Thank you letter from SI Harare
We start the new year with a letter of thanks from our link club, SI Harare in Zimbabwe. As can be seen on our 2015 page, we spent time with Thandi, president of SI Harare, at the Glasgow conference and we took the opportunity to hand over money we had raised and goods we had collected to support their projects. They work very hard to support women who have had very little opportunity in life, particularly in a failing economy. (The support for the Traditional Birthing Attendants is described in the 2015 page.)
This is an excerpt from the letter we have received from SI Harare:
“Thank you again for your Big Hearts ladies, your love and kindness always give us reason to smile and find joy in working harder to share the cheer despite our hardships and all else. Through your generosity the SI Harare project to support the Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) of Epworth is growing from strength to strength – and in numbers too – the group now has 75 registered members!
In December 2015 the donation made by SI Richmond and Dales Club towards the TBAs project made it possible to buy a log cabin to provide shelter and toilet facilities for the ladies’ conveniences, meetings, training and many other activities; 75 new buckets, 30 solar lamps and dig a water well. Furthermore, a whole big bag of baby clothing and tablets of soap was received with much appreciation.
The TBAs’ leader Melody Nyakudanga kindly offered her small plot in Epworth for the club to temporarily set up the cabin and toilet and start a food security project – growing vegetables for the local market as well as feeding their own families. The cabin will also provide space for running an adult literacy project planned for 2016. Twenty members have signed-up for the opportunity to learn how to read and write. In the Sisterhood spirit, five members from the group have volunteered to teach their sisters how to read and write with the assistance of a visiting professional adult educationist. The facilities and materials were presented to the TBAs group on December 17 by four SI Harare Club representatives at Epworth and received with much joy and celebration.
SI Harare and the TBAs of Epworth- Harare thank you very much for keeping us hopeful and giving life to our dreams.”
We greatly value the friendship and work of our link club SI Harare and we look forward to continuing to work together for the benefit of women and girls.
January club meeting
Members of Richmond and Dales always enjoy their monthly meeting with interesting speakers, but this month we were entertained by one of our own members – Wendy Arrowsmith, a talented singer, musician and songwriter. As a tribute to Burn’s night and her own Glasgow heritage she sang a repertoire of Scottish folk songs, some of which she had written herself. We were encouraged to sing a long and it made for a very pleasant evening. Wendy has made numerous CDs and she generously donated to club funds 10% of the cost of any sold during the evening.
Thank you Wendy!
More baby clothes for Zimbabwe
We are very grateful to Susan and Joan who live in Middleton Tyas for knitting this lovely pile of vests and hats for newborn babies. Our friends the Traditional Birthing Attendants in Epworth, Zimbabwe often find that women arriving in labour are too poor to have made any provision at all for the baby. These vests and hats will ensure that the babies won’t have to be wrapped in newspaper to be kept warm. These items will probably be the only clothes that the baby will have and will be worn constantly until they are outgrown.
February club meeting
This month our speaker was Simon Eastwood, manager of The Jonas Centre in Redmire. Simon told us all about the centre which is designed as a place for holidays and retreats in the restorative surroundings of Wensleydale. The centre has a charitable fund which enables disadvantaged families to have a holiday together and we were pleased to be able to give Simon £150 for the fund.
http://jonascentre.org
Annual programme action update
Every year we take a close look at the projects we are involved with and decide what we are going to concentrate on in the coming year. Some of our projects, notably the support for the work of our link club SI Harare and Sharing Our Skills are ongoing from year to year, but others reach their objective and are removed from our work plan. Our incoming president, Sue Young, has been working hard with her planning group to devise the programme for next year and she outlined their plans.
The plan for next year is:
- Fundraising for Homestart Richmondshire, a local charity which provides volunteers, who are all parents themselves, to support young families in need of friendship and practical and emotional support.
- Fundraising and awareness raising for the Independent Domestic Abuse Service.
- Contribute to the earthquake appeal being run by SI Kathmandu in Nepal.
- Contribute to the Meru Women’s Garden Project by running an art and craft exhibition in Leyburn.
- Continue to work with SI Harare, Zimbabwe, on their projects: Traditional Birthing Attendants, School All Month (provision of sanitary protection to keep girls attending school), and support for Chikupo School.
- Continue on to cohort 5 of Sharing Our Skills. Facilitate the setting up of a link between Richmond School and Chikupo School in Zimbabwe by the students of cohort 4.
- Celebrate International Women’s Day in March
As mentioned on the 2015 page, we were invited to give a presentation at the SIGBI conference in Glasgow in November. This is now available on Youtube http://youtu.be/8X_ec36fZQ4 though unfortunately the camera was fixed on the podium so the slides, which gave a wealth of information in conjunction with the narrative, are not seen. Also, the rest of the club members made a valuable cameo appearance off camera as demonstrated by the applause. The presentation was carefully crafted as a whole and only seeing a third of it doesn’t do it justice. However it is included here as a useful introduction to the Sharing Our Skills Project. We are please that we have received many requests for our information pack from clubs right across SIGBI from Barbados to Bournemouth to Malta!
Baroness Hale – Our Patron
We are honoured and delighted to announce that Baroness Hale has accepted the role of Patron of our club. Baroness Hale is a local girl, educated at Richmond High School and still living here when not in London. As Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom she is the most senior female judge in UK history and in February 2013 she was assessed as the 4th most powerful woman in the United Kingdom by Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio 4. We warmly welcome her into our club and look forward to a long and happy association.
International Women’s Day
This year we marked International Women’s Day with an afternoon tea which celebrated the work of two remarkable local women. Marian Casson set up the Yorkshire to Gambia Educational Trust in 2011 to provide training for teachers in the Gambia with a team of education professionals from Yorkshire. In 2007 Heather Ritchie recognised the possibility of teaching blind beggars in the Gambia to make rugs which could be sold to tourists to provide an income to a very stigmatised and ostracised group in Gambian society and RugAid was the outcome. Both Heather and Marian were initially struck by the need in Gambia when on holiday there. Instead of shaking their heads in despair at the situation they saw there, they came home and did something about it: a lesson to us all.
Marian and Heather each gave us a presentation about the current work of their charities. Marian showed us some home made, washable sanitary towels which she developed for girls to make in school sewing lessons. It is a well known fact that many girls drop out of school because they cannot afford sanitary protection during menstruation and so they cannot attend school for one week a month. Marian has succeeded in getting the making of sanitary towels onto the needlework curriculum and has provided sewing machines for use in class.
Heather and her daughter Chrissy bought some beautiful rugs to sell for RugAid funds. Heather is an old friend of our club and we always look forward to seeing the latest creations, both by Heather herself and by the members of the RugAid workshop in the Gambia. The rugs are beautiful and each one is unique, having the name of the person who made it on the label. The photograph above shows (left to right) Chrissy, Heather, our club President Judith and Marian.
Our afternoon was topped off by a lovely afternoon tea (Margaret, wielding a teapot, left), which gave us a chance to talk further with Heather and Marian. Please follow these links for more information on Heather and Marian’s work: http://www.yorkshiretogambia.org and http://www.rug-aid.org
March club meeting
Our speaker this month was Tony O’Connell. He is a photographer based in Bradford who decided that he would like to use his photography to make a difference to others. He told us about the various projects in which he has been involved such as Why Don’t We (http://why-dont-we.com) which provides a range of creative opportunities, training in new skills and the development of artistic talents for people with disabilities. Another initiative which Tony has worked on is the Northern Ballet Hospice project which is funded by the Prince’s Foundation for Children in the Arts (http://www.childrenandarts.org.uk), a charity to which we have donated during the past year. In this project, children with life limiting conditions and their families are given the opportunity to experience and participate in dance and movement. Tony photographed the process and exhibited his work as part of the project. Tony is a very engaging speaker and we were greatly inspired to see how Tony has used his photography skills not only for reportage and art but to make a difference to the lives of others.
AGM 2016
This month’s meeting was the AGM, and President Judith reported on an incredibly successful year, and thanked the whole group for enabling the achievement of all objectives set out in April 2015, including raising awareness of domestic abuse in the Dales, and helping to achieve a dementia awareness group in Richmond.
The AGM is where the chain of office passes to the Vice President and we look forward to new President Sue Young taking up the reins. Members were very interested in the presentation given by Judy Sheahan, on the planned STEM conference to be held in October 2017. The theme of the conference will be to inspire and support the development and advancement of science, technology, engineering and maths education and careers for girls in our region. The project team are extremely busy applying for grants to fund the conference, and already have a number of speakers confirmed. A very exciting time ahead for the Soroptimist group, especially as 2017 is the Jubilee year for the Richmond & Dales club, and there are many events planned for this sixtieth year. Next meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner at 6.30pm. It is an open meeting, and the presentation will be by Homestart (a local charity.)
Welcome to our new president
It’s that time of year again when we say thankyou to our outgoing president and welcome our new president. Judith has presided over a very busy but enjoyable year, as a brief glance at this website will confirm, and we said thankyou to her for the dedication and enthusiasm she has shown in leading the club during the last 12 months. Judith handed over the president’s chain to Sue Young who will be at the helm throughout the coming year. Sue and her team have a packed year planned for the club and we look forward, amongst other things, to supporting local families through Homestart Richmondshire and continuing to work to improve the lives of women and girls across the world.
Club meeting – May 2016
This month we had two speakers at our club meeting. Firstly Kerry Ellis, coordinator of Homestart Richmondshire described the support which the charity gives to local families. Their volunteers offer practical help and friendship to local families who need a helping hand, as one parent to another. Homestart Richmondshire is one of the charities for which we will be raising funds this year. http://www.homestartrichmondshire.org.uk
In a complete change of subject we also heard from Pat Brent on how to be a master composter! Most of us do already compost our green waste but Pat inspired us to be more than luke warm about it – from aerating the garden compost heap to keeping a wormery for our kitchen waste. Being a woman of many talents, Pat also presented the club with a beautiful patchwork quilt made by her and her quilting group. They have given it to us so that we can raffle it to raise funds for Homestart Richmondshire and IDAS (Independent Domestic Abuse Service) which provides outreach support and refuge facilities across York and North Yorkshire. Thank you Pat!
Pony Rides for Homestart Children
As mentioned previously, one of the charities chosen by our President, Sue Young, this year is Homestart Richmondshire which is a charity supporting families with young children. Sue, through her connection with nearby Brookleigh Riding Centre where her own horse lives, has arranged for our Club to provide pony rides for Homestart children. Three children visited the stables during half term and spent some time learning how to brush a pony before going on a ride. The children had a wonderful time! Mums and Homestart volunteers brought the children along and were all delighted with the time spent with the ponies.
Other Homestart children will be able to visit the stables in the forthcoming weeks and thanks go to Brookleigh Riding Centre who have also kindly sponsored our tickets to raffle the Quilt above, proceeds also in aid of Homestart Richmondshire and IDAS.
Club Meeting – June 2016
We welcomed a number of visitors to our June meeting to hear Keith Waye, an independent tour guide of London. Keith gave a very interesting and amusing talk on ‘Hidden Gems of London’, including the Royal Mews and Clarence House. Members were surprised to learn that the word ‘mews’ originated from the French word “muers” meaning to change dating back to when Falcons were housed there. The word was used to describe the time when the Falcons shed their feathers and subsequently the term mews was adopted. Horses are now housed in the mews, and in particular Cleveland Bay and Greys. As many as eight of these wonderful horses are required to pull the great state coaches. The Gold State Coach (known as the Coronation Coach) built in 1760 for George III is the most uncomfortable of all! Queen Victoria apparently described the coach as having ‘disturbing oscillations’.
Keith then gave us an insight into Clarence House, built for the Duke of Clarence, later to become William IV. It’s most famous occupant, the Queen Mother, who resided there from 1952 and now the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. The photos of the interior show a modest residence, with rooms retaining the character of the Queen Mother, pastel shades and Chippendale furniture (rather badly scratched by naughty Corgis, we hear!)
The Prince of Wales has created the most wonderful garden in memory of his grandmother, the Cross Rose garden, full of symbolism. The York stone paths (as she was Duchess of York) the Lavender ‘Imperial Gem, the sun dial, to denote the passage of time.
Members of Richmond & Dales are looking forward to visiting Buckingham Palace in August, and hope to see Keith again in London.
Garden Party in aid of Homestart Richmondshire
Saturday, 18th June saw members preparing for a summer garden party at the home of SI Richmond and Dales member Elaine and her husband Michael. Elaine and Michael’s garden looked glorious, tables were set out and adorned with flowers, a plant stall laden with a wide variety of donated plants, a gardening and plant book sale, a fabulous raffle of three beautiful hampers and a garden quiz all helped to raise an impressive £650 for Homestart Richmondshire. We welcomed fifty people to the garden party who enjoyed refreshing Pimms and delicious food. We were fortunate that the rain held off and that we were all able to stay outside for the afternoon. Thanks go to all club members and supportive partners who helped to organise the garden party and to Elaine and Michael for welcoming us to their home.
Girls Toilets for Aadi Dravidian Government School,
Chennai Downtown
When former students Laura and Ella from our Sharing our Skills project formed their own women’s group at Northumbria University, WEST (Womens Education Society), they raised funds from various activities the proceeds of which they decided to donate to help provide water and a toilet block for girls at Aadi Dravidian Government School. As we wrote last year on our page, we were able to give the funds directly to Naina from SI Chennai Downtown who facilitated the connection with the school, at our international Conference in 2015 and we are now delighted to report that bringing water to the toilets has now been achieved. Aadi Dravidian Government School has been provided with a water tank and tap connections in the toilets. Naina tells us that this is really helpful for the girls at the school. The rest of the money required was raised by SI Chennai Downtown to complete the work. Well done to Laura and Ella for all their ingenuity and efforts in aid of such a vital and helpful addition to the school.
SI Yorkshire 80th Birthday Celebrations
On Sunday 26 June a historic event took place at Hazlewood Castle. 120 members of SI Yorkshire celebrated 80 years of Soroptimism in Yorkshire, with a delicious Afternoon Tea, and entertainment. SI Richmond and Dales were represented by Sandy Baxter Sheila Harrisson, Margaret Clayson, Jenny Cathcart and Angela Edwards. Our President, Sue Young and Immediate Past President, Judith Clark were unable to join us as they were involved in a car accident on the way to Hazlewood. They were undamaged, fortunately, unlike their car! The sun shone as Soroptimists from all over Yorkshire arrived for tea. On arrival they were able to look at some displays, prepared by several clubs, about the club’s history and projects. They were all fascinating, and exemplified the diversity of Programme Action work which has taken place over the years, and which continues today. The photo shows Jenny, Sandy, Sheila and Angela with our display of the Richmondshire Museum, which was established by a group in Richmond, including 3 of our current members, in 1974.
The Mary Hillary Award
The Mary Hillary Award was announced at the Yorkshire Regional Council Meeting of Soroptimist International, and unusually, was awarded to the whole of the Yorkshire Region for their outstanding Programme Action work in relation to violence against women, and support for vulnerable women and their families. Richmond & Dales were delighted to receive their award for the successful Domestic Abuse Forum held in Leyburn last year. Richmond & Dales also received a commendation for the founding and establishing, 42 years ago, of the RICHMONDSHIRE MUSEUM – www.richmondshiremuseum.org.uk – a wonderful hidden gem, situated just off the Richmond market place. Three of those involved all those years ago in the setting up of a local history museum, Sheila Harrisson, Shirley Thubron and Shirley Dick are still active members of the Soroptimist club. Congratulations to all involved.
Our President Sue with the certificates.
A Thank You from S.I Harare
A big thank you to all members of the club for the generosity you showed to our friends in Harare. We were able to send £400 to help the club support various commitments in their community. In the last few months the situation there has dramatically worsened and a recent email from Shirley, a very longstanding member of S.I. Harare explains some of the difficulties being faced:
“Our projects are all suffering. I am involved with SODA (destitute aged home) and SOROPS have come on board with ideas of fund raising, but with the lack of cash on the market, this is going to be very difficult. We want to
start income generating projects market gardening, chicken rearing etc, but it all takes cash to start off with. As electricity charges are exorbitant, we’d like to install solar power, or gas freezers, and the list goes on.”
Our donation was gratefully received and will no doubt be put to good use. Miriam Mukurombindo who some of you may remember from her visit last year, sent us this message: “Thank you for remembering us in these trying times we really appreciate you and we thank you for the donation.”
I hope to be able to include some images on the next update and hope for some good news!
Presentation of Richmond and The Dales Soroptimist Cups
Risedale School, Catterick
The Soroptimist Award for citizenship and outstanding leadership was presented recently by Sue Young to Abbie Whittal of Risedale school. Abbie has been a diligent member of the SLICE team. (Student Leadership Involvement in Community Engagement: a group of students who assist with duties at break and lunchtime) She was chosen in particular for undertaking her duties with confidence and humour. She regularly volunteered to step in if someone was unable to do their duty, and generally set a good example to other students around the College. Congratulations to Abbie on her outstanding attitude and her award.
Wavell School, Catterick
On the 20th July, Christine Lunn and Jenny Cathcart presented the Soroptimist Cup for Volunteering at Wavell School. The winner of the cup this year was a little girl who had her waist length hair cut, and sent off to a charity which makes wigs for children who have lost their hair through illness. A great example to her schoolfellows!
Club Meeting – July 2016
On 21 July, we were kept on our toes by the Swaledale Morris Dancers who invited us to join in with this medieval form of community dancing. An interesting talk on the origins of Morris dancing preceded lively participation with energetic wafting of handkerchiefs.
Curtilage
The Soroptimists annual presence on the Curtilage in Richmond Market Square invited passers by and anyone interested to “Ask me why I’m a Soroptimist?” which initiated several interesting discussions.
The exquisite quilt which the Club is raffling in aid of Homestart was on display and much admired. Information about our varied Club activities was displayed as well as Homestart literature.
Art Exhibition
The installation of the art exhibits has taken place at the Old School House in Leyburn. Funds raised will be donated to Soroptomist International charity, Meru Women’s Garden Project. The exhibition will remain in place until 26th August and all items are available for sale.
Visit to Buckingham Palace
A group of 18 club members and eight guests travelled to London to visit the state rooms at Buckingham Palace and also be escorted on the Garden Highlights tour by Keith Waye who had previously travelled to Richmond to talk to us about Hidden Gems of London and the Royal Mews at our Club meeting in June.
This was all expertly arranged by our President, Sue who somehow managed to organize a fine, sunny day. A fascinating afternoon was spent walking through the state rooms with the added exhibition of a selection of the Queen’s gowns, outfits and hats worn over her reign. Highlights being the coronation dress and wedding dress, both spectacular. Keith led us around the private area of the gardens and informed, amused and entertained us all with facts and stories about the planting, trees and use of the grounds. A wonderful opportunity and enjoyable, informative day out thanks to Sue.
September Club Meeting
A special club meeting at which Baroness Hale, our Patron, was introduced to club members and at which she gave an impromptu talk about her work at the UK Supreme Court and then answered questions. There was also a comprehensive update from Judy Sheahan on the considerable progress being made with arrangements for our STEM Conference 2017: Jobs for the Girls. Exciting developments on the funding, speakers, workshops and working partners were all outlined.
Donation to Foodshare
The food bank in Northallerton, “Foodshare” supplies goods to residents of the refuge and to clients being supported by IDAS as well as to those in need in Northallerton. With the further help of The Holiday Inn at Scotch Corner which has been so responsive and helpful to the Club, we were able to provide toiletries in small bottles for Foodshare who were truly delighted to receive the 260 handy sized bottles from our President Sue.
Collection for Home-Start
Our club members teamed up with Home-Start (a local family support charity) at the Tesco store on Catterick Garrison on Saturday, 15th October and were delighted to raise nearly £200 from the kind generosity of shoppers.
Photo: Keith Bowran (Home-Start) and Sandy Baxter (Soroptimist)
October Club Meeting – Visit from H.M. Lord Lieutenant of County Durham
We were honoured to welcome H.M. Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham, Mrs Sue Snowdon, to the meeting. Sue told the club she was delighted to have ‘crossed the border’, with permission of course!
She gave an interesting and humorous talk on her role as the Lord-Lieutenant of County Durham, the Queens’s representative in the county. Of the 89 Lord-Lieutenants in the U.K., nearly one third are women but Sue reminded us it was not always so.
Her duties are not just presenting awards and medals, and hosting royalty. She firmly believes the role of the Lord-Lieutenant should be relevant today and would like it to be important to the young people of the region. She has a particular interest in the uniformed youth organisations such as the guide and cadets and her challenge is to visit each unit in Co Durham. She believes membership of these groups helps young people enrich their lives and self esteem. Through her visits and often participation in their activities, she hopes to encourage and support them in their endeavours and recognise their achievements.
There were questions from the group, one from Liberty Noke, our student guest (from the Club’s Sharing our Skills programme) who asked why the title was not Lady-Lieutenant? Sue’s answer was that the Monarch decided the title and that her main role is still ‘to uphold the dignity of the Crown’.
Liberty, pictured below, was welcomed by all. She will be attending our meetings and events this year until December.
Visit to Harare by Club Member, Chris Bowran
During November, our Club Member Chris Bowran paid a short visit to Harare along with her brother. Chris’ primary purpose for the visit was a personal one, to give money donated at her Mother’s funeral to a high school in Epworth as well as giving the Monica Chesworth Cup (to be awarded to the girl making most progress in a science subject) as Chris’ Mum was biology teacher. The school were very keen to promote STEM subjects, also close to this Club’s heart too. SI Harare facilitated Chris’ visit and looked after her and her brother very well for which they were very grateful.
While there, Chris was very pleased to be able to visit some of the projects run by SI Harare: the Traditional Birthing Attendants at Epworth, SODA (Society Of Destitute Aged) and Chikupo School.
The Traditional Birthing Attendants (TBAs): Chris gave them the knitted baby clothes (made by our Club Members as well as their friends and family members) as well as the soap for which they were very grateful. As the number of babies delivered by the TBAs has dropped recently, either because the birth rate in the township is falling generally or because more women are able to deliver at the clinic, though they are still a long way from being redundant, the TBAs have sufficient baby clothes for their needs at the moment and so surplus clothers were given to Harare Children’s Home in the city and the Matthew Rusike Children’s Home in Epworth, both of which receive small babies brought in by social welfare.
Chikupo School: Daniel Chingaira, the teacher responsible for resources, came all the way on a commuter bus to Harare to meet Chris and was delighted to be able to talk to him the about the school’s needs. The most urgent thing they need is to pay for wiring so that the school can have electricity from a newly built substation nearby. Chris gave Daniel a large bag of books which had been collected for the school library.
A SI Harare club dinner was held for Chris and her brother at Shirley Suter’s home and two “soroptimisters’ were invited to keep her brother company. They sent their thanks and warmest wishes to our members and she presented the $600 from our club to SI Harare and also the $900 from the Yorkshire region to the Zimbabwe Association. SI Harare will ensure it is shared out between the clubs.
Chris and her brother achieved so much during their short visit and her report to Club Members was full of insight and information.
We are all so pleased to be able to maintain our link and friendships with SI Harare and the essential work that they do.
November Club Meeting and Soroptimist International Conference Malta
We were delighted to welcome two speakers to the November club meeting. Dr Christine Maddern, Hearing Dogs For Deaf People, and her hearing dog, Reggie. Christine explained the work of this wonderful charity. Today there are 900 working hearing dog partnerships. Over 11 million people in the U.K. have loss of hearing, and this can often lead to isolation and loneliness. Their disability is invisible, a world without sound. Research has shown that having a hearing dog reduces this sense of isolation and brings feelings of independence, confidence and companionship to the deaf person. The dogs are trained to alert the owner to sounds of door bells, alarm clocks and smoke alarms too.
Our next speaker was a complete contrast, Val Thomas who works with Women Seeking Sanctuary, told the club many harrowing stories of people trafficking in Wales. The club were amazed to hear that the largest group of trafficked persons are young men from Vietnam brought over to work in Cannabis farms. Wales has also many asylum seekers, and Val works with a group led by Constance, a lawyer from Cameroon, who herself escaped from a forced marriage and potential ‘honour killing’ by her brother. 80% of women asylum seekers are refused permission to stay, and the women of Wales are working hard to support the women asylum seekers.
Val Thomas and Club President Sue presenting Val with a special thank you gift. Val is a bee keeper amongst all her other achievements.
Malta Conference: Several of our Club Members travelled to Malta for the Soroptomist International Conference held this year in Malta where they experienced inspirational speakers, Dame Professor Sue Ion, Engineer and expert on nuclear power energy, Sara Ezabe Mallieu, human rights activist, Steve Arthur, working with Water Aid, David Coplin –CEO Microsoft, and Dr Helen Sherman OBE, Britain’s first astronaut. They also were delighted to renew friendship links, meet other Soroptimists from all over the world and represented our Club and Yorkshire at yet another impressive international event.
Christmas Tree Festival, Richmond Methodist Church
The Club has taken part in the Christmas Tree Festival at Richmond Methodist Church this December to raise money for local charities, including St. Teresa’s Hospice and the Great North Air Ambulance. Our team have produced a vibrant and interesting display representing our Programme Action activity.
Special Delivery to SI Harare
Thanks to Club Member Chris Bowran who has been sponsored to complete ‘Dry January’, we were able to send a substantial donation to SI Harare by special delivery. Soroptimist Elspeth Robinson from SI Darlington (and also Soroptimist Nordic Walker along with several of our own Club members) mentioned when walking that she would be visiting Harare, it spurred Chris on to think of something that could be achieved quickly so that Elspeth could help deliver our donation in person. Miriam pictured with Elspeth recently was delighted and Chris is looking forward to the end of the month!
