Newspaper Article 2013 – Barbara Hodgson

Barbara Hodgson
HEALTH AND WELFARE

For 25 years Ms Hodgson contributed her talents to social services in Hastings, helping children and their families, the elderly and the disabled.

She was a volunteer for Presbyterian Support East Coast, a long serving member on the Scott Fund Trust and hosted international students who have furthered their studies in Hastings through the American Field Service now known as the AFS Intercultural Programme.

She was instrumental in setting up and running the Hastings Adult Day care centre from 1973 to 1998. In 1979 she was involved in the development of a family/whanau based home support service which had evolved through the years from Home Builders to Family Focus and now Family Works. The service offers support for children and their families in Hastings and Gisborne.

Ms Hodgson was the chairperson of Presbyterian Support East Coast for eight years and on the board for 20 years and had been made a life member of the organisation. She was the secretary of the Scott Fund Trust which provided grants for youngsters with physical disabilities.

As an elder of St Andrews Presbyterian Church in Hastings she combined a governance role with caring for those in need. Ms Hodgson was also involved in a project which made the church hall better suited to the needs of the community.

She had the much admired gifts of generosity, discretion and integrity and was a true team player.