“If there is a need, do it” 30 Years of Service: Finding Yvonne McDonald’s Place in the Women’s Auxiliary
Year she was born TBC
Presbyterian Support and Volunteering
Women’s Auxiliary
Community fundraising
For more than 30 years, Yvonne McDonald volunteered within the network of women supporting Presbyterian social services in South Canterbury. A history project records her practical motto: “If there is a need, do it.” That brief statement offers a doorway into decades of unpaid work, fundraising and care. Yet the public record still does not tell us exactly which services Yvonne supported or what responsibilities she carried. Her story is therefore both a tribute and a research invitation.
The words are attributed to Yvonne McDonald, described as a volunteer for more than 30 years. They appeared in the organisation’s A Stitch in Time history project and were later included in WuHoo’s story about the Presbyterian Support Women’s Auxiliary.
That history reaches back to 1918, when South Canterbury women began providing clothing, food, furnishings and financial assistance for children and families facing hardship. Over subsequent decades, women associated with the Auxiliary raised money, operated the Goodwill Shop and supported the development of services for older people.
Yvonne belonged to a later generation within that tradition. Her 30 years of volunteering suggest sustained commitment, but length of service alone does not tell us what she personally did.
She may have worked in fundraising, shops, committees, visiting, administration or practical support. Those are reasonable possibilities within the organisation’s history, but they cannot yet be attributed to her without minutes, volunteer records, interviews or annual reports.
The quote is still significant. It records how one participant understood the work. Rather than waiting for ideal conditions or formal recognition, the women identified a need and responded practically.
Presbyterian Support’s official history confirms that community fundraising was central to major developments such as The Croft. Local supporters raised $150,000 towards completing and furnishing the new home, which opened in 1980. The public history does not yet establish Yvonne’s particular involvement in that campaign, so she should not be credited with it individually without further evidence.
Yvonne’s profile is therefore not ready to become a full biography. What has been found is a strong opening: a named woman, more than 30 years of service and a practical philosophy that helps explain how collective care was sustained.
The next step is to recover the work behind the words.
Working timeline
Dates unknown: Yvonne begins volunteering with Presbyterian Support or its associated women’s network.
More than 30 years: Reported length of her voluntary service.
2024: Her words and contribution are included in the A Stitch in Time history project.
2025–2026: Her name becomes part of WuHoo’s wider investigation into the Women’s Auxiliary.
Sources
Presbyterian Support South Canterbury, A Stitch in Time, 2024.
The key source for Yvonne’s quotation and reported length of service. The complete brochure should be retained in the WuHoo source file and checked for further references to her.
WuHoo, “Thread and Sugar: How South Canterbury Women Built a Legacy of Care”.
Provides the Women’s Auxiliary context and identifies Yvonne as a long-serving volunteer. It is a pathway to the organisational source rather than independent proof.
Presbyterian Support South Canterbury, “History of The Croft”.
Supports the wider history of community fundraising and the development of The Croft, but does not currently identify Yvonne’s personal role.