Two capital sums bequeathed to the club were donated to the Royal Northern College of Music for investment, with the interest gained to be used annually to bestow a prize to a student. In the graduate school the prize is the Soroptimist Prize for Composing or Conducting and in the junior school it is the Helen Latto Prize for singing. Helen was President of S I Manchester in 1980-81. Susan Hollick represented President Sue this year –  The concert showcased ten very accomplished performances on trumpet, horn, violin, flute, clarinet, piano and voice and the works as varied as Chopin, Samuel Barber, Gabriel Faure and Fritz Kreisler, played and sung by amazing young people between 11 and 16 years old. Susan presented the Helen Latto prize to soprano Alex Wilkinson – Alex said  … being awarded the prize truly made my heart sing.  

President Sue was delighted to meet Mamta Bajaj from S I Bangkok when she visited Manchester in August. They strolled around the Quays exchanging stories and experiences, then Mamta joined us for our Club meeting. S I Bangkok recently celebrated their 45 years by publishing a book made up of the memories of Presidents and contributions from Presidents’ families. Mamta presented the Club with a copy – Sue suggested that should be our goal for our centenary in 2026.

New Hope Rural Trust, based in Orissa, is a charity we have supported for many years – see our International Projects page for more information.     A new project for the senior girls involves the production of tea bags. Each box contains six varieties of Assam tea – bay leaf, lemon grass, cardamon, clove, aniseed and ginger,  herbs and spices which have been part of Indian culture food preparation long before tea became India’s national drink. We received ten boxes which sold out immediately raising £50 for the charity as production and postage are funded by a grant from a charity in Australia.  

President Sue and Programme Action Officer Rose presented this year’s award – a certificate and cheque – to Yna Montarde, a student at Pendleton College. Yna will study Dance & Musical Theatre at the Urdang Academy in London. The Club established the award in 2018 in memory of the victims of the horrific terrorist attack the previous year.

Liz Hibberd, Manchester City of Sanctuary’s Strategic and Partnership Lead, spoke at our June Club meeting. Manchester City of Sanctuary is part of a network of organisations across the UK. Their mission is to make Manchester a welcoming place for refugees and asylum seekers – most of whom are women. This is achieved in a number of ways – social events, physical activities such as yoga classes, and opportunities to learn new skills. Local organisations are supported to be better able to understands sanctuary seekers. We were pleased to be able to make a donation  

Gemma, a farmer from the Lake District and a Greenpeace volunteer, spoke at our May meeting about the organisation’s current aim – to protect the Amazon rainforest from industrial farming. We learned that rainforests are home to over half of all known animals and plants on earth and that the main driver of deforestation in the Amazon is demand for meat.     We can help by reducing our intake of processed foods, by shopping locally and seasonally and by avoiding waste.  

Alison, our Programme Chair, arranged a two mile walk for members – and four dogs. We started in Monton village then followed the ‘loopline’ – the old route of the Roe Green railway line – before returning along the Bridgewater Canal to Monton for a pub lunch. Many thanks to Alison for a most enjoyable morning.  

After a two year gap Age UK Salford was able to arrange their fourth Annual Boat Race at Salford Quays to mark Dementia Action Week. Members ran the tombola and the refreshment stall and the Club was pleased to be able to give a donation from the Daisy Cross (Soroptimist) Trust fund.