy Rehab Centre, had introduced them to "Team Canada Healing Hands" at a previous meeting. Nine teams from the Fredericton group have traveled to Haiti over the past four years treating hundreds of children and adults with disabilities, while providing much needed training in rehabilitation therapy, primary health care and physical medicine. Jeff and Colleen live in Keswick Ridge and adopted two Haitian toddlers in August. He brought pictures of one particular orphanage and appealed to the women to support it financially. While their $300 will provide operating funds, the orphanage will send reports to them on one lucky child who will now have 12 loving Canadian grandmothers.
The major source of funds for this Branch is their takeout supper. The food is cooked at their homes and brought to the Community Hall where it is packaged into 130 meals. Customers pick up a set main course and chose the type of pie they want for dessert. The cost is $6.50 a plate and their net income exceeds $600. At their next meeting they will raise almost $100 from among themselves for their own baked goods.
How do they accomplish this? They are super-organized and very committed to the ideals of the WI. Each Member has a small multi-ring binder which they frequently refer to. Each year their program is printed on small pages, one page to a month, which each woman inserts into her little binder. There are spare pages for each member's own notes and reminders. It is beautiful to watch them working together "without self-pity and without prejudice". "In the big things in life [the Keswick Ridge WI] are [truly] one". Reported by Sheila Washburn, 17 January 2007.
© Copyright 2008 Sheila Washburn