Nestled in the hills on the fringes of Napier sits Taradale, home to a group like no other – the Taradale Afternoon Tea Club. It’s a little group with a huge heart, where strangers have become unlikely friends.
Club founder Ruth Pearson-Vella, who runs a local charity shop, explains how it all started. “For a long time, I’d wanted to support Kiwi kids. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough in my weekly budget to allow for that. Then I thought, ‘What could I do? I know, I’ll get all the team together, we’ll have a cup of tea, get everyone to bring a plate and a gold coin each!’"
She rallied her shop volunteers, dreamed up some wacky competitive party games, laid out the tables with delicious treats that everyone brought – ladies, a plate! – and The Taradale Afternoon Tea Club was born.
“I must say we have some very competitive players with a lot of cheating and laughter going on!” Ruth says.
Social connections are forged, as club members share their life stories – including Barbara, a 74-year-old nun who has spent her years travelling the world and has many tales to tell.
“Originally it started with some of the die-hard older ladies, but now we've got some new volunteers who are from India and Sri Lanka,” Ruth says. “They're just young girls, new to the country, missing their families. And so the older ladies have kind of adopted them, like daughters, and it's so beautiful. They just love it – and they’ve told us that they’re learning about NZ culture through our gang!”
The club even has a mascot – a giant octopus tea cosy, knitted by Ruth’s daughter.
Ruth’s empathy for children in poverty stems partly from her own life experiences. As a young, divorced mother with four children, she found it hard to make ends meet. “I did it really tough,” she says.
At one point, she swapped a metronome for a bicycle, so that she could ferry her kids around. “I used to put the baby on the back, and I used to do the grocery shopping. I had them all hanging off the handlebars! It was really tough.
“I remember I couldn’t buy a raincoat for my daughter. So I feel for parents who are going through this – and for children. Because I know what it’s like. And no mum should have to feel bad that she can’t give her children food and put shoes on their feet or give them a raincoat.”
The group has raised almost $500 for KidsCan so far. “These beautiful people are not bringing a gold coin; they’re bringing $5, $10, $20! It's very humbling,” Ruth says. “I love these people, and I’m so encouraged that a small group of people who don't have a lot in material things have huge hearts, are so generous, and can laugh lots!”
