Summertime – and once again it’s time for local organisations to call on help from Crosby’s Soroptimists. The annual Open Garden day at Crosby Hall attracted, as usual, large crowds. This is a major fundraising event for Crosby Hall Educational Trust (CHET) – a local institution that the Soroptimists have supported since its foundation. Visitors are always ready for refreshments so members of SI Crosby staffed the pop-up café throughout the day. The CHET team know the work is in safe hands. Thankfully, dealing with the cows was not part of the job! Sefton Women’s and Children’s Aid (SWACA) is a longstanding focus of the Soroptimists’ practical service. To support the charity’s fundraising efforts, members helped prepare and serve the annual Strawberry Tea. Showers and sunshine greeted visitors to the summer Garden Party at St Joseph’s Hospice, Thornton. Once again, Soroptimists were on hand in

Crosby Soroptimists travelled to Keighley to help celebrate a milestone anniversary. The Keighley and Crosby clubs have a friendship link, keeping in touch and meeting up whenever possible. SI Keighley is 90 years young - hence a special lunch with entertainment and a guest speaker. Local vocalist Mela Busby chose a theme of 'women's voices over 90 years’. Her medley of songs was a delightful backdrop to the day. The speaker was Michelle Hands. The founder of She Who Dares Wins, she aims to ‘connect, support, and inspire women to carve their own extraordinary paths’. Michelle's regular podcasts feature women trailblazers. These interviews, and her uncompromising approach to tackling challenges, are gaining much attention. Club member Yvonne Atkinson co-ordinates SI Crosby’s several friendship links with clubs worldwide: “Our Keighley sisters made us very welcome and I am delighted we were able to join them to

Mindful of Helen Reddy's words, Crosby’s Soroptimists were at the heart of the recent regional conference ‘Rise Up and Roar’. Sandy Taylor and Pat Williams were part of the conference team for SI South Lancashire’s biennial event. For many months they helped plan everything including speakers, venue and hospitality. Crucially, women-centred themes were at the heart of the Conference Programme 2024. Health and wellness, education, gender equality and human rights - all came under scrutiny on the day. Pat shared the registration desk with Debra Curtis, of SI Liverpool.  Hard work - but time for relaxation before the pre-conference dinner. Sandy was the conference chair. Keeping everything to time - even wrestling with IT - needed tact, patience and humour. Thanks to her skill and experience, the day progressed successfully. SI Crosby's own Steph Stephenson (HR Director, Jaguar Land Rover) gave a lively session on

Crosby’s Soroptimists have yet again shown their support for local charity Sefton Women’s and Children’s Aid (SWACA). Members responded to an appeal for children’s clothes. Families arriving at the charity’s refuge sometime come with very few personal possessions. The refuge needs a stock of clothes for children and teenagers that can be given out in such an emergency. The Soroptimists donated a large selection of clothes for children of all ages. Arrangements were then made to deliver everything to SWACA. Shirley Smith, who co-ordinated the collection said: “All these clothes will be valued by refuge staff as they help mothers and children in distress. “Our next effort for SWACA will be to collect small items for children – such as toiletries, colouring books or toys – that the refuge can hold in readiness.”

Membership took centre-stage at Crosby Soroptimists’ recent meeting. Special guests were Angela Holmes and Anne Clarke, Joint Membership Officers for SI South Lancashire Region. They spoke of the challenges of attracting new members and of the imaginative ways in which Soroptimists can get themselves known in their local community. They also encouraged everyone to think widely of themselves as Soroptimists – not just as members of a particular club. Visiting clubs in the region goes with the officers’ role. Each visit, they know, is a two-way experience, clubs and officers learning from each other. Anne and Angela were delighted  to meet Caroline Vitty, SI Crosby’s newest Soroptimist, who was enrolled at the meeting. Caroline has a background in health visiting – shared with her mentor, Chris Chua-Short. Newly retired, Caroline is happy now to have the time to indulge her passion for running – starting

Crosby Soroptimist Steph Stephenson recently gave her fellow members a whistle-stop tour of STEM in her workplace. The promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects to girls is ongoing. Take-up of STEM subjects at school is encouraging; but how does this translate into the world of work? In the UK only 16% of engineers are female. Steph demonstrated how her employer (Jaguar Land Rover – JLR) is facing the challenge of enhancing women’s access to engineering. Steph is HR Director for JLR (Halewood and Brazil). For International Women’s Day the year (8th March) Steph and the team set up workplace sessions both for employees and for young women in high schools local to the factory. Delegates looked at engineering – its scope, challenges and opportunities – in the modern world. The company  is taking positive action to encourage job applications from women. Currently

Crosby’s Soroptimists celebrated the club’s 85th anniversary in style by going ‘down the rabbit hole’. Guests sat at ‘Alice’-themed tables in the historic setting of the Barn at Crosby Hall. Flowers sprang from teapots and – “curiouser and curiouser” - dormice peeped through the foliage. Club President Jill Boggan introduced representatives from Sefton Baby Baskets - the charity’s founder Gill Ruane and her colleague Sue Hall. This local organisation has been highlighted as part of SI Crosby’s community action this year. Guests were able to hear from Gill about its impact on mothers – and all could admire one of the baskets full of essentials for a new family. SI Crosby welcomed Pam Wright, SI South Lancashire Region President as a special guest. Members were also delighted that Soroptimists from clubs in Liverpool, Keighley, Southport, Manchester and Grange-over-Sands, plus Crosby Lions President Tom Tyson and

Crosby’s Soroptimists are delighted to welcome another new member. Jan Branigan’s roots are in Crosby and she returned to the area after a varied career. In Jan’s life Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School, Crosby, has been a feature and she has, over the years, met some local Soroptimists through the school. Girlguiding is another ‘constant’ and Jan retains active links with the organisation. Jan’s Soroptimist mentor is Pat Williams. Through a mutual interest in sailing they – and their husbands – have known each other for many years. On behalf of SI Crosby President Jill Boggan officially welcomed Jan, and wished her much happiness as a Soroptimist.

Chris Hobbs, Practice Consultant for the charity SafeLives, was Crosby Soroptimists’ first speaker for the new year. SafeLives was founded in 2004. Its original emphasis was on supporting people (overwhelmingly women) who were coping with the ‘fallout’ of domestic violence and abuse. The charity provided Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVA) each of whom acted as advocate on a woman’s behalf, helping her through the court processes. SafeLives then set up for each woman and her IDVA a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) to create a safety plan for her family. In just over 10 years the charity had worked with 60,000 adult victims of abuse and more than 100,000 children, SafeLives’ strategy has expanded. It is dedicated to ending domestic abuse, “for everyone and for good”. It covers the full range from coercive control to high-risk (homicide) situations. Much of its work is ‘behind the

December saw Crosby Soroptimists busy  with active assistance, festive fun ... and Santa support. Once again members volunteered at St Joseph’s Hospice, Thornton, for the ‘Light Up A Life’ service. Visitors always appreciate hot drinks and mince pies on a cold night, and Soroptimists were on hand to help out. It’s a busy evening, but a great opportunity to support the hospice. In response to a plea from Thornton Parish Council, SI Crosby members helped Santa get to the Christmas lights ‘switch on’ in the village. His eco-friendly decorated bike ensured he was on time! The Soroptimists were able to collect for local causes during the festivities, plus the parish council added a generous donation. Pedal-powered sustainable Santa was ‘hit’ with everyone. Santa also needed the Soroptimists’ assistance when wild windy weather grounded Rudolph and the sleigh. This help meant he was still able to