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

As President of S I Manchester it was a pleasure to attend the Junior Royal Northern College of Music Annual Prize Giving Tea. I had the company of Susan Hollick and her husband who love attending this event. The RNCM is a valued partner and members will remember the wonderful speaker at the charter lunch Karen Humphreys MBE who was about to retire as Head of Junior Programmes. It was a delight to present the Helen Latto Soroptimist Prize for singing to Charlotte Dear, a soprano who travels from West Yorkshire for tuition. During the course of the afternoon I spoke to many young people who were celebrating the end of their A levels and looking forward to the next stage of their musical journeys. Several had accepted offers at conservatoires both in the UK and abroad. My overwhelming impression was that I was made

Club members were delighted to welcome members from S I Bolton, S I Liverpool and S I Southport to  a Climate Fresk workshop on 1st June at Stretford Public Hall. This was an interactive and cooperative workshop where participants explored climate change issues together on a card based game format. This made it easier to see the interesting and often complex interactions between human activity and climate change. These workshops are delivered world-wide, often by volunteer facilitators. Our session was ably delivered by Ethar and Kennedy from Really Recycle. One attendee described the event as ‘Enlightening, thought provoking and challenging at the same time’.

Our Pancake Party is an annual fundraising event held at Fiona’s home. Although held slightly later than usual this year it was a great success and raised over £500 for our charities. There was a lovely selection – Mexican Chicken Enchiladas, Vegan Chilli Enchiladas and French Crepes with Spinach and Ricotta, followed by a variety of dessert crepes. Many thanks to Fiona and helpers.    

Angela from the Rowley Project spoke at our April meeting. The charity was founded in 2000 after Angela and her husband, Stephen, visited western Kenya. They found that the greatest need was for clean drinking water so returned the following year to establish a water filter project. Since then they have helped to establish a primary school, a secondary school and a dispensary. We were pleased to be able to make a contribution to their fantastic work.

President Sue welcomed over 70 members, friends and guests to celebrate the 98th anniversary of the club’s inaugural meeting. Eight clubs from the South Lancashire region – Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, Leigh & District, Liverpool, Southport, St Helens, Stockport & District, and Wigan – were represented.     The Manchester Bee was the theme for President Sue’s traditional toast to the City and Ports of Manchester.   The High Sheriff of Greater Manchester, Mary-Liz Walker, replied on behalf of the City and Ports, referring to all the work carried out by our club. Barbara Blaber, Act4Africa trustee, proposed the toast to Soroptimist International and Pamela Wright, President of Soroptimist International of South Lancashire, replied reminding us to Rise Up and Roar – her theme for the year. The Guest speaker was Karen Humphreys, former head of the Junior Royal Northern College of Music, who spoke about her