SI Cannock & District’s first meeting of their year was a very busy one, setting the pace for the year to come! The first duty that newly appointed President Trish Smith had to perform was to welcome a new member to the club. Jacqui Watton had been a member of SI Cannock many years previously but was returning to the fold and was given a warm welcome back! The club was also joined by Sam Booth CEO of The Pathway Project in Lichfield. After seeing them at a previous meeting, Sam had asked the club whether they would make some of the fabulous Reading Pillows for the children who find themselves in the Refuge plus some knitted hearts that are given to pathway clients to keep in their pocket to remind them that they are loved at times when they are struggling.     The

  Immediate Past President Carole Holdcroft and Incoming President Trish Smith All Soroptimist clubs hold their AGM in April of each year, Cannock Soroptimists held theirs recently at The Barns Hotel, Huntington. Lead Team President for the previous twelve months was Carole Holdcroft. As she looked back on the year she praised and thanked all members for their positivity, their enthusiasm and for the huge amount of work – covering many areas – they had been involved in – it is always amazing to look back at just what has been achieved! Some of the projects the club had been involved with which outgoing President Carole mentioned are: Supporting women’s refuges locally: Pathway Project and Staffordshire Women’s Aid Collecting pre-loved children’s book for Rotary Books4Home Making Reading Pillows for nursery children Continuing support of Ukrainian families in the area; raising funds for generators for Ukraine

Many members of S.I. Cannock and District recently relived some of their teenage years when Peter Cadman came to speak to the club about “The Fab Four – The Beatles. We heard about their early lives in Liverpool and then moved onto their musical lives. John Lennon was 17yrs old and Paul McCartney just 15yrs when they started their ‘skiffle’ group. Paul was at school with George Harrison where he recruited him to join the group. There were originally 5 members of “The Silver Beatles” John, Paul, George, Pete Best and Stuart Sutcliffe who had their first gig in Hamburg, Germany, they actually stayed in Hamburg performing for 2 years. During this time Sutcliffe left the band. Peter Cadman with Soroptimist Jill Mason who chaired the meeting. Brian Epstein, their first manager, masterminded the image they came to be famous for and replaced Best with

Members of the Craft Group with some of the Reading Pillows SI Cannock marked World Book Day by making memories and remembering times gone by! In conjunction with Rotary Books4Home, the club’s Craft Group have been making Reading Pillows, large cushions where a child can snuggle up to read their favourite book which they can keep in the pocket of their pillow   Deputy Nursing Manager Sarah Taylor, Beverley Ricketts Rotary Books4Home, Jackie Prince, Pat Stanley with the Book Pillows Last week, two members of SI Cannock went along to Hednesford Nursery School to deliver fifteen Reading Pillows in time for World Book Day. They were joined by Beverley Ricketts of Rotary Books4Home. The children adored the pillows and were soon lying on them to read the books that they found hidden inside!   Pat Stanley outside the nursery she had attended 80 years ago. The

  Cannock & District Soroptimists commemorated their 71st Charter by hosting a dinner at Brocton Golf Club and they invited family and friends to join in their celebrations. The evening was expertly organised by Soroptimist Jill Gooch and her team and Mistress of Ceremonies Lynne Tuckley skilfully made sure that everything ran like clockwork. Lead Team President Carole Holdcroft began the evening with her theme for the year ‘Each and every one of us can make a difference, but together we can make change, We think we are just a drop in the ocean, but together we are the ocean’ She welcomed their guests who included members of Cannock & District Ladies Probus, Men’s Probus, Tangent, Cannock WI, Rotary Club of Cannock and many sister Soroptimists from local clubs plus three special guests from their Friendship Link Club, SI Port Talbot who lit friendship candles

As part of the Rotary Club of Cannock’s annual Santa collections for local charities in the weeks leading up to Christmas, SI Cannock joined forces with them on a cold Saturday in December to collect cash from shoppers at Tesco in Heath Hayes. SI Cannock asked that this cash was given to Cannock & District Foodbank. As usual everyone was so generous and the club was thrilled to collect £350.00 from the local community.     Last week a number of members attended the Rotary meeting where Lead Team President Carole presented a cheque for the amount to the manager of the Foodbank. Photographs 1) Some of SI Cannock members collecting with Santa  2)Lead Team President Carole presenting the cheque to Sue, manager of Cannock & District Foodbank.  

At the first speaker meeting of 2026, members for Soroptimists International of Cannock and District heard from a volunteer for Staffordshire Women’s Aid.  Soroptimists have for many years supported Women’s Aid and Pathway in numerous ways, such as raising funds and donating goods to enable women to start afresh when they leave to set up home to start a new life of safety. The club were given facts and figures about the charity and then the personal story of the volunteer who had found herself needing the safety of the charity, before over time finding the strength to support others in a similar position. Her personal story brought home to members just how much their support helps so many survivors of domestic abuse making the efforts of the club essential on all levels. After making a donation to the charity President Carole and all members applauded the

Lead Team President Carole Holdcroft presenting the cheque to Gary Fear In November 2025 Gary Fear was a guest speaker of Soroptimist International, Cannock and District, speaking about his numerous self-funding visits to the Ukraine. Although Gary had no connection with the country, he decided to make a visit in 2022 taking much needed aid to this war-torn country.  Gary has continued since then to raise funds (£152,000 to date) to take out and buy local supplies which then helps their economy. At the first meeting of Cannock Rotary in 2026, six members of S.I. Cannock and District attended to hear Gary give an update on his trips. They presented Gary with a cheque for £380 which will buy a generator.  Rotary also donated the funds for three generators. Gary continues to keep members updated. The visit at the end of January saw him battle

Lead Team President Carole Holdcroft and Programme Action Lead Tracey Stokes with staff from the Maternity and Neonatal department at New Cross Hospital Each Christmas SI Cannock give gifts to a group of women who deserve our support and thanks. This year, together with SI Wolverhampton and SI Bilston they have chosen the staff who work in the postnatal and antenatal wards at the Maternity and Neonatal department in New Cross Hospital. This Christmas, to thank the hardworking staff who support our local mothers and babies, they delivered 90 gifts of a multicoloured pen and hand cream for each of the midwives and staff who work on the wards . They also gave tubs of sweets to the Delivery Unit and the Athena Group (formerly known as the Vulnerable Women’s Unit). SI Cannock’s Lead Team President Carole Holdcroft and Programme Action Lead Tracey Stokes played

Gary Fear with Soroptimist Cresta Garner At their last meeting SI Cannock welcomed the inspirational Gary Fear who since the outbreak of war in Ukraine has made 12 trips to the country to deliver aid to its civilians. Following a fund-raising visit to Ukraine in 2018 where he found the people so friendly and generous, on the outbreak of the war in 2022, estate agent Gary felt he needed to do something to help its people. After raising £6,500, in February 2022, he embarked on his first trip to distribute aid and has continued to raise money to take desperately needed supplies to beleaguered villages, towns and cities across the country. In addition to food, toiletries and household items Gary has sourced much needed medical supplies, generators and power banks; in fact, whatever the people need, he finds a way to get it! To date