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Start the New Year

Start the New Year

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  In December members of the club enjoyed a very pleasant evening at The Station, Richmond, sharing a Christmas Dinner. Then in January, we gathered to start the New Year with our big planning meeting at our usual venue, The Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner.  Our club programme year runs from April to March, and we hold a special meeting in January to plan the next Club Year, so that we are ready in good time. New Members This year we were delighted to formerly welcome two new members to the club, and present them their badges and welcome packs.  Two of  our other new members also volunteered for committee  roles in the club next year. They will take over as Programme Action Lead and Comms & Website when the current incumbents complete their term in March.    We were also  pleased to be joined by

Meeting at Easby Abbey

Meeting at Easby Abbey

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Easby Abbey We held our July Meeting at Easby Abbey, the English Heritage ruins on the edge of Richmond.  The evening began with a picnic in the grounds on a lovely evening, which was followed by a tour and talk about the history of the Abbey by Kate Streatfield, one of the English Heritage custodians. Evidence suggests that a religious community of some sort existed on the site before the abbey was founded. This was probably based on the surviving parish church of St Agatha, and may have been an Anglian minster, a community of priests responsible for serving the surrounding parishes.  The Abbey itself was founded in about 1152 by Roald, constable of Richmond, and may have absorbed the earlier minster.  It was a Premonstratensian Foundation, only the third one in England. Most of the Abbey was built in the 13th century. The Premonstratensian

Sharing our Skills Students Charity Walk

Sharing our Skills Students Charity Walk

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A group of over 30 Richmond Sixth Form College students took part in a ‘Walk to Support’ event on Monday, 22nd April to raise money for local charity and shelter Family Help Darlington, an charity which supports people who have been affected by domestic abuse.  The event was organised by our Sharing our Skills students, Philippa Kind and Hannah Slater. Students were encouraged to look fabulous by dressing up with pink accessories in order to draw attention to themselves on the walk and hopefully raise more money. Some students were wearing QR codes that could be scanned by members of the public who wished to donate – an excellent idea.    The weather on the day of the walk was typical for spring 2024 so far – cold and wet, but spirits weren’t dampened. After a group photo, the students set off toward Richmond town

Update on activities in October

Update on activities in October

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Here is an update on our activities in October, which has been quite a busy month. Soroptimist Cup Presentation at Risedale School President Babs Hunt attended the Risedale School Awards night on 11th October.  She presented the Soroptimist Cup for Making a Difference to student Ellie McGee.  Ellie’s citation described her as “a wonderful positive asset to the School.  Always smiling, she approached everything she did with positivity and enthusiasm and was a role model for had her peers.  It is a pleasure to be able to reward Ellie for her uncountable contributions to Risedale School life, and we wish her every success in her future endeavours.”           Mayors Civic Service Member Jan Beeton represented the club at the Mayor’s Civic Service.  The current Mayor is the husband of one of our members – community service runs in the family.  

Soroptimists in October

Soroptimists in October

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Here is an update of what’s happened for our Soroptimists in October. Monthly Meeting Talk We met at the Scotch Corner Holiday Inn Hotel, which is likely to become our new regular meeting place.  The meeting began with a talk by member Barbara (Babs) Hunt about the Institute of Advanced Motoring (of which she is a member), and the courses offered to brush up driving skills.  The IAM offers a range of courses to different types of road users, and the local group, based in Northallerton, is active in promoting its services and road safety concerns. Babs suggested that members consider taking a course, or at least trying a free taster session.  Probably a good idea! Invitations to join activities in the community Just the Job is holding an Open Day on 6th November at their Gallowfields site, and has asked the Soroptimists for volunteers to

May Meeting & Programme for 2021-22

May Meeting & Programme for 2021-22

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At the Zoom May Meeting our new President Sharon Hanson-Cooper presented her programme for 2021-22.  This is published on the Club Website under About Our Club, together with the new list of  Club Officers, and our Friendship Links.  We will be having an interesting mix of social, informational and programme action based meetings and events, as we continue to support Just The Job, and our SI Harare friends in Zimbabwe.  As the Covid crisis rolls back towards “normal life”, we hope to be able to meet physically instead of via Zoom soon. and options are being explored for a suitable location.  We also hope to restart our long-running “Sharing Our Skills” project in the New Year, in association with Richmond School.  We congratulate two of our former “SOS” students on recent achievements: Becky Potts has achieved a place at Leeds University to do a Masters

Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas

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  SI Richmond & Dales held their December “Zoom Get-Together” this week, in place of our usual Christmas dinner.  We raised a glass and gave a round of applause for the presentation of long service awards to a number of our members: 2 for 20 years, 1 for 25 years, 1 for 30 years, and 2 for 35 years.  Congratulations to all, and thank you for your exemplary service to Soroptimism.  We shared cards received from our Swiss Friendship link, and one of our charities, and enjoyed a quiz presented by our joint presidents, Faye Doorbar and Jane Priestley.  Fittingly, the winner of the quiz was one of our longest long service award winners. For anyone who wishes to try it, here is the Quiz (the answers are below).  Faye and Jane have also shared the e-Christmas card which we are sending to our Regional

Zoom meeting in May

Zoom meeting in May

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We held our first Zoom meeting in May.  It was great to be able to see each other again after so many weeks apart, even if it was only on screens.  Most of our members were able to take part. This gave us a chance to review our Programme Action plans for the year.  We hope to be able to do some fund raising activities in the coming months.  Advocacy is easier on-line and we discussed plans being made for the SIGBI Project Empowering Girls in Nepal https://sigbi.org/what-we-do/our-projects/girlsinnepal/ SI President’s appeal Road to Equality https://www.soroptimistinternational.org/action/road-to-equality/ proposed Yorkshire Regional projects We continue to gather donations from members to help both Storehouse Foodbank http://www.influencechurch.co.uk/storehouse/ and our sister club in Harare, Zimbabwe.  This is the sad reality there: The five week lockdown, to stem the spread of Coronavirus, has had a disastrous impact, and dealt a final blow