At the Soroptimist International, Cannock & District AGM in April President Carole Holdcroft handed over the chain of office to new President Val Jones.Val began her year by saying that she had a really hard act to follow and commended Carole on the excellent way she had led and enthused club members during the year.  She said that as a relatively new Soroptimist [she has been a member of the club for almost 5 years] she stands in awe of the club’s more experienced members and will be looking to them to work with her and advise her during the coming year.  She then presented out-going President Carole with her Past President’s badge and with a beautiful arrangement of yellow flowers. Val recently retired from a full time career in the NHS having qualified as a nurse, midwife and health visitor and is now doing

As Carole Holdcroft came to the end of her year as President of SI of Cannock she was delighted to be able to make a further donation to Pathway, in particular to the refuge they run for women victims of Domestic Violence.  Members have been donating Easter Eggs which have now been taken to the Pathway Project and on Easter Day the children living in the refuge will all be given the chocolate eggs.   Making the decision to leave an abusive home is never easy, leaving with your children makes it even more of a huge decision.  As well as caring for the women, Pathway takes care of the children, doing all that they can to make this traumatic time in their lives more bearable.  Having little treats like receiving chocolate eggs at Easter is just one way of bringing normality and also some

Repair Fistula, restore dignity: the watchword of the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. For over 20 years Cannock Soroptimists have supported this endeavour and recently they invited Jean Hadley, a trustee of the charity Hamlin Fistula UK, to talk to them and bring them up to date with the work. Jean, who actively promotes the work of the hospital and the charity and who visits Ethiopia at least once every year, began by outlining the beginnings: Drs Reg and Catherine Hamlin went to Ethiopia in 1959 in answer to an advert for gynaecologists to work there. Whilst there they discovered that so many young girls were suffering from Fistula [a childbirth injury], the majority of them were shunned and made to live alone because of the offensive condition. The girls had been married whilst still in puberty, were pregnant very soon and their

When the dark, cold nights began in November, members of SI Cannock & District began knitting twiddle muffs which we wanted to give to local Nursing Homes.Twiddle muffs are a knitted hand muff using various colours and textures of leftover or odd balls of wool, such as chunky mohair.  Once muffs are knitted they are decorated inside and out with ribbons, different coloured & shaped buttons, beads, lace, pompoms etc.Muffs provide a source of visual, tactile and sensory stimulation, they can also minimise anxiety and at the same time keep cold hands warm.Member June Bould contacted Ashcroft Hollow Nursing Home to enquire if they would be interested to receive twiddle muffs for their residents. Amanda Yates Activities Co-ordinator reported they had a few but would be extremely grateful to receive more.  On 2nd February a few members of SI Cannock & District visited Ashcroft Hollow

Cannock Soroptimists, as in previous years, have been doing what they can to provide a better Christmas for some of those who may be in some sort of need this year. They provide Christmas gifts for the women and children who will be living in a refuge run by the Pathway Project for women victims of domestic violence over the festive period.  They sent along toys, games, clothing, books, toiletries, jewellery – the recipients of the gifts are always touched that there are people thinking of them at this time. President Carole Holdcroft coordinated the club’s preparation, cooking and serving of a Christmas Dinner for those who use the Soup Kitchen in Mill Street Cannock. They fund a large part of this meal too and again served over 50 meals, complete with all of the Christmas trimmings – this service to members of the community

Throughout the year Cannock Soroptimists have supported the Pathway Project by fundraising and they also provide comfort bags & household items which are appreciated by the women who have left their homes with nothing. This year’s President of S I Cannock Carole Holdcroft chose Pathway as her charity, having been involved with supporting them for 23 years. As Christmas approaches and  the members of Cannock Soroptimists prepare to buy gifts for family & friends, they do all they can to think about others less fortunate to enable them to enjoy Christmas too.  Recently, members of Cannock Soroptimists generously provided Christmas gifts such as clothing, beauty packs, toys & games for women and children who will be spending Christmas in the refuge run by the Pathway Project for women victims of domestic violence. Some members of SI Cannock recently attended the Pathway AGM, (it is the

Cannock Soroptimists were entertained at their meeting on Nov 22nd by Emma Barran-Scott who ran the sweet shop at the Back-to-back houses in Hurst Street, Birmingham for five years. The title of her presentation was “Sweet Heritage”: she told the group all about the history of sweet making in Birmingham and the Black Country, from its beginnings in the Victorian era through to the present day. Along the way we were reminded of almost forgotten sweets such as aniseed balls, sweet tobacco, sherbet and kali crystals in a paper bag. It was a revelation to many of us that some of these sweets are still made locally while others such as Bluebird toffees, remembered with such fondness by members, are no longer made in Birmingham. We also learned that herbal sweets were some of the earliest sweets to be mass produced, probably because the working

One of the local charities supported by Cannock Soroptimists is the Pathway Project which provides aid and support to women victims of domestic violence. Kathy Coe, founder and CEO of Pathway visited the club recently to update members on their work – and to thank them for their continued support. A major focus over coming months will be a closer liaison with police with the aim of preventing sexual exploitation and grooming of young women. She reported that Domestic Violence numbers sadly continue to rise and figures show that two women die in the UK each week as a result of domestic abuse. Pathway works very closely with Women’s Aid which is also supported by Cannock Soroptimists, both organisations providing what is often literally a life line to women who have left a life of abuse.  Some of the women are helped within the community;

Earlier in September SI Cannock members were both entertained and moved by their speaker Barry Picken and his talk entitled “Red Flowers and a Bag of Bones”. Barry told us the story behind how we all came to wear poppies on Armistice Day and members were fascinated to learn that it all started with a woman named Moina Michael at the New York YMCA conference in 1918. Moina campaigned for the poppy to be recognised as a symbol of the end of the Great War and the idea began to spread around all the major countries of the old empire – expect for the UK. Many members at the talk had thought that poppy wearing was a British idea and were surprised to learn that the UK was one of the last countries to adopt the symbol, in 1923. They eventually adopted it thanks to

President Carole did a brilliant interview which was broadcast live on Tuesday 20th Sept from 10.20am – 10.45am. Well done Carole. Photos show: Carole with Presenter, Rob Hughes and Carole at the controls