View report page

The amount received from the Christmas Seal Sale which
closed on 31st March, 1956, was £1,370 18s. lid., an increase
of £61 5s. 8d. over the previous year.
It is interesting to record that the Annual Seal Sale commenced
in Camberwell in November, 1933, when the sum of
£168 17s. 4d. was collected. The growth of this income—which
is the Committee's main source of funds —has come about by
the generosity of the citizens of Camberwell year after year,
and assures us of the interest taken in the valuable work of the
Care Committee. The kind messages received with the donations
are a great encouragement.
It is with pride that once again we record the fact that
Camberwell's collection in the Christmas Seal Sale for 1956
exceeded the sum collected by any other Metropolitan Borough.
The Handicraft Class continued to meet each Friday from
2-4 p.m. At the end of the year the number on the Poll was
16 with an average attendance of 11·2. Of the students who
left the class five became fit for work and two rejoined after
leaving for a period of medical treatment.
Leatherwork, cane-work and all kinds of needlework, were
very popular and all the goods made in the class were sold during
the year. Our senior leather worker entered an exhibit in the
"Popular Handicrafts" and "Do it Yourself" exhibition held
at Olympia during October. He was awarded a Certificate of
Merit. This entry was also exhibited at the Lord Robert's
Workshops, was highly commended and later sold through the
services of the War Pensioners Welfare Organisation.
Miss Crossingham, who instructed the students in the early
part of the year, resigned owing to ill-health. The London
County Council appointed Mrs. M. Smith to fill the vacancy.
The Committee continued its social events for the patients
attending the handicraft class. During July they had a day's
outing to Brighton and just prior to Christmas a visit was arranged
to a theatre followed by a supper.
The summer outing was extended to include an additional
30 patients and many expressions of thanks and appreciation
were received.
The Committee's typewriter was loaned to eight patients
during 1956, seven of whom are now full-time typists. The
other "patient is training as a shorthand-typist under a Government
Training Scheme.