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Visit to National Memorial Arboretum

Visit to National Memorial Arboretum

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At the SIGBI memorial On a bright sunny day in May 30 members plus friends set off by coach from Grange to visit the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas in Staffordshire.  The trip had been organised to see the Soroptimist memorial and also the new one dedicated to the Submariners Association, part of which had been designed by a young schoolgirl from Ulverston. We had an enjoyable and moving day. Members had recently heard a  fascinating talk  by Valerie Welti about the Canary Girls – the female munitions workers in both World Wars and its hoped there will soon be a memorial to them.   The Arboretum was the idea of Naval Commander David Childs CBE who had been inspired by a visit to Arlington Cemetery and the National Arboretum in Washington, and believed that the UK should have a ‘living’ memorial to ensure we
Sarah Neill marine biologist and World Oceans Day event

Sarah Neill marine biologist and World Oceans Day event

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Club members organised an event "Swimming with Orcas" with marine biologist Sarah Neill talking about her research into the effect  on Orca behaviour when  swimmers  are near Orcas. There is quite an unregulated tourist industry  with large numbers of boats and swimmers interacting with Orcas and Sarah hopes her research will  help develop appropriate guidelines to protect these wonderful mammals. Sarah talked about her Arctic adventure sailing with an all female crew , Sea Women Expeditions on the MV Vestland Explorer in November and December 2022. Our club was delighted to hear about her trip as we had sponsored her and were pleased that over 80 people attended her talk in Cartmel Village Hall to share  her wonderful trip. It was very apt we met on June 7th  as the following day was UN World Oceans Day, highlighting the plight of many species in our
Sarah Neill – Swimming with Orcas June 7th

Sarah Neill – Swimming with Orcas June 7th

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Join Grange Soroptimists for an evening with Sarah Neill , marine biologist as she enthralls us with her research and stunning images on her Arctic Expedition with Sea Women's Expeditions. Wednesday 7th June 7.30pm   at Cartmel Village Hall  LA11 6QB Tickets £5  which includes a glass of fizz Tickets from Lynne 015395  34749 or Gill 015395 35958 or email : sonia.boyle@yahoo.com Advance booking recommended.
Fair Trade Fortnight event

Fair Trade Fortnight event

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Grange Soroptimists were part of the Fair Trade fortnight event in Grange on March 11th. It was good to meet other supporters of Fair Trade and have a chance to show our work supporting chocolate making workshops for girls in Ghana and of course share chocolate made with Ghanaian cocoa beans! Lets hope Grange will become a Fair trade town. So far we have raised £670 for chocolate making worklshops for girls in Ghana initially with our Fair Trade way walk and then selling chocolate treats and having a chocolate raffle. We hope to try and walk the whole Fair Trade way There is still time to support the crowdfunder for the project called Chocolate has a name which is aiming to teach the girls at Tarkwa Breman school in Ghana to make chociolate. This will ensure the girls stay at school and improve their
Burns Night 21st January 2023 for Soroptimist Charities

Burns Night 21st January 2023 for Soroptimist Charities

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Piping in the haggis 50 members and guests enjoyed a traditional Burns Supper. Ewen Cameron piped in the haggis and then recited the Address to a Haggis.  Everyone then  tucked into  haggis, neeps and tatties with a wee dram of whisky followed by delicious cranachan. We were delighted that Soroptimists from  the NW Region and lots of locals attended to make the evening such a success. After supper were the traditional speeches with The Immortal Memory by Isabel Huggett, then Mike Gibbons proposed The toast to the Lassies and Jeanette Duckworth replied. The evening rounded off rolling pounds  to win a bottle of whisky , and then  singing some traditional Scottish  songs, ending of course with Auld Lang Syne! £900 was raised  for charities supported by our club. £500 was sent to ShelterBox  which provides  disaster relief  throughout the world including in Turkey and Syria
Burns Night January 21st 7 for 7.30pm

Burns Night January 21st 7 for 7.30pm

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We are looking forward to welcoming you to  Cartmel Village Hall  for our Burns night supper which will be on Saturday 21st January rather than on 25th.  There will be a cash bar and raffle. The haggis will be piped in at 7.30pm by Ewen Cameron and he will then Address the Haggis  and then after the Selkirk Grace,  we all sit down to a supper of haggis, neeps and tatties  with a complimentary dram of whisky, followed by Cranachan for dessert. After the meal there will be the usual speeches , The Immortal memory talking about Burns, then the Toast to the Lassies and the Reply on behalf of the Lassies where there is some light hearted banter. The ever popular rolling a pound to win a bottle of whisky will raise some extra cash for our charities. We will then have some Scottish
What did Grange Soroptimists do to help needy families at Christmas?

What did Grange Soroptimists do to help needy families at Christmas?

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Club members donated money and along with Club charitable funds and sales of preserves the Club was able to provide 50  family sized food hampers and 5 extra large ones. Six members packed all the food purchased, ready for distribution by Barrow Women's Centre staff. We were grateful to Kirkbie Kendal School who also collected items for gifts for teenagers. Packing hampers Handover of the hampers
What did Grange Soroptimists do to mark 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence?

What did Grange Soroptimists do to mark 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence?

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Members have been busy during 16 Days of activism against Gender Based Violence.  Orange the world Our action included wearing  orange, badges saying "No to Violence against women" and wearing orange hearts to raise awareness of the 16 Days of activism. The 16 Days were from Nov 25th ( UN Day for Elimination of Violence against Women)  to December 10th - Human Rights Day and we were busy. Awareness raising on Social Media spread the message diring the 16 days. We also wrote as part of Amnesty International's Write for Rights campaign  in support of women  persecuted for their beliefs and actions across the world . 50 letters were written , multiple E mails sent, petitions signed and Social media posts done. Monday 5 December was the United Nations' (UN) International Volunteer Day 2022  and this year the theme was solidarity through volunteering. The campaign
Magic of Christmas Flower Demonstration with Joan Bentley Nov 20th

Magic of Christmas Flower Demonstration with Joan Bentley Nov 20th

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90 members and guests enjoyed a Magic of Christmas Flower demonstration by Joan Bentley who educated us and entertained while producing beautiful arrangements. A total of £715 was raised for our Soroptimist charities including Barrow Women's Centre. All of the ten arrangements were raffled at the end of the  very successful afternoon held at the Ulverston Sports and Social Club.
Grange Soroptimists go to Belfast Conference and pick up award October 2022

Grange Soroptimists go to Belfast Conference and pick up award October 2022

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Three members of the Club enjoyed a thought provoking and friendly conference in Belfast, making new friends and renewing friendships. The theme was Climate for Change  which encompassed climate issues and the need for change,  in many ways including working for gender equality. We were also delighted to win a Best Practice award for our Fair Trade Way Walk for Chocolate making workshops for the daughters of Ghanaian cocoa farmers. The Chocolate has a name project is working with Tarkwa Breman  girls school and our club so far have directly raised £485. If you want to contribute  to the project you can do so here We were delighted to see Grange Soroptimists Singing for Memory photo featured on the Sustainable Development Goals  banner on display. We also enjoyed some down time visiting tourist sites in Belfast and on the Antrim Coast. If you want further