Here is the update for March on our club’s activities.
Monthly Meeting
At our monthly meeting we were pleased to welcome Sarah Cooper and Sarah Doherty from “Spouse Force“. Sarah C began by introducing herself and giving an insight into her background as a Military Spouse. Her experiences, not all of which had been positive, inspired and gave her the impetus to form the not-for-profit Social Enterprise “Spouse Force” in Catterick on the back of her work as an independent Financial Adviser with Focus Financial.
She explained the importance of being financially aware, particularly when so many people are not confident or are unaware and lacking in information about how to approach this vital part of life. The two Sarahs recognised that many Military spouses were particularly affected by the inability to access friendly, easily comprehensible financial advice as well as information on other aspects of everyday matters. Sarah spoke passionately about the isolation and insecurities of many women in Catterick Garrison many of whom had put their own careers on hold for long periods and who had little local support.
Spouse Force was formed to fill this gap and slowly Sarah and Sarah have been gaining recognition and a higher profile in the local community. The Garrison itself are supportive but funding is problematic and the demand for their services increasing continually. Their commitment to those requiring assistance and support was obvious and their determination and strength was also apparent. It is hoped that our Club can offer some of their volunteers or clients a similar opportunity to attend Club meetings in the way our Sharing Our Skills students join us for a short period during the year.
Charity for 2023-4
After discussion of options proposed at our planning meeting in January, the club decided on it’s main charity for next year (2023-4). This will be the local Breast Cancer Support group. We were introduced to this group by one of our SOS students, as her grandmother is involved with it. We hope to have a talk on this in June. Depending on the success of our fundraising, a further charity may be selected at the end of the calendar year.
Dame Vera Baird
We had a very successful evening at the Scotch Corner Hotel on March 30th. Members of our club, their guests, and members of other Soroptimist clubs in the Yorkshire and Northern Regions met to hear the former Government Victim’s Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird speak. Her subject was the current state of law regarding violence against women and coercive control, and the treatment of women in the courts during hearing.
This was a very thought provoking and insightful talk. Dame Vera praised the efforts of Soroptimists in several parts of the UK who have worked on an initiative to improve the treatment of women during court attendances, ensuring that they are given protection and kept apart from defendants they are accusing. The outcomes of this project are now being disseminated to police forces across the country.
Although the treatment of women is still very far from the ideal, it is at least an improvement on the situation 50 years ago, when such “domestic” issues were generally outside the sphere of policing and the courts altogether.
We also enjoyed a supper of “pie, peas & chips”, and were able to catch up with friends in other clubs during the evening. A total of £396 was raised at this event, from tickets, tombola and raffle, which will be carried forward into our charity funding for next year.
Sharing our Skills Students
This year’s group of SOS students from Richmond School have now finalised their plans for a Bingo night at the school on 20th April to raise money for their selected charity. Contributing to the Soroptimists’ focus on supporting women and girls around the world to achieve their individual and collective potential, the girls have chosen to support the Gravis Water Charity in India.
Gravis believes in an integrated approach to sustainable development, working to not only enable a secure and safe source of water for drinking and irrigation, but also transforming lives through education, healthcare, microfinance and advocacy for the rights of those more vulnerable in society.
The girls have been meeting each Monday morning for the last two months to develop their ideas on how to fundraise for the charity and have been supported by Chris Bowman from the Richmond and Dales Soroptimist branch.
Sarah Manning, group member, said: “All of the members of our group are interested in environmental issues and we felt that water has a major impact on women in underdeveloped countries. With Chris’ guidance, we chose Gravis as we are giving directly to the charity so we know exactly where the money is going.”
