New Britain herald., 1915-09-22
Y. W. [. A. PRAISED
 BY NATIONAL BOARD I| I|||
Feicitations Extended at Exer' CiSes by Miss Pauline L: Sage

in the building last night. A ldl Se
 crowd of members and their friends
 was present.
 Mrs. Charles E. Wetmore, president
 of the association, presided and With
 her on the stage, when the exercises
 opened were Mrs. F. G. Platt or this
 city and Miss Pauline l.. Sage, of the
 national board of the Y. w. C. A. l Mrs. Wetmore opened the evenings
 program with a welcome to the guests
 and then introduced Mrs. Platt Mrs. Platt Asks Blessing.
 Mrs. Platt congratulated the mem-
 bers on their fine new building and
 said that it would fill long felt
 want of the young women of the city.
 Mrs Platt said the keynote of the
 building it life," and that it is an
 inspiring monument to the young | ladies. She then asked a divine 1 blessing on the edifice and the mem- 1 bers of the association.
 1 To Better Life.
 Mrs Wetmore said the aim of the 1 Y. w. c. A. ito make better women
 
 l and make a better city," She warm l ed the girls that the success of the l association depends on themselves. ''The association is trying to encom- pass all that is good and the failure or success of it all lies with the members" she concluded. The chair man introduced Miss Sage of the National board of the Y. w. c. A. Remarks By Miss Sage. Miss Sage prefaced her members with the statement that she was a "curtain raiser" but said that on some occasions she was glad to Ab&l one and the dedication of new M. w. c. A. building was one of them. w She said New Britain is one of ffty-three chapters in the Northeast ern field, which comprises New Eng | land, New York and New Jersey with headquarters in New York city. Each association may consider itself ] member of large family and as such, would be interested in national | work" said Miss Sage. The speak l CT then explained the manner in 1 which the business of the Y. w. C. A. l is carried on.
 tr+ Summer Camps
 Miss Sage said the Northeastern di- vision has two summer camps, one in Massachusetts, the other in New i York, which last summer took care of 1,S00 girls during their vacations. At these camps council meetings were l held, the council being, formed from l mem bers of each local association. These meetings not only made the young ladies well acquainted but gave them an opportunity to absorb each 1 others views. At the same time it 1 brought out some new ideas as many girls would think of things that would | help the association in carrying out l it's ideals. It also caused the Y w. 1 c. A. to be very democratic for every l girl had a chance to initiate some l thing new. .a, Aims of Y. w. c. A. -'" Miss Sage said the aim of the Y w. c. A. is to help all girls, to educate 1 them, to give them an outlet for their 1 talent, to make life rich, strong and l helpful. The speaker said the spirit of Christ runs through all the ideals o the Y. w. c. A. as embodied ia, l the national motto: "I am come that l they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly." The 1 association wishes to be of service to all young women of this and foreign 1 lands. It has helped foreign girls | who have come to this country by
 forming the International Institute,
 which gives home to newly arrived
 immigrants and observes the customs | of their native land.
 Changes in Association Life.
 The first Y. w. C. A. associations
 were simply boarding homes but thev
 have changed with the progress of I civilization. For, now they are not
 only recreation centers but are also
 centers of education. Club life, such
 as the institution affords tends to develop the lives of the girls, so that
 they learn to do things for them
 selves, to assume leadership and to
 render service to the community. It l gives them a chance to become ac-
 quainted with the city government l The Y. w. c. A. at San Francisco. 1 Miss Sage, here, told of the work done by the Y. w. c. A. at the Pan- 1 American Exposition at San Fran cisco. It furnished homes and guides ] for strange girls when they arrived
 there There was large dining hall 1 conducted by the association, which 1 fed 5000 people at one meal Miss l Sage congratulated the local associa- l ton on it's new buildings and said she hoped it would develop a new interest l ir the girls lives, which would cause l them to be practical and spread 1 Christianity throughout the district 1 '"The Wayside Piper" Mrs. Wetmore announced that the second part of the program would be 1 play: ''The Wayside Piper" She 1 said the chara cter of the niner utas