In December, we posted the delivery of Christmas bags to the Joseph Cowan Health Centre. (Please see below)    We have since received a thank you note from the centre and a photograph of a very happy visitor collecting one of our  parcels. The lady in question is happy for us to post her photograph to show how much she appreciated her present. For more than 25 years,  every year, Newcastle Soroptimists have collected toiletries, sweets and clothing to be packed into 25 Christmas bags for homeless women supported by the Joseph Cowan Health Centre.  As you will see below, this year has been no exception.  This morning,several  members  got  together  to  pack  bags  and  deliver  them  to  the  Centre,  where they were very warmly received.

Three Club members visited Canning Street School to revisit the Forest School we have been supporting over the years. The forest school is now quite well established and a great place for the children to learn new skills , improve communication and language barriers. It was a very uplifting and positive visit .  

We had a great day out at The Sill. We managed to dodge the rain. We had a lovely lunch a walk on the roof top to admire the beautiful views. The gift shop was excellent with lots of quality gifts by local artists. The displays were very informative.

Sunderland born Jill Scott was stunned and overwhelmed when she was presented with a statue in her honor this week at The Angel of the North in Gateshead Tyne and wear. The Mayor of Gateshead (Eileen McMaster) joined legendary Lioness Jill at the unveiling of her statue. The mayor said ‘I’m so pleased to welcome Jill back to Gateshead. She is a fantastic advocate for grassroots and community sports, as well as a wonderful ambassador for the North east’. Jill  who played football for England has been so inspirational for young girls in the North East and the region. The statue of Jill can be seen next to The Angel of the North for a short period of time as it will be moved to a permanent home in the coming weeks. Jill will take up a new role as a captain on Sky’s popular

Our menber, Cris Young,  walked a virtual walk from John O Groats to Lands’ End, the distance is 874 miles. The challenge was to raise funds to buy blankets and food for our local foodbanks at Christmas 2022. This was achieved by walking 2 or 3 miles per day, or sometimes 5 or 6 miles, if days had been missed. The duration for the walk was  from January 1st 2022 to November 12th 2022 with a target of £300 to be raised. The £300 would be donated to Foodbanks in the area. Well, Cris did complete her walk on November 12th while away on holiday. However, with all the help, support and donations from Soroptimists  families , friends and Soroptimists in our club and SI Durham, a magnificent amount of  £700 was achieved. Club members Lis Graham, Kath Shearer and Christine Tomkins also contributed by

On Friday November 25th we were invited to an event  by West End Women and Girls’ Centre. This event was part of the UN 16 days of Activism to End Gender Based Violence. It celebrated the work being done and was a rally for the work still to come. It was a space for hope and collective activism; two women are killed each week by a current or former partner in England; we choose now to raise the voices of women in the north. Open Clasp Theatre Company held a special screening of Open Clasp’s award-winning play ‘Key Change’ and it was  followed by a panel discussion to unite us and pledge support in ending violence against women and girls. It was hosted by Huffty (the Centre Coordinator).  The panel included Elswick Ward Councillor, Miriam Mafemba, Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, star of Don’t

SI Newcastle upon Tyne – were you? Why were we marching? To raise awareness of the level of violence against women and girls taking place across the world and make sure people keep talking about it. To demand that local leaders, politicians and decision makers take action to make our homes, streets and institutions safe for all women and girls. To remember all those lost to gender based violence and show solidarity to all those fighting to end it. A selection of photographs  and a link to a video https://youtube.com/shorts/htgCZcDe60k?feature=share taken on the night: