Sunday 26 June [new_royalslider id=”9″] We enjoyed a lovely lunch at The Crofters Hotel, Cabus on Sunday, 26th June, with 75 members representing the majority of the Clubs in the Region. Nicola Cheetham, who is Manager at The Crofters, and is also a member of Garstang Soroptomists, always ensures that we are well looked after. The presentation of Regional awards was made by Regional President Margaret Hammond after the lunch as follows: Haslingden Trophy (new members & retention thereof) Preston Darwen Shield  (best Programme Action Project)Blackpool Carnforth Award  (best long-term PA Project)Blackburn Rose Bowl  (sensory cushions competition) Rishton & Gt Harwood Windermere Grange-over-Sands   Rosemary Hoyle (Grange-over-Sands)  

27 July 2016 Grange Soroptimists are holding a “Grease” film and Singalong, in aid of the Meru Women’s Garden Project in Kenya. Come and enjoy an evening of fun and music, singing along to your favourite songs with Olivia Newton John! No musical ability required! £5 – Pay on the door on the night.  Film starts 7.30pm. Dressing up optional but prizes for the best outfits! Venue: Victoria Hall, Main St, Grange-over-Sands LA11 6DP For further information see Website for SI Grange www.sigbi.org/grange-over-sands/.

Saturday 25 June 2016 Members enjoyed a stimulating Regional meeting with reports and updates on forthcoming events including the Regional walk and the Barn Dance. Lynn Yates and Tricia Coll updated members about PIES (Partners in Education Swaziland), following their recent visit. The building work for the new centre has started. The high rate of HIV and child poverty means the work of PIES is so important to improve the life chances for the children. Ruth Bruce (Programme Action chair) congratulated them on their continued commitment and enthusiasm. Ruth Bruce highlighted a number of projects and called for 2 new members for the Committee looking at PA forms for awards next year. And for an Ambassador for the Meru Women’s Garden project. Isabel Huggett from SI Grange spoke re the Grange Club experience with the White Ribbon campaign for the last 3 years. (See White

PARTNERS IN EDUCATION SWAZILAND is special because: We work directly with our partners SOS Children’s Villages We encourage the community to get involved in our work and try to empower them to become self-supporting Every penny we raise goes to those who need it – there are no UK costs, salaries or expenses Four Trustees – including Regional President Margaret Hammond – have recently visited the project in Swaziland and full details of the current and planned work is contained in the PIES May 2016 Bulletin here.                

May was Membership Month for Soroptimists, and here are a couple of ways in which clubs in our region took part.   On May 29th Grange-over-Sands Soroptimists were out on Grange Promenade at PromArt telling people about Soroptimism. It was a beautiful day and there was plenty of interest as people were looking at the arts and crafts stalls in the sunshine.   Saturday 21 May Garstang club had a stand in Booths supermarket in Garstang. With lots of material on hand to demonstrate just what we get up to, and why, members chatted to lots of shoppers and hopefully encouraged some of the ladies in the area to consider us in a new light.    

The Rose Bowl event took place at Cabus Village Hall on Thursday 19th May. For the Rose Bowl competition this year President Margaret had set the challenge to each club to produce a sensory cushion for dementia sufferers. Club members were then invited to a fun evening to judge the results of the work clubs had put in over the last couple of months. Seventy five members from across the Region came along to join in the fun, bringing with them thirteen completed cushions. [new_royalslider id=”8″] The cushions were very colourful and came in all shapes and sizes with themes varying from animals and flowers to memories. Each club was asked to vote for their favourite cushions putting them in 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. This was not an easy task because all the entries were extremely good but everyone inspected all the cushions enthusiastically