SI Cannock Soroptimists hosted the recent Midland Chase Region AGM held at Weston Village Hall.
Members of the club provided delicious home-made cakes – which were thoroughly enjoyed! – made and served refreshments throughout the morning. Team President Lynne Tuckley welcomed everyone and showcased some of the work of the club, Team President Jill Gooch read the Vision and Mission statement.
Clubs in the region were again asked to bring along pre-loved children’s books for Rotary Books4Home – 330 were donated! This was especially pleasing as the speaker for the morning was Co-founder of Books4Home Beverley Ricketts.
Beverley gave a powerful presentation with some shocking facts and emotional stories. It is still the case that 1 in 8 disadvantaged children does not own a book of their own; only 43.4% of children aged 8-18 read for pleasure, the lowest rate since records began: for those of us who grew up loving having stories read to us and having books to read this was particularly sad to hear. Research shows that reading for pleasure can:
- promote better health and wellbeing,
- aid in building social connections and relationships with others
- help increase the chances of social mobility.
Books4Home makes a real difference to children in Staffordshire, Shropshire and parts of the West Midlands – over the last 10 years, 120,000 of these children have been given a book of their own by the charity. Cannock Soroptimists – and Soroptimists throughout the Region – are delighted to be able to support by collecting and donating pre-loved books. As well as giving a child a book, that book is saved from being one of the astounding 320 million books pulped or sent to land fill each year!
If you can help by donating books please contact Cannock Soroptimists via their Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/SICannock or their website: www.sigbi.org/cannock-and-district
Photo attached: SI Cannock members Trish Mellor, Jackie Prince, Lynne Tuckley and Lynn Bedford with Beverley Ricketts and the table full of books!