Good Morning Soroptimist Sisters.
Last night, if all had been ‘normal’, we should have been in Belfast, where I would have handed over the Presidential Chain to Christine Lumsdon in the Change of Insignia ceremony.
I am sad for Christine that she has not had that pleasure and could not be applauded by our SINE members who would have attended. As you will be aware, she has generously allowed me to share the Presidency with her until March 2021; so we are now Joint Presidents.
She sends you the following:
Greetings to all our Northern England Sisters – thank you for all your messages and support in these changing times. For the first time, we have a a Joint Regional Presidency between Joyce and myself for the next few months until March 2021. I hope that you will continue to send your news, photographs and messages to Joyce for her weekly email message as they have been such an excellent and valued way for us to all keep in touch.
I am slowly thinking through our options for meetings [virtual and maybe otherwise] for March through to October 2021 and hope that we can deliver a safe and effective way of celebrating the Soroptimist Centenary and developing our many projects that provide support for women and girls. I would welcome any comments and suggestions about how our interactions might keep us moving forward into a comfortable and safe world, In Friendship, Christine Lumsdon.
Congratulations to President Christine, as we begin this unusual partnership which I am sure is going to be so successful for the Region of Northern England.
You can contact Christine at:
On Thursday, I joined the Federation Programme Action Meeting online with a mixture of live and pre-recorded presentations. Christine and I will be reporting to you in the future on the proceedings.
As we waited to begin, it was exciting to watch the Chat Box fill up with the names of those attending before the meeting commenced from places like Barbados; Trinidad and Tobago; Calcutta in India; Dhaka in Bangladesh; Seychelles and Kathmandu, Nepal.
I really felt part of an International organisation.
I was thrilled to hear SINE mentioned in Liz Dominey’s Report; [Liz is UKPAC Chair] She spoke about the Northern Soul Dance Party, organised by Karen Alexander, saying how successful it had been, and had raised over £1000 for the Nepal Project.
There is one phrase which I heard on Thursday, which I would like to share with you, as I felt it was most important for all of us to remember – Every single Soroptimist can do something; we don’t all have to do everything!
Just before the commencement of the final session of the Virtual Federation Conference, members received the very sad news of the death of Barbara Dixon, former Federation Vice President and a vibrant and charismatic Director of Programme. If Barbara had not had to resign because of her illness, she would have, today, been starting her year of office as Federation President. RIP BARBARA
Our SINE Clubs continue to do good work and I am always pleased to have news of it.
SI Middlesbrough is currently undertaking a project to collect Sanitary Products for a Church Army Project, [partnership working] in Thorntree, East Middlesbrough, one of the very deprived areas of the Borough. The first batch was delivered this week with still more to come. 
That’s an excellent collection!
SI Cockermouth, along with their sister Club SI Penrith, have a commitment which they have jointly undertaken for more than twenty years. Usually, every Saturday, during the summer months, members make about fifty beds to help the staff at Calvert Trust [now Calvert Lakes] near Keswick, which offers Adventure Holidays for those with disabilities. This year, of course, it has not been possible, but Calvert Lakes has a desperate need for new bed linen and requested Soroptimist help.
Jane Inman, knowing how problematic it may be for some of you to get out to buy greetings cards, has provided me with a list of the cards which she produces – of her own paintings; these are for sale to raise funds for the bed linen. 100% of the money received will go to the charity, but she would welcome a donation towards postage for orders of more than 4 cards. All the details are in the attachment Link to Cards I have had Jane’s cards in the past, and they are lovely.
Moira Rogers [SI Penrith] [and members of her Club,] are also raising funds for the bed linen. Moira is celebrating a BIG birthday imminently and created a Facebook page to celebrate, something she has never done before. She was amazed and deeply grateful for the support she received. The fundraiser ran for two weeks and raised £240.
Moira thanks all her Soroptimist Friends and her family for their generous support. Well done to all members of Cockermouth and Penrith Clubs.
SI Darlington members met on Zoom on Tuesday last and to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, they all wore PINK. Barbara Brown has sent me the screenshot of the proceedings.
Elspeth Robinson [SI Darlington] keeps me updated with news of her charity – Kumi Community Foundation in Uganda where Harriet and Ruth are constantly identifying new individuals and families who need the help of KCF. Elspeth has also supplied me with details of their online Christmas Shop giving information on providing a chicken, goat, prosthetic limb or a wheelchair for someone who really needs it. Link to Christmas Shop.
So we are entering a new Regional Year, moving towards the celebrations for the Centenary of our organisation.
I look forward to working with Joint President Christine and our team of Regional Officers to ensure the successes of the past are repeated in the future. Thank you to all members for everything that you do in the name of Soroptimism.
My quote for this week is:
Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it is a quiet voice at the end of the day whispering ‘I will try again tomorrow’.
Mary Anne Radmacher
I usually end my message to you all saying – Stay Safe, Keep Well, – which is even more important today, due to the current grim situation and the announcement of a further Lockdown in England beginning on Thursday. Do take care!
Until next week,
In Friendship,
Joyce
JOINT PRESIDENT
SINE