Skip links

Club Highly Commended in Harrogate District Volunteering Oscar Awards

Club Highly Commended in Harrogate District Volunteering Oscar Awards

in Tags

  The Club was delighted to be nominated for the Harrogate District Volunteering Oscars and even more delighted to be highly commended in the Organisation category. The award recognised the service to the community the Club gives and has given over the last 83 years. The Club is actively involved in supporting the local women’s refuge –  financially and giving service by helping update the arts room and making safe the children play area. We have supported Contact the Elderly in Harrogate and Ripon for more than 10 years – Supplying hosts and drivers so lonely people get the opportunity to meet with others and have an afternoon tea every month. The Club also runs the annual Charity Shop Christmas Shop Window Competition across the Borough and has been actively involved in Harrogate at Christmas and the Harrogate Shop Window Competition since 2003.

Club Celebrates 83rd Charter Dinner

Club Celebrates 83rd Charter Dinner

in Tags

  The Club held our 83rd Annual Charter Dinner on 15th October at the Masonic Hall in Harrogate. President Pat Shore and the Club were delighted to welcome 85 guests including the Mayor and Mayoress of Harrogate and the President of Soroptimist International of Yorkshire as well Soroptimists  and  partners from throughout Yorkshire. We were especially happy to welcome Sue Williams, Club President of SI Paisley, a former member of our own Club along with members from SI Paisley –  one of our friendship link Clubs. The Songbirds entertained us with music ranging from Les Miserable to the Beatles. An excellent evening of fun and friendship enjoyed by all.

Behind the Scenes at Harrogate Theatre

Behind the Scenes at Harrogate Theatre

in Tags

Soroptimists of Harrogate and District were enthralled by Anne Cherry’s talk on the History of Harrogate Theatre. Anne had a wealth of historical information dating back to the days in 1900 when the theatre first opened. Anne has been actively involved with the theatre for the last 18 years, first by taking her daughter to the various pantomime rehearsals to being the Chair of the Harrogate Theatre Supporters. Her close involvement prompted her deep interest in all aspects of the theatre and for the last seven years she has been their ambassador and given many talks to varying groups of people. Her love of the theatre was evident as she shared with us some of the facts and photographs she has unearthed during the many hours she has spent researching the Theatre’s history. It was a fascinating talk and a wonderful evening. Our lecture wasn’t

Friendship Evening Silent Auction raises a fantastic £530 for Educate to Lead – Nepal

Friendship Evening Silent Auction raises a fantastic £530 for Educate to Lead – Nepal

in Tags

Harrogate and District Soroptimists celebrated International Friendship Day with a candle lighting ceremony in recognition of our friendship links across the world. President Pat Shore welcomed members, guests and friends including Yorkshire President Liz Lyle. President Pat spoke about International President Yvonne Simpson’s  Educate to Lead Nepal Appeal and how the appeal is helping educate women and girls in Nepal in some of the most remote areas of the world. Soroptimist International of Harrogate and District has 10 friendship links. Candles were lit for each of the Clubs as well as Soroptimist International. All the Clubs friendship links were asked to nominate a special woman.  Some Clubs also sent gifts for the Silent Auction. The event, held at The Hub in Knaresborough raised a fantastic  £530 for the International Presidents Appeal.

Meru Garden for Life wins Silver Award – and raises enough money to support FIVE Meru Gardens

Meru Garden for Life wins Silver Award – and raises enough money to support FIVE Meru Gardens

in Tags

Harrogate and District Soroptimists have had a very busy 3 days at the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show at the Great Yorkshire Show Ground.  Over 37000 people visited the show and apart from heavy rain on the Friday morning the sun shone bright. Our Meru Garden recreated a little bit of Meru in Yorkshire. It tells the story of how the Meru Women’s Garden project supports women to develop the skills and knowledge to create a ‘garden’ that is productive and will give them an income as well as food to feed their families.       We manned our garden throughout the 3 days. We met some fantastic people from all over the world including people from Kenya and those who used to live in Kenya. We were delighted to hear from them how authentic they thought the garden was. We waited with baited breath

Strawberry Tea raises £436 for Uniforms and School Bags in Malawi

Strawberry Tea raises £436 for Uniforms and School Bags in Malawi

in Tags

Club members welcomed  Liz Lyle , SI Yorkshire President, to our Strawberry Tea hosted by member Christabel England. The event raised £436  for the children of Seyama Primary School in Malawi, to enable them to have uniforms, shoes, school bags, books and pencils. (L to R Christabel England, Liz Lyle and Club President Pat Shore) Everyone enjoyed a magnificent spread of food in true English traditional style. A glass of Pimms did not allow the odd shower of rain to dampen the spirits. A book sale, the upcycling of scarves and a raffle all contributed to the fun. The funds raised will help our Friendship Link members of Soroptimist International (SI) Club of Blantyre in their work to support girls to stay in school by providing them with uniforms and learning materials. Children from Seyama Primary School, Malawi with members of Soroptimist International Club of

St Peter’s Church Refreshment Day raises £650 for Club Charities

St Peter’s Church Refreshment Day raises £650 for Club Charities

in Tags

A very busy day yielded fantastic results withjust over £650 to share between the Harrogate Women’s Refuge and our ongoing project with Soroptimist International of Pretoria Tshwane. Harrogate Women’s Refuge Project –  Club Members are actively involved in giving service and fund raising to improve the environent for the women and their families who are having to seek refuge from domestic abuse. The Club has already improved the art room, replace curtains and is currently aiming to raise sufficient money to make the childrens outside play area safe again.  

March – Ovarian Cancer Month – for every woman. For life

March – Ovarian Cancer Month – for every woman. For life

in Tags

March is Ovarian Cancer Month –  an opportunity to raise awareness about the 5th most commonest cancer in women. Ovarian Cancer effects 1 in 50 women. For more information visit Target Ovarian Cancer Ovarian cancer information, including symptoms, risks, types and stages, as well as top tips on seeing your GP Information and advice for women who have just been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, have a recurrence or terminal ovarian cancer Support including our events, our guides and local groups Information about familial ovarian cancer, and a section for younger women Questions and answers in our Ask the Experts section, information on clinical trials, a quick cancer quiz and our useful A to Z

Fantastic achievement as 105 polo shirts start their journey to Mamelodi, Pretoria

Fantastic achievement as 105 polo shirts start their journey to Mamelodi, Pretoria

in Tags

The Club is delighted to announce that Rawcliffe Smart Schoolwear has donated 105 polo shirts of all sizes for children to support their Joint Project with Soroptimists in Pretoria. Rawcliffes have already donated 20 book bags to the project that aims to increase the literacy levels of the most disadvantaged children living in the Pretoria Township, many of who are affected by HIV/AIDS. It was a chance conversation between shop manager Noorjehan Gother and Irene Kerr about the project that resulted in such a generous donation. A local Harrogate school changed its uniform and as a result the old style polo shirts were no longer needed. Club President Sue Williams said, “these polo shirts will be very well received by the children who attend the after school club in Mamelodi. We know they will get to the children because they are going through our own

Wear it Pink

Wear it Pink

in Tags

Club members and friends  supporting ‘Wear it Pink’ on the 23rd October. To eradicate Breast Cancer as a cause of death donate to Breast Cancer Now @ https://secure.breastcancernow.org/appeal/donate The Club meets on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month (except for Aug and January) at the White Hart Hotel, Harrogate. Our membership is open to any woman who want to make a difference to the lives of women and children locally, nationally or internationally.