The Elimination of Violence Against Women Day was marked by Jenny (President Beverley SI)  and Jackie (Hull SI) who spent their Saturday in the St Stephens Centre handing out leaflets printed by the SI UK Committee “Violence Against Women – Stop It Now” and the bookmarks ”..He Loves Me/He Loves Me Not…” to raise awareness of Violence against Women .

Jackie said that “our area, Kingston upon Hull, has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the UK. We wanted to raise the awareness of domestic violence and supply contact telephones numbers and websites where the victims of domestic violence could turn for help. We also wanted to make young girls/women aware of the relationships that could turn into abusive ones. We wanted to show there is a different way of living for those victims of DV.”

It’s amazing how many women (and men) suffer in an abusive relationship. Check out the bookmark on this link: http://sigbi.org/2011/loves-me-loves-me-not-bookmark/

Our Club President Alex Henderson was invited to be interviewed on the Radio Humberside programme ‘talk with Burnsy’.   Alex was able to promote International Day of Peace and also make local listeners aware of our Club. 

This broadcast was included in the December Soroptimist News under International Day of Peace reporting this event.

The following link takes you to the International Day of Peace website and explains how individuals, organisations and nations can create practical acts of peace on a shared date:  http://internationaldayofpeace.org/about/background.html

Crafting spiders, making glitter masks and decorating biscuits were just some of the activities children enjoyed at this fund-raising event at Home-Start. 

Many arriving in Halloween costumes, the children had their faces painted, ate themed buns and toffee apples.  Hull SI members were pleased to offer home baking or a few hours to help Home-Start make the day a success.  Thanks Carol for providing such fantastic craft ideas and materials.

 For more information on Home-Start (Hull) click on this link:  http://www.homestarthull.org.uk/

We were very pleased to welcome Dave Horner as speaker to our October meeting. 

Dave came to tell us about the Make a Wish Foundation; a charity dedicated to making a wish come true for children and young people who have life threatening illnesses. 

We heard many heart warming stories of special children who have been thrilled to meet their favourite star, visit Disneyland or become a princess for a day – to name just a few.  The presentation included a video showing some of the children and those magical moments when their wish came true. 

Apart from speaking at functions, Dave volunteers his time to the charity to help in many ways from collecting the wishes to being a chauffeur or escort.  

Anyone can refer a child to the charity.  For more information and to download a form visit their website: www.make-a-wish.org.uk

This year our annual lunch was held at the Willerby Manor Hotel in a lovely room overlooking the garden. 

We were pleased to welcome Val Jenkins who was attending her last function as the Yorkshire Area President and told us about the highs and lows of her presidential year.

Our speaker for the afternoon was Captain Jane Smales who is a nurse and a member of the Territorial Army and had spend several months in service in Afghanistan. 

Jane showed us slides of how service men and women travel and their living conditions in the camp.  One slide showed us colleagues playing sport in that extremely hot climate.  Jane also described how the team, which was made up of medical professionals from various countries including America, Australia and New Zealand, helped both our brave soldiers and enemy casualties in ‘Mash’ style theatres.   

Thanks Jane for a very enlightening and interesting talk.

The weather was certainly kind enabling us to sit outside in the sunshine and enjoy Alex’s beautiful country garden.   It was a very enjoyable and relaxing afternoon with wonderful food and excellent company.  Thanks to both Alex and Dennis for such a lovely day.

Janis said it was a beautiful day and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves at the same time raising £100 for Cancer UK.  Well done Janis.

Several members volunteered for a day of service to assist in a fund raising event for Dove House Hospice. 

Tea coffee and cakes were being served to patients at Alexandra Health Centre who were attending the clinic for their annual flu injection. 

Supplies were donated by staff at the clinic, many of whom had baked for the occasion.  Patients enjoyed refreshments and made a donation to Dove House.

Sheila Leadley came to our September meeting to show us how to create quick, easy and mouth watering menus. 

Tasty seasonal ingredients such as Brambles were blended with Crème Fraiche and Elderflower to create a Syllabub. Smoked Trout and beetroot were placed on a Rocket Salad for a starter. Citrus fruits adorned a Tangy Chicken Salad and Pears and Almonds decorated a fat free brandy soaked Chocolate Gateau.  

A splendid evening  concluded with the finished results being raffled to raise money for our local charties.