Skip links

Knitting for Dignity

Knitting for Dignity

in
These days its tempting to expect women to sail safely through the process of giving birth and should anything go amiss, that they should receive prompt, effective and compassionate after care. Sadly this isn’t always the case. Which is why Grange-over-Sands have taken up their needs in support of Knitted with Love. This is a campaign run by the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, providing shawls for women and girls who come for treatment for devastating injuries as a result of childbirth. They’ve endured a prolonged and agonising obstructed labour, often lasting days and without medical support. Most have gone on to suffer the heartbreak of losing their baby. They have then been left with a debilitating and painful childbirth injury, such as obstetric fistula, causing them to leak urine and sometimes faeces. By the time these women arrive at a Hamlin Hospital,
Making another splash!

Making another splash!

in Tags
Grange-over-Sands Soroptimists took to the waters of Kendal Leisure Centre again this year with a heart and a half. In what is now time honoured style, the team were splashing out in the annual Swimathon to raise money for ShelterBox. At the end of the evening, they were tired, but happy. With two swimmers in the water at all times they’d swum a magnificent 159 lengths in 50 minutes. Hard work indeed, but worth it.  The money raised, in the region of £1,000 will help to  provide  more emergency shelters for displaced people. And at this time of escalating warfare and climate-change related catastrophe, there are ever more folk in need. Big thanks to Sheila, Maria, Sonia, Helen, Isabel and Kath. And to Noreen, the intrepid tallier of lengths.  
How are you? — Mental Health and Well-Being Awareness Day

How are you? — Mental Health and Well-Being Awareness Day

in

Polycrisis. It’s a word that no-one wanted to invent. But the pressures of insecurity at work or  unemployment, underlying worries about global warming, the unsettling threat and promise of Artificial Intelligence, the unreliable lure of social media, not to mention ever more polarised politics,  they all work on us as individuals. The effect  can be panic, loneliness, unease and fear. Fear even of being seen to be suffering from these anxieties, fear of being found out to be struggling, vulnerable, at sea. The irony is, often the greater our concerns, the less we speak about them, not knowing perhaps that so many other people are in the same situation. And that help is at hand. Which is why for Mental Health Awareness and Well-Being Day this year, Grange-over-Sands  Soroptimists are asking How are you? at an all day event on Saturday 16 May at the

Grange Soroptimists go International for Women’s Day

Grange Soroptimists go International for Women’s Day

in

What better time than 8th March to celebrate the contributions two of our members are making to the worlds of science and medicine? Sarah Neill, Marine Biologist and Honorary Member of our club, is currently in Antarctica. Following in the steps of Shackleton, she and the rest of the all-women team are on a mission to document climate change, study marine life and of course honour female polar explorers. The team will document the warming of the  Southern Ocean, conduct underwater research and promote STEAM*  leadership for women. To describe the fascinating things they are doing and seeing would take too long here, but you can follow their progress, and see some truly inspiring photographs here: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.neill.1612 Helen Cooper, one of our newest members has recently returned to Africa for two months to work with disabled children. An occupational therapist, Helen has recently spent a

For auld lang syne, and a better future.

For auld lang syne, and a better future.

in

Robbie Burns was well and truly celebrated by Grange-Over-Sands Soroptimists and their guests this year. There wasn’t a spare ticket to be had and the 73 revellers present made sure every single tradition was marked with quite a lot of respect and even more humour. The fun really started when our piper, Ewen Cameron led the solemn procession of the haggis into the dining room. He it was who also gave the great chieftain of the pudding race* its address. After that, there was nothing for it but a recitation of  The Selkirk Grace followed by the clatter and chatter as the assembled company fell to, giving full justice to the famous dish, with its accompanying neeps and tatties. A wonder it might have been that diners had room for their creamy Cranachan, that favourite Scottish desert but somehow they managed it. Mike Gibbons, the

Piping in the fun

Piping in the fun

in Tags

Grange-over-Sands Soroptimists invite you to enjoy a Burns Night in Cartmel Village Hall. After a glass of wine from the the cash bar and we will all stand as the Ewen Cameron ceremoniously pipes in the haggis. Ewan will then solemnly recite Robert Burns own Address to the Haggis. Only then will we all tuck into our haggis*, neeps and tatties eased down with a complimentary dram of whisky. Dessert is traditional Cranachan ( oats, cream and raspberries)After the food we enjoy the traditional speeches of the evening starting with The Immortal Memory looking at the life of Robert Burns and then move on to the more light-hearted Toast to the Lassies and the Reply on behalf of the Lassies.As ever we will get to the serious business of rolling £1 coins at a whisky bottle and holding a raffle, this year for Beyond FGM‡

Spreading Christmas light and tea and jam and soup and biscuits and…

Spreading Christmas light and tea and jam and soup and biscuits and…

in

  From October to December 24 we’re all inundated with ads assuring us that if we buy this or that, a merry Christmas is in the bag. Hard enough when you’re flush. But if you’re broke, had to take refuge from a violent home, have far more love for your kids than money in your purse, the jolly jingles can be torture.  Which is why this year Grange-over-sands Sorops have once again been merrily packing hampers for people who could really do with a treat. 46 boxes of goodies, sized to cater for different family needs were sealed with a bow. The contents, loads of useful basics plus some special seasonal goodies, were provided by Club Members themselves, with money raised from Floral Decoration demonstrations, Cheese and Wine parties, and jam making. The pupils of Kirkbie Kendal School also made outstanding contributions.  46 boxes of

Orange Alert

Orange Alert

in

Grange Soroptimists Orange the World again Passersby may have been wondering why there are orange poppies on the library railings or have noticed  the Hoad Lighthouse lit up on November 25th (and it will be again on December 10th). Grange Soroptimists are marking Orange the World and the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence between November 25th and December 10th which is Human Rights Day. Soroptimists work to improve the lives of women and girls worldwide and have a display in the library and an opportunity to pledge a poppy in aid of Women’s Community Matters ( Barrow Women’s Centre) who support women in this area coping with Domestic Abuse and also work with young people to try and prevent it. Please use the QR code or visit their Website. #NoExcuse

Swopping Clothes, Changing Minds

Swopping Clothes, Changing Minds

in
A new look can do wonders for your mood, but cripple your credit card and worse, leave threads of destruction in its wake. Fast fashion is one of the horrors of our time, involving child labour, sweated labour, and pollution. Cocktails anyone? According to Oxfam*, by 2050, the industry is on course to produce enough unwanted clothes to stretch almost from Earth to Mars. That’s equivalent to nearly four outfits for every single person on the planet, or 138 billion items.Swapping clothes gives your wardrobe that much needed lift, bypasses waste and can be a lovely social event. That was the thought behind the Grange-over-Sands Soroptimist Clothes Swap on 7th November. While guests enjoyed a glass of fizz, Mags from Evermore Vintage, a preloved and vintage shop in Ulverston showed us how to glam up our looks. Her interactive presentation highlighting the issues around fast
We won, we won! But the fight against domestic violence goes on.

We won, we won! But the fight against domestic violence goes on.

in

Grange-over-Sands Soroptimists are delighted to have won the Darwen Award for our Orange Days project last year. Orange Days? These are the 16 November days Soroptimists dedicate to wearing that cheery colour. No, not just to brighten up the start of winter, but to highlight the grim fact that ever more women are subject to domestic violence. Most recently available statiscts calculate that every ten minutes another girl or woman is killed. And though those figures are global, no country is exempt, it’s all just an appalling matter of degree. Last year, our own campaign involved bathing local monuments in glorious orange floodlight at night. We tied ribbons on gates to illustrate every donation we collected. And we were grateful and delighted to feature in the local press. And now we are absolutely thrilled to have our work recognised, The Darwen Award is given by