Wynnum Manly Quota Club members prepare their ANZAC Day feast. Photo by Harvey Shore.
BY HARVEY SHORE
When April showers ended the morning service on Anzac Day in Manly this year, hundreds of local residents hurried to the nearby Manly Lota RSL Hall for a free morning tea.
There, they found a magnificent feast laid out for them on a row of tables. It included drinks, cakes, sandwiches, pies, sausage rolls, Anzac biscuits, various slices, scones and fresh cream buns!
This impressive selection of delicious pastries was prepared by the ladies of the Wynnum Manly Quota Club.
Jill Nock from the Quota Club brushed off the gushing praise from guests by modestly saying, “We do our bit”.
However, the Wynnum Manly Quota Club does a lot more than a “bit”. Formed over 50 years ago by a small group of women who wanted to make a positive contribution to the local community, Quota members (all female) spend their free time raising money and using it where it is needed most.
Quota ladies support local women’s shelters, look after local homeless people, and help families who cannot adequately provide for their children. For example, every Monday, they make trays of sandwiches and take them to Wynnum West State School for kids whose families cannot provide lunch, so that no child goes hungry.
Jill Nock said, “We don’t make a big fuss about our work. The local Quota Club has a small membership of just two dozen women. We meet monthly at the Wynnum Manly Leagues Club and discuss ways to look after people quietly. We raise money in various ways, such as fashion parades. Then we use that money to help the needy.
“Sometimes we punch well above our weight. For instance, we’ve given over $200,000 to Hear and Say Audiology to provide cochlear implants for deaf children. At other times, we simply provide morning tea for local RSL branches on ANZAC Day, Remembrance Day, and Vietnam Veterans Day. Whatever we decide to do, our aim is to fulfil our Quota.”
Jill invites any women who would like to join the local Quota Club to call her on 0458 445 308.
