'Ladies who lunch' help Centacare
Catholic Weekly (20 July 2003)
Members of the Catholic Women's League have a reputation as the 'ladies who do lunch' - as they readily concede - but you are just as likely nowadays to find them at a UN meeting on human rights or helping families in need.
Their lunches are still important, though.
A recent one for 200 people at South Sydney Juniors, organised by the Malabar branch, raised $4000 for Centacare's Melanie's Program. [Melanie's Program, which provides support for foster children with disabilities, is the league's fund-raising project of the year.]
The Malabar group's contribution comes on top of $5500 the league raised at a luncheon to launch the project at State Parliament House in April.
Ruth Kelly, the Malabar branch president, says the fundraising lunch at the rugby league club was a great social occasion.
In the past members ran cake stalls to raise money. Now they find that one big lunch with a raffle is the best way for them to go about it.
"The ladies came from everywhere, they bought lots of raffle tickets, had great entertainment, enjoyed a nice meal and we made lots of money for Melanie's Program," she added.
Each branch of the league will support the project this year by fundraising through craft stalls, lamington drives, coach trips, a power walk and other activities.
Around $14,000 raised by the Catholic Women's League in the past few years has gone to such varied causes as helping establish the Holy Spirit Parish at Carnes Hill; supporting the Mary MacKillop Outreach for boarding house residents at Lewisham; and supporting the fistula hospital in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
The league is represented at the UN through the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations; it also works with the National Council of Women, the Commission for Australian Catholic Women and the Office of the Status of Women.
