For many years the club has been helping to make fresh beds on changeover days at the Calvert Trust Keswick. http://calvertlakes.org.uk last year 2 of our members took a dip in Bassenthwaite Lake to fundraise for new bedding  lots of freezing fun!       The Calvert Trust offers residential breaks to people with a wide range of disabilities to experience the Lake District in a safe and supportive way.          

We were honoured at our Regional Best Practice awards to be shortlisted for 2 projects; Survey of Railway Stations in Cumbria ( identifying safety issues for women and rail users) Standing up for Women and Girls – 16 days of Activism 2024 and beyond United Nations 16 days of Activism against gender based violence- Orange the World We are absolutely delighted to accept the Regional Best Practice Trophy for our 16 days of Activism  project!! The whole club worked very hard together to make this a successful project and we will continue to build on this as time goes on. The winning award was presented by SIGBI President Ruth Healey.  

Friday 19th September SI Cockermouth & District will be 44 years old, celebrations to be had! Cake, Fizz and some lovely reminiscing over the years…..   Scrapbooks lots of memories fondly collected..         “Happy Birthday dear SI Cockermouth and District happy birthday to us!”

Celebrating 345 years of Service At our AGM this week we were delighted to present members with their long service award certificates. Certificates are for 25, 35 and a remarkable 40 years service. In total 345 years service- incredible! We took the opportunity to look at the current members – all told 557 years service. Wow !

Celebrating President Tellervo’s year of office Our AGM is always a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the work we have done. This year we were delighted to welcome 3 new members to the club, 2 new link members and we were joined by one of our past Presidents who was visiting the area. President Tellervo has had a fabulous year. We have celebrated diversity with a LGBTQ+ talk, joining Pride by the Harbour, and supporting Ukrainian families. We have continued to support Every Life Matters, Matthew Belshaw of Cumbria Police gave us a talk on the work they are doing to combat violence against women and girls. Dandelion coaching talked to us about menopause support. One of the highlights of the year was club member Claire’s trip to Mera Peak and the fundraising to initiate a sewing project with RUWON. 11 women are now learning to

Club member Claire self-funded the trip of a lifetime to trek in the Himalayas. The challenge was to summit Mera Peak at 6,476m – the highest trekking peak in Nepal, from where she was able to see a vista of mountains (including Everest) that she will never forget. During the 14-day trek she walked for 7 hours per day, slept in teahouses and felt temperatures of -25 deg C. An amazing opportunity to fully immerse in Nepali culture. Whilst in Nepal Claire took the opportunity to visit a charity which she believes will make a difference to the lives of Women and Girls in rural Nepal – RUWON Nepal Sewing and Tailoring Program. RUWON Nepal Sewing and Tailoring Program https://ruwonnepal.org.np/projects/empowerment/empowering-women-with-sewing-and-tailoring/ In August 2022, RUWON Nepal set up a free Sewing and Tailoring training program for underprivileged women from rural areas to learn the skills necessary

Proud and Diverse Cumbria   Proud and Diverse Cumbria is a new volunteer led organisation, with a focus on being a strong, PROUD, supportive voice for Cumbria’s DIVERSE communities. Although initially this came from an LGBT+ standpoint it is keen to widen this to be diverse, inclusive and show equity for all. This new organisation held its inaugural Pride by the Harbourside event on Saturday 16th September. This event was about People, Educating, Enabling, Empowering, Awareness, Advocacy, Action – everything that Soroptimism is built on. What an event. Parades, music, drag queens, Company stalls, market stalls and just and AMAZING atmosphere.

Our Very Own Derwent Dippers   Based on the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake , The Lake District Calvert Trust is a residential outdoor centre with 40 years of experience in delivering challenging outdoor adventure holidays for people with disabilities. http://www.calvert-trust.org.uk/lake-district   For many years, over the summer months, we have made beds at the Calvert Trust in Keswick. This year was no different – from mid-July to mid-September we have had great fun clambering onto bunk beds, battling with pillow cases and duvets and been delighted to leave bedrooms ready for the next guests. Often making 50+ beds at a time.   As well as service to the community it is a morning of chatter, catching up and a well-earned cuppa at the end.   This year we recognised that The Calvert trust needed new bedding – Fund raising was required!   Club members, Chris

Afternoon Tea in Support of BEEP Doctors Last year we had an excellent presentation from the BEEP Doctors. https://beepdoctors.co.uk/  This fantastic Cumbrian based charity, staffed by volunteers brings emergency medical care to the patient. Whether that is on the roadside at the scene of a road traffic accident or at home during a life-threatening emergency, the team of volunteer doctors have a variety of skill levels and are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide extra clinical care & interventions in medical emergencies that is not within the scope of practice of normal paramedics. We were so inspired by the work the charity we wanted to raise additional funds to support the charity. Several club members gathered to organise 2 fantastic afternoon teas. Club members were treated to scones (savoury AND sweet), strawberries and fizz and cake. It was ALL