Club member Maureen is famous for her craft skills. SANDS is a local charity which helps parents to come to terms with a stillborn baby or a child miscarried. The creation of Memory Boxes with items such as photographs, blankets or personal and permanent memorials are valuable resource. This blanket took many hours of thought and good wishes to help Susan and her family at a difficult time.
Create Bolton helps people with learning or physical difficulties enjoy creative activities during lockdown. Members of SI Bolton can usually find a way to fill craft boxes with knitting or sewing items. A few little treats are an added bonus.
We know that incidents of domestic abuse have risen during this strange, uncertain time so SI Bolton contacted a local charity Endeavour to ask whether they could help. Endeavour supports women and children escaping from violence and abuse towards a better and caring future. The bags of essential toiletries and underwear were made up by members during lockdown. Endeavour’s Facebook page will tell you more about their work.
The events of the last few months have been so overwhelming that we hope our President Carole Swarbrick will forgive us for not acknowledging publicly the honour of her being made an Alderman of Bolton. Her work as a Councillor and her term of office as Mayor of Bolton were deservedly rewarded. As our President from 2019 – 2020 she gave us a splendid year of social events, support for local charities and a range of interesting meetings. The uncertainties of lockdown made us only too happy to accept her offer to continue as President until life returns to something more like normal.
Tea parties, lunches and social events are often (usually?) a way of raising funds for charitable causes, but lockdown has made such friendly gatherings impossible. But we have learnt to Zoom and are planning a virtual Cheese and Wine Party next week. Bring your own cheese; there is no way you can share your bottle of wine; but it will still be an opportunity to chat and compete for prizes in the quiz and other competitions. Then, don’t forget to make a donation to the Charity Account! It won’t be quite like this tea party last year.
Our last meeting was on March 17th, just before Lockdown began, but we have not been idle in the last three months. Our main focus has been to help Urban Outreach make up their donation boxes to Bolton families who have lost their jobs. Jane has collected tins and packages from members who are isolating at home, Ann and her fellow allotment holders have distributes fresh fruit and vegetables that have grown abundantly in the sunny months of April and May and other members have donated funds. When Jane signed up for helping to make up the boxes she had not anticipated having to go through boxes of fresh produce donated by local supermarkets to separate the useful items from those that were past their best. But like a good Soroptimist she stuck to her task.
Margaret’s visit to Chernobyl was rather different from her usual trips to Nepal, Alaska or Baltistan. It seemed improbable that thirty years after a nuclear disaster that could well have devastated the planet, it would be possible to walk through the streets of abandoned houses and marvel at the engineering skills that have buried the Number Three Reactor beneath an immense sarcophagus. Most of our Speaker Meetings are rather less thought provoking, but equally interesting as we try to be aware of what goes on in our world and respond as best we can to those who have suffered from such disasters.
Some years ago members of SI Bolton introduced the mums and tots the Hope Centre at St Andrews Church on Johnson Fold to the idea of making story sacks. That link has strengthened as members of SI Bolton have volunteered at the Tuesday morning sessions and have provided hampers at the end of each term. Families are encouraged to use the pre-printed slips at each visit to be used as raffle tickets for the termly draws. The contents of each hamper varies but items included are for both mums and tots. This time, in addition to the items purchased, there were sufficient additional donations of goods from members that an extra hamper could be raffled. Secretary Jean drew one ticket and President Carole the other.
Alice Worthington but known to us all as Penny Worthington,one of our longest serving members, died peacefully on May 24th aged 95 years. She was a very interested and active member of SI Bolton, not wanting to miss anything despite many health issues in the last 12 months. Penny was a member of SI Bolton for 42 years, serving on numerous committees especially the environment and served as Club President in 1984. Members of SI Bolton will miss a faithful, loyal and loved friend and fellow Soroptimist.
Congratulations to Nadine and Raoul who are pictured celebrating their marriage earlier this month. Nadine Dusabe is a member of SI Bolton and all the club wish the happy couple the very best of wishes as they set out on their life together. The photographs show the couple celebrating at a post wedding party hosted by their friends, Jane and Andrew in their back garden. The bride in red , then a stunning blue, then a return in traditional costume for photographs of the ring – re run after the groom had looked through his pockets to find it! The couple were joined on their special day by Maureen Barber, President of SI Bolton.
