This year’s 90th anniversary conference was held in the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh from 1st to 3rd November. Five of our members attended and enjoyed meeting old friends and making new ones. The themes were Educate, Empower and Enable, and the speakers included Baroness Floella Benjamin, the President of Soroptimist International and the Presidents of S I Europe and S I Africa. More information on the South Lancashire website       S I Manchester member Rose was pleased to represent S I Kathmandu, one of our Friendship Links, by carrying the Nepal flag in the opening ceremony.

The Mayor of Bolton and Soroptimist International Manchester hosted an afternoon tea in order to mark 50 years since the formation of Greater Manchester and the forthcoming centenary of the Manchester Soroptimist club. All Soroptimist clubs in Greater Manchester were invited to give a presentation to the assembled mayors of the various boroughs in order to highlight the valuable work carried out in their communities. The Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester  and three deputy lieutenants were joined by the Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland President Ruth Healey and  the Regional President Pamela Wright who both contributed to the afternoon with interesting and uplifting speeches. Members in Manchester were generous in donating raffle prizes with all proceeds going to Soroptimist charities. It is hoped that the event will further raise the profile of our global organisation as we look towards the exciting centenary year ahead.

The Regional Rose Bowl Challenge was established in 2003. S I Manchester won in the first year for our newsletter. We have won several times since – most recently in 2021 for ‘Programme Action Re-imagined’ – and were delighted to win again this year. Regional President Pamela’s theme was ‘Rise Up and Roar’ and clubs were invited to describe how they have risen up and roared. Vice President and Membership Officer Sophie collated the information and her submission included details on how the club uses social media to explain and promote our projects. President Pamela later told President Carole that what set the Manchester report apart was the detailed evidence of success. Click on the link below to see our entry. Rosebowl Challenge 2024 SI Manchester FINAL

Contact Hostel was established in 1970 and provides accommodation and practical support for homeless teenage girls from the Manchester area. The young women may have experienced relationship breakdowns, domestic violence, forced marriage, threatened abduction as well as physical and emotional abuse. The fundraiser and income partner Helen is going to talk at a future meeting. President Carole and new member Claire went along to Asda Hulme to assist in a bucket collection. Their support was very much appreciated. The time passed quickly and they enjoyed people watching!

Thanks to a legacy we received from our honorary life member Yvonne Mullen we have been able to sponsor a girls’ football team – Ashton on Mersey Chiefs Under 11s. Yvonne was always keen to support children  and we wish them the best of luck for the season.

Members, family and friends enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea – sandwiches, scones, cakes and pastries – at our annual garden party on 18th August. Thanks to Rosemary and Gus for hosting, Alison for organising, Sue U. for the tombola, Fiona for the bake stall and Gus for manning the bar … and, of course to those who attended and  those who donated tombola prizes and cakes. Over £600 was raised for our charities.    

S I Kampala was chartered in 2023 and has just become our  tenth Friendship Link Club. We hope to be able to work with them to support two of our projects in Uganda – Act4Africa and SALVE.   Our other links are with S I Essen Victoria, S I Fort de France Alizes Sud, S I Grosse Pointe, S I Gdansk, S I Kathmandu, S I Johannesburg, S I Madurai, S I St Petersburg and S I Wichita. We keep in touch with newsletters and our annual report and meet members at conferences whenever possible.

The Pankhurst Centre celebrated the birthday of Emmeline Pankhurst by offering a fun day of activities to the public.  People could make appointments to visit and have a guided tour of the centre and all the artefacts relating to Emmeline’s work and the work of the Pankhurst family. As well as the tour, workshops were available for writing poetry or creating cards.  There were activities for children.  A highlight was a performance by an opera singer,  Elise Morton, accompanied by piano player, Alex. President Elect Fiona, Vice President Sophie and members Rose and Val helped with the day by providing refreshments for the visitors – lemon drizzle cake, blueberry cake, brownies, cookies, buns and chocolate crunch. There were many grateful compliments which made all  our efforts worthwhile. Val Jenkins Programme Action Officer

On a very warm evening in June some members enjoyed the Kargo Market on Salford Quays. As we overlooked the water, enjoying the atmosphere, we tucked into Korean, Vietnamese and good old English food which was all delicious. Thanks to Sue (and Albert) for the suggestion. Carole Swarbrick President

The recipient of the Soroptimist International Manchester Arena Award 2024 was Leigha Tandy, a musical theatre student. On a beautiful sunny afternoon Rose and myself went along to Pendleton College to present Leigha with  her certificate and cheque for £250. In addition we watched performances by the performing arts students which were dramatic and thought provoking. One snippet from the play Road, written by the Bolton born playwright Jim Cartwright set in a northern town in the 1980’s, had overtones of life today for some of the women we support and help as Soroptimists. Members may remember that in the aftermath of the horrific Manchester Arena bomb in 2017 the club decided to set up an award to a performing arts student at Pendleton College. Many young people attended the concert and were affected by the events of that terrible night. The girl student is