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April meeting and AGM

April meeting and AGM

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This month was our April meeting and AGM.  However, we began  with an excellent talk on Guide Dogs for the Blind. Guide Dogs for the Blind Babs and Paul Hunt, together with Lynne Pinkney and Morrisa, her 22-week-old pup in training, provided an informative talk about the work of families who take on very young dogs for their first part of training. This is the beginning of detailed training to be a guide dog for a visually impaired person. Paul and Babs’s dog, Eryn, who they had from 14 weeks to 16 months, has just left them to continue training in Leeds. The primary role of the first trainers is to socialize the dogs, taking them into many different environments and on as many forms of transport as possible. Verbal commands and expected behaviour must fit in with future training, to provide a companion for

Update for March

Update for March

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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

February Meeting

February Meeting

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Here is the update on our February Meeting at the Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner.  We were pleased to welcome 3 prospective new members, and 3 students from Richmond School.  The students are attending meetings as our guests in our Sharing Our Skills (SOS) programme this term. History Talk We had a fascinating talk from our speaker, Mike Wood on the history of Richmond before the arrival of the Normans. We hear a great deal about the Normans and the building of the Castle around which the town developed, but the earlier period is less commonly known.  Mike is a local archaeologist and historian, and Director of the Richmondshire Museum.  This is close to our hearts, as SI Richmond and Dales was instrumental in it’s being set up over 40 years ago. He showed us a series of slides illustrating sites and artifacts found around Richmond which

January update

January update

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Here is the January update on what has been happening in SI Richmond and Dales. We have started the New Year with a bang – let’s hope this continues through 2023! Sharing our Skills (SOS) project We have started working with this year’s cohort of students from Richmond School who have joined our Sharing Our Skills Project.  This project has been running for 10 years. Students attend our Monthly Club meetings and sit in on our Zoom Executive meetings from January to March.  We provide them with “buddies” to help them get the most they can from the experience of seeing how our organisation works, the range of activities in our Club Programme and learning about the Soroptimist Vision and Mission.  We also ask them to do a project of their own in the school on a suitable theme. This year we have 7 students,

December News

December News

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We do not have a meeting in December, but instead some members met together for a most enjoyable Christmas Meal at The Station in Richmond.  However, there are still some items of December News to report: Warm Rail and other activities at Colburn Community Hub As a result of our support and info on this website, friends of member Sue Young very generously donated £200 in cash, 20 Children’s books for the Christmas hampers, £70 of Amazon vouchers, a duvet and blanket to the Colburn Hub.  We will be very happy to take further items for the warm rail – contact us on sirichmondanddales@yahoo.com. Angie Dale has also sent us a Thank You note on behalf of the Colburn projects just before Christmas: “Can I take this opportunity to thank you and your ladies for the ongoing support to our Foodshare Zero Waste Project and

Charity Warm Rail

Charity Warm Rail

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We have now installed our charity warm rail in the Colburn Community Centre. This is a free supply of warm clothing made available to those in need.  Thanks to Chris Bowran and Babs Hunt for providing the sign, and to all those who donated warm clothing.  Not all the clothes were put out so there are some in reserve to enable the rail to be replenished.  Simon Eastwood, head of Colburn Community Support, assembled the rail, which was purchased with some of the money raised at the Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson evening last March.

More Fundraising Events

More Fundraising Events

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November has been a busy month for the Club, ending with two fundraising events.  On Saturday 19th November we held another Quiz Night at the Holiday Inn Scotch Corner.  A total of 97 tickets were sold for this event, which included a “pie & pea supper”. Our thanks as always to Dave, our quiz-master par excellence.  With the profit on tickets, plus a raffle and tombola on the night we were able to raise £636 for this year’s charities. On Thursday, 23rd November we also had another Coffee Morning at the Town Hall supporting Colburn Community Support – our third coffee morning this year.  This one raised £115, and a thank you has been received from the Chairman.      

November Meeting

November Meeting

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At our November meeting, we had a talk by a representative of one of our charities for this year, Friends of Garget Walker House in Richmond. This is an amazing facility for those with Dementia. Friends of Garget Walker house had thought the worst when the Alzheimer’s Society removed their support and funding last year. However, it was an opportunity for Dementia Forward to step in, with their ‘local is best’ ethos and as Anne Morton, chair for the meeting and a Friend of Garget Walker House said, ‘Dementia Forward is our future’. Dementia, in all its forms will affect nearly every family in the UK, and early onset dementia is of particular concern. Jill told us of their new initiative ‘U or ME’, launched nationwide to tackle and raise awareness of Dementia in the under 65’s, who need support in different ways. For a

Remembrance Day Commemoration

Remembrance Day Commemoration

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Two of our members attended the annual Remembrance Day Commemoration in Richmond and laid a wreath in remembrance of those lost in war.  As the town is home of the Green Howards Regiment, the annual parade and service at St Mary’s Church is always well attended. This is followed by the laying of wreaths at the Town War Memorial and the Green Howards Memorial by organisations throughout the community.

Coffee Morning on November 5th

Coffee Morning on November 5th

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We held one of our Coffee Mornings at the Richmond Town Hall on November 5th.  These are always good fundraisers, as the Town Hall is made available to charities every Saturday and Thursday morning through the year at a very reasonable rental.  We always do 2 or 3 a year, and this is our second in 2022.  Despite poor weather, we had a good turnout of customers, who enjoyed their coffee or tea and biscuits.  They also participated in our Tombola and Raffle, and patronised the book and bric-a-brac stall, as usual.  Members were kept very busy meeting the demand for refreshments!  A total of £189 pounds was raised for our 2022 charities.