There was an extra guest at the speaker meeting in May when Polly brought her assistance dog, Grace. Polly introduced Gaynor Cavanagh who talked about Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. A planned short talk proved very interesting, prompted many questions and an hour passed before anyone noticed. Gaynor spoke about the work of the charity and the difference a hearing dog can make for a deaf person. She explained the training which the dogs undergo from the early days basic training through to the their specialised training with their deaf partner. Grace has completed her training and Polly and Grace continue to work with charity.      

SI Heswall was well represented at Cool Heswall’s recent event  in Hillhouse Gardens. Held annually local environmental groups, eco-organisations and businesses gathered to raise awareness of climate change and our environment and its needs. Members of SI Heswall enjoyed meeting members of the public to talk about Soroptimism and the club’s project making story bags for local schools.              

The first International Women’s Day event was held in 1911. It quickly gained global  recognition and is marked on 8th March. International Women’s Day (IWD) was marked for the first time by the United Nations in 1975. This year Heswall members joined Tomorrow’s Women Wirral to share their celebration of International Women’s Day. They joined in a discussion session “Accelerate Action”, to share thoughts on how women need to maintain action/activities to ensure their voices will be heard and changes will/can be made. A second activity in Heswall celebrated and promoted IWD and also highlighted violence against women. Members ran an information table at Tesco and received donations for The Lighthouse Centre. They also walked through the centre of Heswall with posters highlighting Women’s Day and Soroptimism.      

Gillian Frances Andrew 3 May 1946 to 19 November 2024 Jill was born in Croydon and initially trained as a teacher. But teaching was not enough of a challenge and after a year she went to teach in Ethiopia. She arrived there in a period of great civil unrest and had to leave after a year. She made her  way home via East Africa, cargo boat to Bombay via the Seychelles, through India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and into Turkey when time and money dictated a flight back to the UK.  On return she was able to get a job as a YHA Field Officer Shortly afterwards Jill married Rex. Jill said the YHA job wasn’t compatible with marriage so went back to teaching until she started her family. After her first son, David, was born the family moved to Leeds. Jill had 2 more

Heswall club’s association with Hoylake Cottage  has continued through the year with gardening, bingo sessions and quizzes with the residents. The last event of the year was carol singing which was enjoyed by Soroptimists and residents alike!

        During November and into December members of Soroptimist International Great Britain & Ireland (SIGBI) focus on awareness of domestic abuse. Through the year Heswall members have been active in promoting the issue of violence against women and girls with information points and displays in local supermarkets. During 16 Days of Activism  they focused on the ‘Orange the World’ theme to leave message trails locally. This campaign was started in 2008 soon after the establishment of the UN Women.       ‘The colour orange is used as a unifying colour throughout all activities – it symbolises a brighter future, free of violence for women and girls.’  

Here we see President Iris and club member Stella with staff at Arrowe Park Hospital  who received the trauma teddies from the club. The teddies have been chosen as a craft project for the club’s 75th year and this is the first delivery of teddies – 45 in total and mostly knitted by Stella. Each one is different. They were well received and will be welcome over Christmas.  

    During Heswall club’s 75th year our crafty members are making mastectomy cushions and trauma teddies. The cushions are for the Leverhulme Day Surgery Unit at Clatterbridge Hospital. Already twenty five have been delivered to the unit. They were well received and will be given to patients as they leave after surgery. All credit is due to Jean as she made almost all of them!

      Once again members of the Club enjoyed an evening of live music and entertainment as a  fundraiser for Mary’s Meals  Club member, Sue, is an ambassador for the charity which works to give children in some of the poorest parts of the world one  meal every day in their place of education. The campaign to feed children began in 2002 and now over 2 million children benefit daily. The guest musicians were the Sea Dogs from Port Sunlight with a great range of sea shanties for the appreciative audience. It was an excellent evening and fundraiser for Mary’s Meals     

  In 2022 Gayton Park was selected for a small community project as part of Wirral Council’s planting program within the Tree, Hedgerow and Woodland Strategy to improve Wirral’s tree canopy. A hedgerow and orchard with future community use in mind were planted at the Park in the spring. Several Soroptimists helped in planting fruit trees to establish an orchard. Since then regular monthly working parties have met – weather permitting – and the club has been well represented. Working with members of the Rotary clubs in Heswall paths have been cleared and checked and bark spread to protect the new trees.