S I Manchester will be celebrating its centenary in 1926. We are planning events – to celebrate, to raise funds for our projects and to raise awareness of the work that Soroptimists do. There will be a Centenary Charter dinner in March 1926 with Helen Pankhurst as the speaker. To raise funds for this event, members have been hosting suppers in their homes for other members and husbands/partners. The most recent was hosted by Sue S. on Valentine’s Day.     Some of the comments on WhatsApp – Val said –  ‘The food was very tasty, the atmosphere very welcoming and the conversation very stimulating’. Rosemary said – ‘A wonderful evening … thank you Sue and Mike for your generous hospitality’. Lorraine said – ‘I loved the shortbread and chocolate heart – such a nice touch on Valentine’s Day!’.

We are supporting Ashton on Mersey Chiefs under 11 – a girls’ football team in the South Manchester League – by providing home and away kits.  It’s a new team and we were pleased to hear from their coach, Peter, that they are making steady progress. They certainly look as if they are enjoying themselves!  

Helen, the charity’s fundraising and income partner, spoke at our February meeting. Accommodation and practical support is provided for homeless teenage girls from Manchester who may have experienced relationship breakdowns, domestic violence, forced marriage, threatened abduction as well as physical and emotional abuse. Since it was established in a family home in Whalley Range in 1970 over 1000 girls have been helped – not only by the provision of accommodation, but also to return to education, start a job, or explore training opportunities. Each girl has her own bedroom and is provided with new bedding, toiletries and other essentials on arrival. They share a large kitchen – each girl having her own fridge and storage – and living room. Contact Hostel is our latest project and we are delighted to be able to continue supporting them.

The first day of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence fell during National Tree Week. So 25th November was an appropriate day on which to add to our two previous contributions to Didsbury Park – small ways of combatting climate change which affects women and girls disproportionately. With the help of the Friends of Didsbury Park, and their chairman Brian, we planted a shrub -Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill ‘, a hardy evergreen which originates from the eastern Himalayas. Congratulations to the Friends of Didsbury Park – this year they received the Kings Award for Volunteering and a gold award from Britain in Bloom.  

We have recently started to support Contact Hostel – a charity providing accommodation and practical support for homeless teenage girls from the Manchester area. A Christmas gift of a cosy dressing gown was wrapped and delivered for each of the nine girls at the hostel.

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.