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Mary Fisher MBE JP- A sister Soroptimist too

Mary Fisher MBE JP- A sister Soroptimist too

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The Club is celebrating its 90th year since we were chartered in 1933.   Our Club archivists,  Rachel, Judith and Nicola are busy going through our archives held at County Hall in Northallerton.  We have many photos but some with no names or dates. Lesley, our Communication team leader posted photos on the Historical Harrogate and District  Facebook page.  Val Hills, recognised one of the faces and thought it may be Mary Fisher. In March we spoke about Forgotten Women. This included Mary Fisher MBE JP. Val, has been doing a lot of work about Mary the first lady mayor of Harrogate. It is our quest for her to be recognised with a Brown plaque. Could this be her, was she a Soroptimist or just visiting the Club? Mary’s granddaughter, Anne,  contacted the Club after the an article about Mary appeared in the Harrogate Advertiser

We did it? Ninety five Toilets Twinned – Flushing away Poverty

We did it? Ninety five Toilets Twinned – Flushing away Poverty

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Club members celebrated the end of their Toilet Twinning project having twinned a total of 95 toilets in low-income countries across the world. A fantastic achievement as we also celebrate our 90th Charter Year.  95 Toilets Twinned. A fantastic result for our project. Why did we do it? Working with Toilet Twinning, part of the charity Tear Fund, we raised funds to build toilets in communities where there was no access to any form of toilet. This means that people have to poo in fields or in the bush. Lack of sanitation and poor hygiene is a major cause of illness and death in young children. And, women and girls are especially vulnerable to sexual assault when they go to the toilet in the open. They also risk being attacked or bitten by snakes, particularly if their culture dictates that they must only go out at night.
Club welcomes new President Pat Shore MBE and celebrates long service

Club welcomes new President Pat Shore MBE and celebrates long service

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It was a full house at the Club’s Annual General meeting in April at the Crown Hotel. We were delighted to welcome Soroptimist International of Yorkshire President Jane Glendenning. The AGM captured all the Club activity over the last year and celebrated a very successful year. Outgoing President Val Hills then passed the chain of office to Pat Shore MBE. President Pat will lead the Club through our special anniversary as we celebrate our 90th year. We also celebrated the long service of two of our Club members, Rachel Richardson and Hilary Waddington. Both have given great service to the Club and Soroptimism over the last 35 years. President Jane, presented their certificates. This year has seen us also form two new friendship links with SI Wellington in New Zealand and SI Conegliano Vittorio Veneto in Italy. We are looking forward to a fabulous year

Forgotten Women – Alderman Mary Fisher MBE JP 1884-1972

Forgotten Women – Alderman Mary Fisher MBE JP 1884-1972

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On this year’s International Women’s Day the  Club celebrated the lives of local Women who were trail blazers. This included our First Club President Dr Kathleen Rutherford and Dr Laura Veale the First Woman from Yorkshire to qualify as a Doctor.  We also celebrated the life of Alderman Mary Fisher, the First woman to become  Mayor of Harrogate in 1949.  Dr Kathleen and Dr Laura are both celebrated with Harrogate Civic Society plaques. Mary Fisher has a local Care Home named after her. Though the death of this ‘much beloved’ woman made  front page news in the local papers  in 1972 she is now all but forgotten. MARY FISHER  MBE JP Who was Mary Fisher MBE JP? It was pure chance, whilst waiting for a funeral of a Club member that Club President Val noticed a grave at Stonefall Cemetery in Harrogate. She  had never heard

President’s Blog February/March

President’s Blog February/March

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It’s great that our regular meetings have started again. The first meeting in February focused on Programme Action.  It was an excellent meeting organised by Club Programme Action Officers’ Christine A and Paula. The PowerPoint presentation really encapsulated all that we do.  It is available on YouTube  https://youtu.be/YQhqoqdNr_M  It’s already had 54  views and is also on our Face Book  page @Soroptimist80.  I recommend you watch it if you haven’t seen it.  It’s also an excellent way of  sharing  ‘What do we do?’ Our current projects, Dementia Forward and Toilet Twinning will be finishing in September so  this was followed by an opportunity to think about what our future projects may be.  There was a great buzz to the evening. Lots of interaction and discussion. Turkey/Syrian Earthquake I am sure, like me, many of you were shocked of the scale and loss of life and

The Great Big Green Week

The Great Big Green Week

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  How do we address Climate Change and contribute to #CarbonZero? What is our Parliament doing? These are the questions we posed to Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough   Club members welcomed Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones to their February meeting. It is #GreatBigGreenWeek and Andrew was asked to speak about how Parliament is tackling #climatechange and #zerocarbon.  We celebrated the Great Big Green Week by wearing green and  giving Andrew a Green knitted heart. The Government aim is to reach zero carbon by 2050. Government departments have to demonstrate how this will be achieved. All parties are signed up to tackling Climate change and there is much cross party working. The country now produces 40% of our energy from renewable resources. But change will take time and money. For instance there are 40 million homes with gas boilers! Members raised concerns

President Blog – November

President Blog – November

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Presidents Report – November/December Where has this year gone? And yet is seems ages ago since we made our first tentative steps back to normality.  Last year we met on the 1st of December and awarded the Charity Shop Christmas Window winners at the Crown Hotel. A week later, I had to make the presentation to the Wetherby Winner’s in the street as restrictions were reintroduced due to the spread of covid. Covid is still a factor but is now part of our everyday lives. I hope all of you who have recently had covid have made a good recovery. Remembrance Sunday 13 November November has been another very busy month.  There is so much going on in the Club. On the 13th of November I represented the Club at the Harrogate Cenotaph to lay a wreath at the Remembrance Service.  It is always a

President’s Blog – December/January 2023

President’s Blog – December/January 2023

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President’s Report – December/January 2023 Happy New Year to all of you! I hope you all  had a Happy and Joyful Christmas? The twelve days of Christmas will be over by the time we meet again. It takes a while before we feel the benefit of the lengthening days.  But - the days are getting longer. A big thank you for the Christmas Cards and to those of you who donated in lieu of Christmas Cards. Jennifer will update me in the next couple of days and I will be writing out to thank those individuals who made donations. The money will help the Food Banks who are under a lot of pressure as the cost of living bites. Charity Shop Winners I was so pleased that so many of you were able to attend for the presentation to the winners of the Harrogate District
Charity Shop Window Competition – The Results

Charity Shop Window Competition – The Results

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Harrogate and District Soroptimist were delighted to welcome the award winners of the annual Charity Shop Christmas Window Competition to their meeting at the Crown Hotel on the 7th December.  The Deputy Mayor of Harrogate Borough, Cllr. Robert Windass  and Club President Val Hills, presented the Award Certificates and the Soroptimist Cup to the overall winner. The judging took place in three zones.  Harrogate Town; Ripon with Boroughbridge and Knaresborough with Starbeck and Bilton. This year the judges were joined by Cllr Mark Flood, the deputy Mayor of Knaresborough  and Linda Birkinshaw a local artist from Ripon. This year’s winner of the Soroptimist Cup is Shelter, Harrogate. Zone Winners –  Harrogate Town Gold Award: ​​Shelter, Commercial Street Silver Award: ​​Martin House Hospice Shop, Commercial Street Highly Commended. ​Saint Michael’s Hospice Shop, Cold Bath Road, Cancer Research UK, Oxford Street and Yorkshire Cancer Research, Oxford Street

President’s Blog – September

President’s Blog – September

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Welcome to my September/ October Blog, Cost of Living Crisis Thank you to Club Members who’ve donate blankets/throws/ hot water bottles, flasks and hats for the Harrogate District Food Bank. I know this will help make a difference. People are already struggling to get by and though the energy cap will help, some of them will still have to make a choice between heat and eat. 5 Ladies and a bus call Bertha I know that many of us where shocked at the death of HM The Queen on the 8th September. The news had just been released as I travelled with Jennifer to the Knaresborough Library to listen to Sue Williams reading from her newly published book. There was a good Soroptimist turn out and it was an enjoyable evening. We are looking forward to the next instalment. A few of us raised our