Service through fellowship | Auckland News | Local News in Auckland

Long-standing women's service group The Phoenix Club is appealing for more members to continue it's work with the palliative care of cancer patients.

The Phoenix Club has 25 members helping alleviate the suffering of those in hospices and hospitals in the Auckland area by raising funds and donating, wheelchairs, special mattresses or special med-lift chairs or medical equipment as needed.

The club has an annual general meeting coming up on October 27 and is hoping to boost numbers in this, the club's 25th year.

Club president Barbara Leikis says the group provides an excellent opportunities for people wanting to make a positive contribution.

"It may be that your family member encountered the solace and calm of a hospice at the end of their life and you would like to give something in return for the care and comfort afforded your loved one," she says.

The phoenix is a bird said to arise from the ashes every 500 years. In 1985, five women with an overseas owned women's service club decided that a Service Club owned and operated solely within New Zealand and for the benefit of New Zealanders was needed.

And so the Phoenix Club of New Zealand was born. Their motto is "Service Through Fellowship" and the objective is the palliative care of patients with cancer either in the home or in a hospice or hospital.

The club's main on-going project has been the printing of the Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy Patient Booklet which is given to every patient in the Auckland area either from their oncologist or through the Auckland Hospital. This has been reprinted by the Phoenix Club many times over the years in both English and Mandarin.

Each year a new project is chosen to receive funds. Over the years med-lift chairs, wheelchairs, Spenco mattresses and medical equipment have been donated to five hospices, Starship Hospital, Auckland Hospital oncology ward and Child Cancer Foundation.

Members, who come from across Auckland, hold an annual bridge luncheon, champagne breakfast and attend theatres and hold raffles on every occasion. They meet every second month for a dinner and speaker in central Auckland.

More information, phone secretary Sylvia Jones on 534 9093.