Rushden TB After-Care Committee

Fundraising

View of Rushden Sanatorium

The County Council was prepared to defray all administrative costs and to make a donation of £2 per 1,000 of the population. This gave a grant of about £600 when the after-care committee commenced activities.  The rest would have to come from voluntary sources.

Sale of Christmas Seals

Right from the beginning, the main source of income was the sale of Christmas Seals provided by the National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis. By Christmas 1943 well over 96,000 seals were being sold in the town. In 1953 it was reported that the Seal Sale for the previous year had been launched in November with two innovations which had proved very worthwhile and which would be further developed in future. The first had been the distribution of seals in two of the council estates in the town, donations from which had augmented the seal account by over £25. The second was a poster competition for school children to design a Christmas seal, organised by Mr Cobley, which had brought an excellent response from the schools. The standard of work had been extremely high and the judges, Mrs Hensman and Mrs Dodge, had found it a very difficult task to decide on a winner. Several of the designs had been sent to the National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis for consideration as future seals.

In 1954 the distribution of seals was extended to houses in Higham Road and Upper Queen Street which augmented the account by just over £36. To launch the 1955 Seal sale, a social evening for members and friends was held in the Adult School on 15 November “when we were honoured by the presence of the Chairman of the Council, Mrs Muxlow.”

By 1960, other organisations were competing with the TB Seal sale but the committee was pleased to report that despite this, they had raised £400 19s 10d gross in the 1959/60 sale. In November 1961 the appeal was launched with the distribution of nearly 270,000 seals to householders and included Wymington, Hinwick and Podington.

The Seal sale registered a record receipt in the 1985/6 appeal, of £1787. The committee were proud to be one of the few remaining National Committees successfully operating the Seal sale appeal, “and possibly unique with our sponsoring letter which each year brings to the townspeople full details of finances, the manner in which help is received and grants made to chest patients placed under our care.”

The seals had been obtained from the National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis, later the Chest and Heart Association, but in 1992 none were available as the Chest and Heart Association had been replaced by the Stoke Association. Undeterred, the committee designed their own seals and raised £2,421 18p, but in 1996 it was decided to abolish the Christmas seals in favour of a straight forward appeal, mainly because of the rising costs involved. This was justified by the net receipt of £1,776 as against £1,630 the previous year. There were few complaints in the town as people understood the reasoning.

Other Events

While the Seal sale remained the mainstay of the fund raising, other efforts were also important. In 1941 a Whist Drive at the 'San' in June and a Tennis Tournament augmented the finances.

Photograph of the lawn at the San showing a tennis net just visible on the right hand side

The Whist Drive, or At Home, was to become an annual event. In 1963 it was reported that a wet evening for the At Home at Rushden Hospital on 24 June had not affected the attendance. A Bring and Buy stall and competitions helped raise £100 and visitors appreciated the tours of the Hospital which Dr Fisher organised. Ten years later, in 1973, the At Home was an outstanding success, raising £912. A fine evening, music by the Mission Band, the Carnival Queen and her attendants all contributed to the enjoyment of the evening. The Hospital staff ran side shows and Mrs Hensman organised a craft stall and raffles. In 1987 the annual At Home evening organised jointly with the Friends of Rushden Hospital raised £,1830. An added attraction this year was the Exemption Dog Show and Competition organised by Charge Nurse Ron Barker and Day Hospital staff. Sadly, the 1998 At Home was bedevilled by rain for the third year running, “a great pity as it began in the middle of the display of maypole dancing by Alfred St School pupils who continued their efforts despite the weather.” In 1999 there was maypole dancing again, but this was to be the last At Home. The 2000 report thanked Clive Wood, first mayor of Rushden for donating half the profits from his Charity Race Night and hoped that it would make up for the loss of funds now that it was no longer possible to hold the Seal Sale or the At Home.

Movie In July 1968, Bill Houghton took a short cine film of an "At Home" at Rushden Hospital. It was later transferred to video, and the Society was loaned a copy. It has been digitised and edited for web transmission. You will need the Quicktime Player to view it. If you don't have it installed on your machine, click here to download it. The movie will open in a small new window. It may take a short while to load, even with a DSL/broadband connection. Once it has loaded, click on the "Play" icon to view the film. Internet Explorer users may find that the browser blocks the movie content on this page and the movie page, and they may be asked to allow the content. (A yellow info bar appears at the top of the web page). It is safe to allow the content. Click here to see small-screen highlights of Bill Houghton's cine film
Two of the regular competitions were to Guess the Name or Guess My Birthday. These boards were painted by Clive Wood and would have a doll or cuddly toy attached.

Bowls Tournament

In 1949 a Bowls Competition was introduced, “which was well supported by the bowls clubs of the town and which it is hoped will become an annual event.” It did indeed become an annual event and raised consistently impressive amounts of money. Over £100 was raised in 1951 in this way and in 1972 it was reported that this year saw the 25^th anniversary of the Bowls Triples Competition which the bowlers celebrated in August by holding a bowls match and supper at the John White Sports Ground. “A donation of £200 was raised and over the years, the contribution has been £2,200.” In 1991 the After Care Bowls Committee raised £1,100 but, sadly, by 2000, the committee had to report that the Bowls Competition was not so well supported as formerly and the final had been moved to Higham Ferrers Bowls Club in the hope of encouraging more people to participate.

For more information about the Bowls Tournament click here

Factory Collection

An annual Factory Collection was also taken and raised considerable amounts of money and in 1954 the report gratefully acknowledged the co-operation afforded to the committee in this collection by the employers of industry, the Rushden Shoe Manufacturers Association and the local branch of the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives.

Donations

In 1931 the committee recorded their thanks for donations from Clubs and Friendly Societies, and also from the Benevolent Funds of John Cave and Sons, CWS and Selwood and Co. In the same year, the Catholic Guild arranged a Whist Drive, Mr Essam a Flag Day and the Query Motor Club held a dance at the Windmill Club.  This set the pattern of fundraising over the years with events ranging from dances at the Windmill and Athletic Clubs, to a Sponsored Trot in 1980, organised by the Round Table at Hall Park on 21 September. Mrs J Mumford, the Liaison Health Visitor jogged round the 800 metre course, sponsored by the committee and raising £26.05. The report of 1985 recorded that “the Licensed Victuallers Darts League again supported our funds and Mrs Pack attended their annual dinner to receive a cheque for £150 and to voice our thanks. Dr Fisher attended the annual dinner of the Rushden Factory Darts League to receive a cheque for £175 and again to express our thanks for this support received year on year.”

Donations were given readily by organisations in the town on a number of occasions when the Treasurer expressed concern that expenditure on grants to patients was in danger of being in excess of income. In 1952 the committee expressed sincere thanks for the gift of £550 by the Rushden Industrial Co-operative Society  5,000 Dividend Fund, The Bowls Clubs, The Rushden and District Query Club, The Wymington Gymkhana Committee, The Windmill Club and the Athletic Club, and also for the offers of the free use of rooms for efforts to raise funds from the British Legion, Messrs John Cave and Sons Ltd, Messrs C W Horrell Ltd and Messrs Eaton and Co Ltd. It was a measure of the keen interest taken in TB care work by the town at this time, but by 1997 it was pointed out that a good section of the townspeople supported the work of the After Care committee but this support was missing from the newer influx of people who knew little about its existence.

By 1999 collections at Safeways had replaced the factory collections, and other events such as Coffee Days and Slide Shows had become more common than dances as ways of raising funds.

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