By CASEY NEILL
DANDENONG Evening VIEW Club has helped children to escape from disadvantage through education for the past 30 years.
The organisation’s national councillor Trish Brooks spoke to 60 guests at a celebration to mark the milestone at Dandenong RSL on 1 March.
She explained that the Voice Interests and Education of Women (VIEW) movement supported the Smith Family’s Learning for Life program.
“To break that cycle of disadvantage, it has to be through education,” she said.
Ms Brooks recently attended a university graduation ceremony for Learning for Life students who achieved degrees in such subjects as medicine, science and engineering.
“It just shows the end result of all the fund-raising that you do,” she said.
Shirley Constantine and her neighbour Gwen Matthews are the only founding members still involved with the group.
“I had just finished my degree at Monash University and I was a bit at sea and looking for something different,” she said.
“I went down to the interest group at the Dandenong Town Hall and there was my neighbour, Gwen. We went independently.
“They fired us up with the idea that this was a group for women and an opportunity for women to develop themselves professionally.”
Ms Constantine said Rotary didn’t take women at that time.
She’d left her purse at home so Ms Matthews lent her the joining fee.
The inaugural meeting was held on 4 February 1986 in the St Mary’s Church community centre.
“I’ve been president more time than I could count,” Ms Constantine said.
“The first president moved away from Dandenong before the end of the first year and because I’d been fool enough to say I’d be vice president thinking ‘I won’t have to do anything’ I very quickly had to move up.”
She said most of today’s members were retirees and she’d like to see that change.
“We’re trying to get younger people in because that’s how you keep things alive,” she said.
“I was here for the first meeting and I hope I’m not here for the last one.”
Hallam’s Natasha Barry, 20, is paving the way. She attends with her mum Kaylene, grandmother Beryl and aunty Annette Nugara.
She joined two years ago “to get away from the boys” and enjoys the friendship.
The club’s president Dianne Black has been a member for 22 years and reminisced about various dinners, outings and activities.
She recalled Christmas pantomimes, particularly a member playing the part of a baby in Sleeping Beauty, complete with an oversized and coffee-stained nappy.
They knitted garments for the underprivileged during ‘baby month’, dined at teddy bear picnics, and held a baby photo competition where members had to “try to pick which of the darlings transformed into the wise ladies at the meeting”.
“I enjoy the night out with the ladies. They are all very friendly and it’s great to know that we’re supporting a worthy cause,” Ms Black said.
“There will always be underprivileged people that need help.”
