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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.  

Meeting in October

Meeting in October

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Mother & Baby Care in Ghana Our meeting in October was back at our usual home, the Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner, where we were treated to a fascinating illustrated talk from our member, Fiona Woods entitled ‘Making Every Mother and Baby Count’.  Fiona is a retired obstetrics and gynaecology consultant and has spent over 10 years as a volunteer assisting and mentoring projects in Ghana to support women in childbirth. As one of the team of an international organisation called Kybele, she acts as an adviser in maternal care and safe delivery; giving advice for treatments, training and being involved in introducing referral systems to Regional Hospitals.  Kybele is funded by grants from a British Hedge Fund, CIFF (Children’s Investment Foundation Fund). The charity works with local health organisations and the Ghana Health Service to improve services for mothers and their babies.  The plan is,

Town Hall Tea Dance

Town Hall Tea Dance

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SI Richmond and Dales put the tea in tea dance:  the club provided the raffle, tea, coffee and cake at the invitation of the band master for the first of what he hopes will be a series of tea dances at Richmond Town Hall during this winter.  Dances included the foxtrot, waltz, quickstep as well as the bossa nova.  Richmond Town Hall has seen many dances since it opened in 1756 and the club were pleased to be asked to provide the refreshments. We are delighted at the success of this first venture: we were able to raise a total of £122 for our charities from the sales of refreshments, donations, and a share of the ticket receipts.  Best wishes to Adrian Bramley for the further success of these events.

September Meeting

September Meeting

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Our September Meeting took place at the Colburn Community Centre, with a meal served by local volunteers.  These ladies usually provide meals at the Centre Cafe for local disadvantaged residents.  The Community Centre is also the base for the Colburn Food Share food bank, and members brought along donations for this service, which supports many local families and individuals in hardship.   This was our second visit to the Colburn Centre, and we were warmly welcomed again, and thanked for our donations of food and period products. The speakers for the meeting were Simon and Jo-ann Eastwood, who have created the Colburn Community Support Trust this year to provide assistance and advice services to the deprived Colburn area. They aim to provide a wealth of services for local individuals, families and businesses including financial advice, help with practical tasks such as benefit forms, job applications, CVs