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Seasons Greetings

Seasons Greetings

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As Christmas is nearly upon us, here are our Seasons Greetings to all!   Yorkshire Regional Council Meeting On 23rd November, SI Yorkshire had its quarterly meeting with lunch which marks the start of a new Soroptimist year.  Despite the unexpected arrival of 6-7 inches of snow in the Richmond area overnight, SI R&D was represented in strength.  We were keen to support our member Judith Clark who has become joint Region President alongside Sue Butler of Ilkley club, and also our member Babs Hunt, who has taken up the role of Regional Treasurer. Members were all delayed by conditions, but managed to make it to The Bridge Hotel, Wetherby in time to hear the speaker, who was very thought-provoking.  We also enjoyed the excellent lunch, which was most welcome after our difficult journey.  To mark Judith’s appointment club members had written and performed a

Eventful November

Eventful November

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We are having quite an eventful November! Sharron Davies Evening Last night we held an event at the Scotch Corner Hotel featuring the great Olympic swimmer and campaigner for women in sport, Sharron Davies. The evening was a fundraiser on behalf of the Richmond Dales Amateur Swimming club, to help fund equipment for their girl swimmers.  This is one of our charities for 2024-25. Before the event, Sharron attended their training session, meeting their young swimmers and putting them through their paces: what a privilege! In the evening, over 120 people had supper followed by a talk by Sharron about her career and issues in women’s sport.  She was a terrific speaker, and very inspirational.  After the talk she spent lots of time talking to attendees, especially the youngsters, and let everyone examine her Olympic torches and her medals.  An outstanding evening with an outstanding

October Update

October Update

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October Meeting At our October Meeting we were given an excellent presentation by volunteer Sheonagh Jones about the work of the Great North Air Ambulance Service.  This charity provides emergency medical care by helicopter – backed up by cars in bad weather and overnight.  They cover  North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Northumbria and recently added the Isle of Man.  This is the largest and most rural area covered by any of the 21 UK Air Ambulance charities.  Working with the NHS and other emergency service, plus Mountain Rescue, the GNAAS is an important part of major incident response throughout the North of England. We saw videos of the dispatchers who are linked to the emergency services, responding to calls, sending out the helicopters and cars.  We also saw their teams of pilot, pre-hospital doctor and specialist paramedic (who is also trained as a navigator and to assist

September Meeting

September Meeting

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Our September meeting was held, as usual, at the Scotch Corner Hotel. Speaker from SIYAMS We were very pleased to welcome our fellow Yorkshire Soroptimist Pat Kilbane to speak to us about SIYAMS.  This is the Regional group “Soroptimist International Yorkshire Against Modern Slavery”, which has been campaigning for many years.  Pat gave us a history of the group, and talked about the important work it has been – and continues – to do. This talk was followed by a light hearted quiz about Soroptimism, before the business meeting began. Richmondshire School Presentation We were delighted to hear that two of our Sharing Our Skills students at Richmond School were selected to receive the “Soroptimist Cup for Making a Difference” this year.  This recognised their successful project raising fund for Family Help Darlington. President Lin was on hand to present them with their prize at

Award for our students

Award for our students

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Hannah Slater and Philippa Kind spent the spring term with the Richmond & Dales Soroptimists as part of our Sharing Our Skills project.  During this time, they engaged enthusiastically with the club and, after discussion, decided that they would like to support a local domestic abuse charity.  They settled on Family Help Darlington.  To this end they gathered their friends – male and female – and organised a walk into town in fancy dress, giving out publicity material as they went.  Despite inclement weather they raised a lot of interest and around £500 in sponsorship money for Family help Darlington.  Awareness was raised in the town and within the Sixth Form College of both the issue of domestic abuse and the support available from Family Help Darlington. As a result of these sterling efforts, Hannah and Philippa were awarded the annual “Soroptimist Cup for Making a

Coffee Morning at the Town Hall

Coffee Morning at the Town Hall

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As usual, we had no meeting in August due to summer holidays.  However, we did hold a Coffee Morning at the Town Hall.  This is one of our regular fund-raising opportunities promoted by the Town Council.  A different local organisation hires the Town Hall and kitchen facilities each Thursday morning.    These charity coffee mornings are very much a Richmond tradition. The hall is ready laid out with tables and chairs for customers, and for stalls.  Members of each organisation provide coffee or tea and biscuits for a small entry fee, with waitress service.  We hold 2 or 3 each year to raise funds for our charities, and to promote Soroptimism in the town. We always put leaflets about our work on the tables, and display our banner.  We also have a raffle and a tombola, a book stall and often a cake stall to add

July Meeting

July Meeting

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Last Thursday, members met at the Scotch Corner Hotel for our July meeting. SmartWorks Our PA Officer gave a presentation “Learn about SmartWorks“, which is one our charities for this year.  SmartWorks is a UK Charity that has helped over 35,ooo women with free career coaching, interview dressing and preparations for them to help get a job.  The charity started in North London in 2013 and has spread out across England and Scotland.  Leeds was opened in 2019.  The charity provides not only the free coaching and clothes for the interview, but they also continue the relationship with the client.  They help to provide a wardrobe for the 1st month, to get through to their first pay day. Leeds SmartWorks has over 100 referral partners in Yorkshire, including HMP Askham Grange. They have supported 888 clients in 2023/24.  Wendy showed the video story of 2

Afternoon Tea at Thornton Hall Gardens

Afternoon Tea at Thornton Hall Gardens

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Some of the members of SI Richmond and Dales met earlier this week for a social outing to local beauty spot Thornton Hall Gardens.  These gardens are entirely the work of the current owners of the hall.  Parts of the building date back to 1550. This is a renowned local “gem”.   After exploring the lovely displays of flowers and shrubs, the members had an excellent afternoon tea.  This was produced by local catering firm Davina Lovegreen Catering, who works with Thornton Hall’s owners on the limited number of days each summer that the gardens are open to the public.  The occasion also provided an opportunity to present two members with their 30 Years Service Certificates – we are very grateful for their commitment to Soroptimism over so many years.      

SI Richmond and Dales and The Richmondshire Museum

SI Richmond and Dales and The Richmondshire Museum

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On Thursday 20th June, Soroptimist International Richmond and Dales held its monthly meeting at the Richmondshire Museum.  This was in celebration of 50 years since the inception of the Museum led by members of SI Richmond and Dales.  We were joined by our guests for the evening, Regional President Susie Westwood and Regional PA Officer Linda Davies. The business meeting was followed by a fascinating talk by Museum Trustee Mike Wood about the origins of the Museum. This was followed by a “custom” tour of the museum led by 3 of the Trustees.  We were delighted to be joined by our Honorary Member Shirley Thubron, who was one of the original group of Soroptimist activists and is still a Trustee of the Museum 50 years on. In 1974, the Soroptimists of Richmond & Dales noted the sad fact that Richmond – despite its magnificent history

Meeting in May

Meeting in May

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We held our usual monthly meeting in May at the Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner.  The meeting began with short talks by two members about their lives and careers – it is always interesting to find our more about our diverse group.   One was a working class girl who succeeded in pursing a career in languages as a University academic, the other talked about her expertise as a teacher of Dance and local pioneer of Nordic Walking. The Wider Scene The focus of discussions this month was the wider Soroptimist community.  Joint President Lin attended the Yorkshire Region President’s Lunch, and we will be receiving a visit from the Region President at our next meeting.  This will be at the Richmondshire Museum, to help celebrate 50 years since it’s inception by members of Soroptimists Richmond & Dales.  There was also discussion of ideas to submit for