To all my sister Soroptimists in Northern England
This is the season of Club Annual General Meetings and I thank all of the club officers for their past year of service and wish all the new incoming post holders a happy experience in this our Centennial year.
S.I. Stockton-on-Tees have sent me further news of their Centenary Project – RAINBOW ROOM . This was briefly presented at the last Regional Meeting but I thought you might like to read more about how it was organised and delivered.
“Stockton Soroptimists met in January to discuss ideas for celebrating the Soroptimist Centenary. Late last year members had collected 100 sanitary items for the local Food Bank but that was just an extension of what they had been doing for some time.
Jane Leak had heard about a Sunderland Hospital having a ‘Wobble Room’ – a designated place where nursing staff could go to re-charge, rest and relax. Jane wondered if a Stockton Hospital may have something similar which we could support or donate to.
Initial enquiries were made to University Hospital of North Tees and Hartlepool by Liz Wood, to identify the person responsible to contact. It became difficult for the Programme Action Officer, Caroline Allred, to establish contact and this was hardly surprising when we learned from the local MP that the number of COVID-19 cases had reached a very high number and how experienced members of staff were struggling not only with the numbers but also with the severity of the illness they were dealing with.
Eventually contact was made and it was learned that the Hospital did indeed have such a room, initially thought to be called the Re-Charge Hub. We later discovered the room had been made possible by a grant from Captain Tom’s Foundation.
Following discussion it was agreed that members would provide a Treats/Thank you box for the room. It would be filled with herbal teas, ground coffee bags, hot chocolate sachets, other drinks and some boxes of chocolates also. Because some of our members had been shielding during previous lockdowns, we already have a systematic plan where we established four drop off points in geographical areas of the Borough. From these posts a collection was made by Soroptimister Mike Allred, Caroline’s husband. The box had to be plastic because of infection control. ( It had been envisaged that we would present a wooden box with a brass plaque giving club details ). So a plastic box was purchased, easier to keep clean and attached laminated sheets giving club details, plus some of our business cards.
The presentation was arranged for Friday 26 February – unfortunately, Caroline was shielding again by this time, so President Sue Scott, accompanied by Margaret Wall and Joyce Chesney, to help carry the quantity of treats, met Vicki Spinks who gave a guided tour of the RAINBOW ROOM as it was now called. The Room is situated in the basement of the hospital and is actually two rooms and off each room is a shower room for staff who may have cycled in or wish to shower at the end of their shift. One room had comfortable chairs, and the other tables and chairs, both had kitchen facilities and at the time of the visit, several staff members were having lunch, it was evident that the room was being well used A notebook was left so that the users of the Rainbow Room could note requested items which members may donate and regular contact will be maintained to check when replenishments were necessary.
It was also learned that hand cream, lip balm and shower gel in quantity would-be welcomed. Our commitment to the Rainbow Room is for six months initially and to review regularly. Facebook and Twitter posts have publicised our actions and the press contacted. “
S.I. Durham have sent me the April edition of their Club Newsletter ( thank you to Jane Katsambis for compiling and distributing this ). It is a lengthy and entertaining read so I hope that you will enjoy it as well ( attached ). The first section is a lively contribution from Immediate Past President Joyce Chesney with an account of her year in office. The other section that I would ask you to read are the pages 11 to 12 which is on the SIGBI Ltd. Diamond Education Grant how it was established and what it does. Pages 14 and 15 recount stories from those women who had received grants from before the Pandemic changed our lives. As many of you already know, Federation President Johanna Raffan has made this Charity her Federation Appeal for this year with a plea for clubs to raise £100 for 100 years in order to increase the number of grants that can be made this year. Many women will have experienced unemployment and the need to change careers during the Pandemic. This is an opportunity to support them in their time of need. There will be more about this in the next few weeks as I send out the invitations to the
Regional Celebratory Event on 19 June 2021 when the proceeds of a Regional Raffle will be divided between the Butterwick Hospice and the Diamond Education Grant. Please do support our regional efforts.
A reminder that S.I.Newcastle upon Tyne members are holding an Open Recruitment evening on Tuesday 13 April from 7.0pm to about 9.0pm. There is a full programme of presentations from members about Soroptimism and its activities and opportunities. If you, or any of your friends or family, would like to join the meeting, then please do request a link from : newcastle.upontynesoroptimist@yahoo.com in order to join the meeting.
This may be an opportunity for Membership and Communication Officers in Clubs to view the results of some excellent club preparation work that could be built on within other clubs. One section is about the members responses to ‘Ask me why I am a Soroptimist’ and links with the next request in this Newsletter !
S.I.G.B.I. Director of Membership – Chevonne Agana has put out an Appeal for very short videos from members to use on Social Media during May 2021 – Membership Month.
Chevonne is proposing that one video should be submitted ( no longer than 3 mins ) and should be made up of one very senior member, a mid-range member and a very new member . The focus should be on answering the following questions :
- why did you join the organisation ?
- what has motivated you to remain a member /
- what one thing has been the greatest value to you over the years ?
- what would you say to potential members as one reason why they should become a member ?
The deadline for video submission is Wednesday 21st April 2021 and they should be sent to Rachel Weinhold at rw@growtraffic.co.uk and to Chevonne Agana at membershipdirector@sigbi.org
When this was discussed at the recent Regional Officers Meeting it was agreed that SI Newcastle upon Tyne would send their extract from their Recruitment Open Evening but it is a static presentation and not a moving video – so any clubs who feel able to take on this challenge are welcome to submit their own video. Anne Gunning ( SINE Regional Membership Officer on anne.gunning@live.co.uk ) is willing to receive and pass on any information or video and Bethan Hill-Gorst (SINE Regional Website Administrator on bethanhg@aol.com ) is willing to give IT advice. The full guidance information sheet is attached to this Newsletter. Please do get out your mobile phones and take some selfie videos ( landscape not portrait ) and send them in.
I hope to hear of your club plans for this special year. Do remember Federation President Johanna’s strap line for the year – Believe to Achieve .
In friendship
Christine Lumsdon – your Regional President