Newspaper Article 1989 – Chocolate almond sales to raise funds

Girls’ Brigade Week

Chocolate almond sales to raise funds

The Girls‘ Brigade is the oldest movement for girls in the world, dealing with the spiritual, physical, educational and social aspects of life which young people need to live successfully in their relationships with each other and in our modern and changing world.

It also gives girls and young women the opportunity to meet friends, to play together, work together under trained leaders, to learn new skills, undertake exciting new activities, and to discover through Brigade pen friends, that the world is wider than they thought.

June 8 to 15 marks the annual Girls’ Brigade Week, which aims at making the community more aware of what being a Girls’ Brigader means and to raise funds.

This year a national fundraising project revolves around the sale of chocolate almonds. The goodies are being sold for $3 a box, with a percentage of the profits going toward local groups.

How it began

The story of the Girls’ Brigade began on a chilly Saturday afternoon in Dublin in 1893.

The girls of Sandymount Presbyterian Church had met as usual for their singing practice under the watchful eye of their conductor, Miss Margaret Lyttle.

The day of the annual Sabbath School Meeting was approaching and there were songs and music to be rehearsed. Somehow, on this occasion, the singers seemed to be feeling the cold; perhaps because the wind blowing in from Dublin Bay nearby was harsher than usual that day.

At any rate, Miss Lyttle thought some physical drill would warm the members of the group, the effect was immediate and the idea caught on.

Apparently some of the girls told their brothers in the Boys’ Brigade about this drill and on an afternoon in early October one girl suggested the singers should all themselves “The Girls’ Brigade”.

In this spontaneous way the name of a world-wide organisation arose – one which is now found in more than 50 countries throughout the world and which in New Zealand alone, has 15,000 members.

The movement takes as its motto the words “Seek, Serve and Follow Christ”, encompassing the following principles:

The Brigade acknowledges Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord according to the Scriptures and seeks to fulfil its aim to the glory of one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Brigade witnesses to the standard set by Jesus Christ for the whole of life.

The Brigade gives positive teaching on the Christian attitude to the social evils facing its members.

Photo caption – Some of the members from the 2nd Hastings Company who will be helping to distribute chocolate almonds. Back row: Vanya Warren, Kim Baker, Louise Griffith, Lana Jordan. Front: Jodi Flett, and Lynette Mildenhall.