On 3rd March President Barbara welcomed members and guests to our 93rd Charter event which, this year, was a Sunday lunch at Swinton Park Golf Club. 66 members and guests attended including members of S I Ashton under Lyne, S I Bolton, S I Leigh & District, S I Southport and S I Stockport & District. The Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor June Hitchen, attended and was accompanied by her sister, Julie Hampson. It was the second year she had joined us and she showed a great interest in our work with local initiatives.   Gail Heath, Chief Executive Officer of the Pankhurst Trust, proposed the toast to Soroptimist International recognising the contribution our Club has made to the Women’s Words project. We were entertained by students from the Pendleton School of Theatre – three very talented young ladies, one of whom is this year’s 

Julie Smith, from Cornerstone, pictured here with President Barbara, came to our February meeting to talk to us about the work done by the charity. People who are homeless or disadvantaged can attend the day centre for meals, eye checks, benefits advice and help with budgeting – now particularly needed with the change in benefit payments. Refugees are now attending needing baby clothes and equipment. A very inspiring talk. We are so glad we support Cornerstone. Rose Marginson

Anne-Dore Quack, from our Friendship Link Club S I Essen came to Manchester in December. She visited the Pankhurst Centre and attended a fundraising evening.

Olive was inducted as new member at our November meeting.Olive was born in County Meath and moved to Sale after her marriage. She had a challenging but rewarding career as a probation officer which enabled her to work and empower women caught up in the criminal justice system with issues of mental health, domestic violence and substance misuse. She has two children and two grandchildren and her interests include theatre, music, travel and crown green bowling.

Our Christmas Party, held at Manor Court in Sale, was a fun evening with plenty of great food and chat. Val was presented with the Soroptimist Rose by President Barbara. Val is moving away from Manchester and we will miss her very much; she has had a huge impact on the Club having taken on many roles including those of President and Programme Action Officer, as well as having been Regional President. Rose Marginson  

On 14th December members were among thousands who turned out in the freezing cold to march from the Pankhurst Centre to St Peter’s Square for the the unveiling of the Emmeline Pankhurst statue. The ceremony marked 100 years since some British women received the vote. Tea and cakes were enjoyed at the Clink Cafe in Chepstow Street afterwards.  

Rosemary hosted a buffet supper for members to meet Michelle from our Friendship Link Club – S I Fort-de-France Alizes Sud

  President Barbara and six members of our Club attended the Federation Conference in Liverpool – a most interesting and enjoyable event. Highlights for our Club were the Best Practice Award Economic Empowerment for our HEALMalawi project and member Sue Underwood becoming President of South Lancashire Region.    

In 2013 two secondary school teachers in London witnessed the multiple barriers facing girls in their classrooms – including pressure to conform to ideals, lack of confidence and a lack of professional role models,  Based on research showing that conversations and personal relationships could have a big impact on challenging stereotypes and expectations, they established a mentoring scheme.  The Girls’ Network was soon in high demand and now operates in London, Greater Manchester and across the south coast. Our Programme Action Officer, Val, spoke at our November meeting about her experiences as a mentor with the charity over the past year. She told members about the ideals of the charity, how the Club came to hear about it through a friend of President Barbara and deciding to volunteer. Val went on to talk about the training evening and the excitement of the matching event where

We were contacted by S I Freiburg about a group of girls from Chemnitz who wanted to visit the Pankhurst Centre around the 100th anniversary of some women obtaining the vote. They were given a tour by one of our members, Susan H. who is a volunteer at the centre, accompanied by several other members. Susan said ‘The group from Germany really enjoyed the Pankhurst Centre and thanked Rose for organising the visit and me for doing the talk and showing them round. They had great fun dressing up in Suffragette costumes and taking lots of photos. They were extremely nice people and have every intention of keeping in touch. They extended and open invitation to us to visit them in Chemnitz.