S I Manchester took an unusual step towards saving the planet with an innovative Sip and Swap event, bringing Bond Street to the home of our social lead, Alison. An opportunity arose when a club friend kindly donated several new top brand clothing items (complete with swing tickets) to use as we liked to support charity funds. A relatively new member, Alison Forster, who has accepted the Social and Event lead role, had the idea of organising a Sip and Swap day. Bring a “mistake” a purchase of ill fitting shoes,  an outfit worn once to a wedding, or no longer fits and rather than wasting this resource swap with another club member. Any remaining items at the end of the day could be returned to the donor or with agreement donated to one of our charities. Alison’s conservatory was transformed into an amazing Soroptimist

Our Charter Dinner marked the 96th anniversary of the Club’s first meeting. It was held at the Pinewood Hotel on 12th March and attended by 70 members, family and friends. Our speaker was Katie Fraser from WomenMATTA – a women’s centre in Manchester and Trafford providing  practical and emotional support, advocacy and advice to women at all stages of the criminal justice system – a charity we have supported for a number of years. Katie proposed the toast to Soroptimism and Regional President Dorcas Akeju OBE responded. A most enjoyable evening.

Our speaker for March 2022 was Caitlin from Stitched Up . Started in 2011 with the aim of encouraging individuality, pride and sustainability through fashion and style, they support garment workers worldwide in their quest for fair wages, are passionate about recycling, upcycling, re-using clothes and reducing waste . They provide workshops and events to help people to repair and upcycle clothes and other items. Very inspiring and definitely made us all think about our need for buying more clothes and making the most of those we have.  

International Women’s Day takes place on 8th March every year to celebrate the achievements of women and call for greater equality and has been recognised by the United Nations since 1975. The theme for this year was ‘Break the Bias’ Several members represented the club at the annual Walk for Women joining hundreds of people walking from Castlefield to Manchester Cathedral. The Club was pleased to be able to make a donation to Manchester Action on Street Health which was doubled thanks to the Big Give – an online match funding platform.

Following the Planet group’s challenge to adopt vegan or vegetarian diets during January, a buffet party was held at Rosemary’s home. Members brought a variety of vegan and vegetarian dishes  – including vegan jambalaya, Greek style starters and vegetarian sausage rolls. Recipes were shared afterwards. A very enjoyable evening. Thanks to Rosemary for hosting it.  

Inspired by her new Jewish cookbook and the club’s ‘Eat to Beet Climate Change Challenge’ for January, Ali merged the two and found a recipe (courtesy of Tori’s for muffins) that are baked for the Jewish festival of Tu B’Shevat. These muffins incorporate the seven species of the Torah: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates.   Members enjoyed cooking along with Ali and their muffins were enjoyed by family and friends.

This event took place on the evening of December 10th at River Manchester’s premises in Openshaw. Set up to mark the end of the 16 Days of Activism, the event celebrated the 120 moves to safety that the Charity had achieved during the past year; it also marked the opening of the new café – Living Waters – which will provide a safe space to meet and chat. SI Manchester agreed to support this event by providing small gifts to be given out to attendees. The suitcase-shaped boxes contained a Soroptimist Orange the World badge, chocolates (Fair trade of course) and leaflets about the Charity. One member made tablecloths for the cafe and others helped out on the evening. The focus of the evening was 16 pairs of shoes, each representing the story of someone who had been helped by Charity. Three of these stories

Thank you to President Rose for hosting a Christmas party for members. A lovely occasion.

Women Matta is a charity that supports women affected by the criminal justice system and those at risk and has been one of our projects for several years. We were asked to provide diaries to be included in Christmas gift packs for the charity’s service users and were quickly able to collect over 200. These were delivered, together with ASDA vouchers, underwear, toiletries and other items in good time for Christmas, Although not directly connected with Women Matta, we also received an appeal from Diane Hawkins, High Sheriff of Greater Manchester.  She had visited Styal Prison and was horrified to find that many of the women had only one set of underwear. We were happy to join other clubs in the South Lancashire region by donating many of the items needed.

To celebrate 100 years of Soroptimist International, clubs all over the world have been planting trees. A hawthorn tree was obtained from the Woodland Trust and on 29th November, during National Tree Week, President Rose and members visited Coppice Library and Wellbeing Centre in Sale to plant the tree.   Rebecca, co-ordinator of the Wellbeing Gardening Group, researched some of the history and folklore surrounding the hawthorn – When hawthorn appears, it brings a message of hope and healing for our heart on both the physical and emotional level. This could signal the beginning of a new relationship or adventure. When we open our hearts and minds to what is possible, we soon discover that we are not alone on our journey. Hawthorn cleanses the heart of negativity and replenishes the body through nourishment. Hawthorn encourages us to feel renewed and refreshed as we venture