Update for March

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 of everyday matters.  Sarah spoke passionately about the isolation and insecurities of many women in Catterick Garrison many of whom had put their own careers on hold for long periods and who had little local support.

Spouse Force was formed to fill this gap and slowly Sarah and Sarah have been gaining recognition and a higher profile in the local community. The Garrison itself are supportive but funding is problematic and the demand for their services increasing continually.  Their commitment to those requiring assistance and support was obvious and their determination and strength was also apparent. It is hoped that our Club can offer some of their volunteers or clients a similar opportunity to attend Club meetings in the way our Sharing Our Skills students join us for a short period during the year.

Charity for 2023-4

After discussion of options proposed at our planning meeting in January, the club decided on it’s main charity for next year (2023-4).  This will be the local Breast Cancer Support group.  We were introduced to this group by one of our SOS students, as her grandmother is involved with it.  We hope to have a talk on this in June.   Depending on the success of our fundraising, a further charity may be selected at the end of the calendar year.

Dame Vera Baird

We had a very successful evening at the Scotch Corner Hotel on March 30th.  Members of our club, their guests, and members of other Soroptimist clubs in the Yorkshire and Northern Regions met to hear the former Government Victim’s Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird speak.  Her subject was the current state of law regarding violence against women and coercive control, and the treatment of women in the courts during hearing.

This was a very thought provoking and insightful talk.  Dame Vera praised the efforts of Soroptimists in several parts of the UK who have worked on an initiative to improve the treatment of women during court attendances, ensuring that they are given protection and kept apart from defendants they are accusing.  The outcomes of this project are now being disseminated to police forces across the country.

Although the treatment of women is still very far from the ideal, it is at least an improvement on the situation 50 years ago, when such “domestic” issues were generally outside the sphere of policing and the courts altogether.

We also enjoyed a supper of “pie, peas & chips”, and were able to catch up with friends in other clubs during the evening. A total of £396 was raised at this event, from tickets, tombola and raffle, which will be carried forward into our charity funding for next year.

 

Sharing our Skills Students

This year’s group of SOS students from Richmond School have now finalised their plans for a Bingo night at the school on 20th April to raise money for their selected charity.  Contributing to the Soroptimists’ focus on supporting women and girls around the world to achieve their individual and collective potential, the girls have chosen to support the Gravis Water Charity in India.

Gravis believes in an integrated approach to sustainable development, working to not only enable a secure and safe source of water for drinking and irrigation, but also transforming lives through education, healthcare, microfinance and advocacy for the rights of those more vulnerable in society.

The girls have been meeting each Monday morning for the last two months to develop their ideas on how to fundraise for the charity and have been supported by Chris Bowman from the Richmond and Dales Soroptimist branch.

Sarah Manning, group member, said: “All of the members of our group are interested in environmental issues and we felt that water has a major impact on women in underdeveloped countries. With Chris’ guidance, we chose Gravis as we are giving directly to the charity so we know exactly where the money is going.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

February Meeting

Here is the report 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 clearly proved that there was a varied settlement here during the Neolithic, Stone and Bronze Age periods, and during the Roman occupation.  This was also the site of a major battle between Britons and Anglo-Saxon invaders which cemented Saxon control of the area in the early Medieval period.  He showed us evidence of the connection between Richmond and Cataractonium – the extensive Roman fort and settlement at Catterick, became a commercial centre specialising in tanning and leather working.  There is also evidence of Roman lead mining in the district, with shipment of “pigs” via Hull.

Events

As we approach the end of the year, we firmed up on some aspects of our plans for 2023-24 (which we brainstormed in January), including discussing a possible Mindful Art event.  Plans are well advanced for the upcoming event at Scotch Corner in honour of  International Women’s Day.  Tickets are now on sale for the talk and supper with Dame Vera Baird, the former Government Victims Commissioner, on March 30th.  This promises to be a very interesting event.

Re-cycling

Jenny Cathcart outlined new arrangements for some of our recycling initiatives.  Spectacles can no longer be passed on for re-use, but a large bag of spectacles has been give to Specsavers, who will have them recycled for materials recovery and re-use. Some of the outlets we donated to are no longer able to collect items, but she has been able to pass on mobile phones and chargers to Oxfam, and printer cartridges are now going to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.  These may be small initiatives, but every little helps!

Bin-Twinning

She also suggested members consider a scheme reported by our Federation SIGBI recently on a personal basis, as it does not fit our usual schemes.  This is called “Bin Twinning”.  Individuals pay to “twin” their waste-bin with a refuse processing scheme in a poorer country (see https://www.bintwinning.org/twin-your-bin/ ).  This would be a good follow up for our “Toilet Twinning” campaign completed this year.

 

 

January Update

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, and they are really steaming ahead. They have decided to work on provision of water, water being a feminist issue. To this end they’re organising a bingo night at the school towards the end of this term. They are dividing up the jobs between them, each taking the lead on a different aspect – setting up the venue, refreshments, publicity, poster and ticket design, provision of prizes. They’ve even recruited a couple of lads who are apparently very good at giving presentations to give a short talk on the night about how lack of fresh water supplies affects women and girls.  Project Leader Chris Bowran has also put them in touch with a charity working in this field, suggested by another member.

January Planning Meeting

We held our second “brainstorming” planning meeting at the Holiday Inn Scotch Corner this month.  As we did last year, this was a 5 hour meeting (two sessions separated  by lunch) to decide on the plans for the year from April to March, 2023-4.  As we do not have a ‘conventional’ Club President who devises her own plan for the year, we agree among ourselves what the next year will look like.  Our programme action plans, speakers and other activities were all brainstormed and another interesting and challenging year has been devised.

We also reviewed how this new approach to our organisation had worked over the last year.  Although it has worked well overall, we decided that would be useful to have more continuity between meetings.  Instead of a monthly rotating chairperson, which we have in this current year, Babs Hunt – our Treasurer – has kindly agreed to be our Meetings Chair for next year.  All the Executive posts have also been agreed, with some officers continuing in post and some new volunteers who will be taking up posts from April.  As this has been agreed in advance, the new members will be able to have a handover period before taking office.

Tree Planting

At long last, the Richmondshire Landscape Trust has notified us that our 3 lime trees have been planted.  These were part of the SI Centenary tree planting programme, but were delayed due to the difficulty of obtaining suitable saplings. They have been planted on the south side of the East Wood at Westfields area of Richmond.  The Trust had to fell 2 large ash trees due to dieback, so our trees will in time replace those.  They are awaiting timber guards which will be in place before the sheep go into Westfield’s in the spring. We were told “they are really nice trees and will make a great contribution to the landscape!”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December News

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 Warm Hub.  Over the past few years your kindness and generosity has been second to none. The warm rail is a huge success and accessed by lots of people daily – thank you.  Just a quick up date, Christmas Hampers went out today as far afield as Leyburn… We have packed, sourced and will have delivered over 170+ hampers by 10.30 tomorrow morning.   This is an increase of over 100 from last year, it is madness out there at the moment. On a weekly basis we have over 120 people accessing us and numbers are rising daily…

So, again, can I take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you.
Merry Christmas
Love
Angie xxx”

Station Singers Concert

We provided the “front of house” services and sold raffle tickets for the Station Singers, our local Community Choir, at their Christmas Concert at St Mary’s Church, Richmond.  Despite poor weather, there was an excellent audience for what was the Station Singers first concert in 3 years.  The money raised from ticket sales and the raffle are to be split 50/50 between the choir and Colburn Community Support.  A retiring collection was also taken for CCS, and Director Simon Eastwood sent the following thank you to the choir and SIR&D:

“Just to say a huge thank you for such a great evening. Really enjoyed the professional presentation and range of songs too. I’m pleased to report that the retiring collection raised £237 plus some change.  May Jo-Ann and I pass on our gratitude to you all for supporting CCS at this event.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Best wishes
Simon & Jo-Ann Eastwood”

 

 

Charity Warm Rail

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

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

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 relatively new organisation (less than 10 years old) they have made a huge impact in North Yorkshire, with their Hub Clubs (like Garget Walker House) their helpline, (taking 1000 calls per month) and ‘pop up’ cafes and many other initiatives.  One recently diagnosed young man, was told by his consultant ‘you have hit the jackpot, living in North Yorkshire – the leader in Dementia support’.

Several items were discussed in our business session.  Plans are in place to mark International Women’s Day 2023.  Dame Vera Baird, the outgoing Victims Commissioner will be speaking to us at the Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner.  This will be an open event including a light meal, and publicity and tickets will be made available to other clubs shortly.

Chris Bowran provided an update on our Sharing our Skills project which we run in partnership with Richmond School.  Each year a number of pupils in first year of A levels are welcomed to the club after New Year for 3 months to learn about how an organisation operates by attending our meetings and taking part in our activities.  This also provides them with an introduction to understanding and addressing women’s issues.  Chris has had an initial meeting with 8 students who are interested in joining us from next January.

Items from our “shopping list” were also donated at the meeting towards equipping our sponsored flat run by EVA women’s aid.  Sandy Baxter also sold some Harris Tweed Christmas Robins in aid of SI Harare’s work in Zimbabwe, together with some leftover canvas bags from our STEM events, raising £23.

£200 has been passed to Richmond Landscape Trust from our SI Centenary tree planting initiative.  After difficulty in obtaining the saplings (having been let down by suppliers), the Trust now aims to plant our 3 lime trees before Christmas.

We have also bought a clothes rail which will be placed in Colburn Community Centre for donated warm clothing to be made available to those in need this winter.

 

Remembrance Day Commemoration

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

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

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, that by the time the current funding has worked through, their vision and mission will have been fulfilled and they can withdraw from Ghana, leaving their childbirth healthcare on a professional, firm footing.

Swap-Shop

We also had an accessories ‘swap-shop’.  Members brought donations of scarves, bags and jewellery for sale to each other at £1 a piece, the money raised being added to our general charity fund.  Leftovers were collected at the end and will be offered for sale at our next Coffee Morning in November.

Easy Fundraising

Members were encouraged again use Easyfundraising when ordering goods and services online.  This scheme enables the club to receive donations automatically from participating sellers for our charity funds.  We have been linked to Easyfundraising for more than a year, and SIGBI has recently picked up on encouraging clubs to use this as a ‘free’ fundraiser.

EVA Women’s Aid

Judith Clark informed us that the invoice has been received from Marrick Priory for the safety helmets which we agreed to provide, and the balance of the monies from the Tanni Grey-Thompson event have now been used to equip a flat for EVA Women’s Aid.  EVA has purchased 7 flats for women and children who have been affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence, and we have agreed to support one of the flats. A list of small items still required was circulated for members to donate if they so wished.  SI Scarborough have decided to follow our example and equip another flat.

Orange the World

Members were also reminded to support Orange the World on 25th October.  This month’s campaign theme is ‘Spiking’, when someone puts alcohol or drugs into another person’s drink or their body without their knowledge and/or consent. Spiking can be done as a “joke” or it can be done to make it easier for perpetrate crimes such as robbery, assault, rape, or sexual abuse. Drink spiking has increased dramatically in recent years. 15% of women and 7% of men have been spiked with alcohol or drugs. (YouGov poll Nov 2021).

Upcoming fundraising events

Tickets for our Quiz night on Saturday 19th November at The Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner, are now on sale for £12 each, which includes a pie, peas and chips supper.  Tombola prize donations will be collected at the November meeting.

We will also be staffing two Coffee Mornings at the Town Hall in November – Saturday 5th and Thursday 24th.  Sign up forms were circulated to staff these sessions.  Bric-a-brac and books and tombola prize donations will also be collected on the day or at our November meeting.

A team is being assembled to provide “front of house” services to The Station Singers at their Christmas Concert in St Mary’s church. Profits from the concert will go to Colburn Community Support.   eTickets will be used for the concert, so an electronic credit/debit card reader will be in use at the concert.  The club members discussed the possibility of obtaining our own Card Reader for use by the club for its own events, to save having to handle cash.  This will be explored further.  We will provide 6 small hampers as prizes for the raffle, and we were asked to bring contributions for these to the November meeting.

 Soroptimist Cup

Members Babs Hunt and Margaret Clayson recently represented the club at the annual presentation of the Soroptimist Cup for Making a Difference at Risedale School.  The winner, Matilda Melody was given a glowing citation:

“Matilda was an outstanding pupil, who led by example in all she did. Hard-working, conscientious and dedicated to everything she did, she had a positive impact on all around her. Always willing to help, she went above and beyond in all aspects of her school career and was a positive role model to the entire school community. Matilda has a bright future ahead of her, and will no doubt make a positive contribution to society as a whole in her future exploits.” Matilda also collected other awards on the evening – Key Stage 4 Drama and Year 11 – Year Group Awards.

 

Tea Dance at Richmond Town Hall

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

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 and other practical and administrative support. We heard personalised accounts of bereavement support, mental health support and how they acquired their van used to collect and distribute furniture and household items to needy families. Colburn Community Support is one of SI Richmond and Dales’ charities this year.

Members were also thanked for the donation of children’s books which have been passed on via Colburn Community School.  This is another initiative by Colburn Community Support to give books to children who have few, or none of their own.  A thank you card was presented to us.

Prior to the start of the Business Meeting, members stood to raise a toast to the memory of Queen Elizabeth II to mark her recent passing.

Progress has been made in planning to provide front of house organisation for The Station Singers Christmas Concert on 10th December.   This will involve collecting tickets, ushering and organising the raffle.  This concert will be a fundraiser for Colburn Community Support.  One of our members, Lin Clarkson, has donated some wicker baskets for small hampers, and members will bring donations to the November meeting to fill them.

The Soroptimist Cup for Making a Difference was presented at Richmond School on the evening of the meeting, so unfortunately, we were unable to send a representative.  Our congratulations go out to the winner.

 

Afternoon Tea at Ellerton Abbey

A group of members met up recently to enjoy the sunshine with an Afternoon Tea at Ellerton Abbey in Swaledale, in the garden of Mrs Pumphrey’s Tearoom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marrick Priory Outdoor Centre

Members of SI Richmond & Dales were recently entertained to a Strawberry Tea by the Friends of Marrick Priory Outdoor Centre, in Swaledale.  This was a ‘thank you’ for our donation of a bench and a set of water safety helmets for use by children on their outdoor experience kayaking sessions.  The tea was excellent, and members were pleased to be able to see the bench, complete with it’s plaque, in the garden of the centre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July Monthly Meeting

At our July Monthly Meeting we had Peter Russell, Education Officer of the Richmond and District Bee Keeper’s Association (RDBKA) as our speaker. Peter gave us a very entertaining talk, and a fascinating insight into the world of bees and beekeeping. We learned how the original Old British Bee became extinct a century ago as a result of a virus and how the species we have now were imported from elsewhere to become established in the UK. As an organisation working to empower women and girls and give them a stronger voice in all communities globally, it was especially gratifying to hear how a bee colony functions and thrives as a female dominated society! Crucially, the honey bee is the only pollinator available in the early spring to pollinate early crops and as such is essential to our food production.

New Member

We had a busy business session after the talk, and Chair Sandy Baxter also presented new member Beryl Bettridge with her membership badge.

 

 

 

Istanbul convention

Jenny Cathcart, our PA Officer, reported that she has written to Rishi Sunak on behalf of the club (as MP for the majority of our members) pressing for early ratification of the Istanbul Convention dedicated to combatting violence against women.  This was signed by the UK 10 years ago, but has still not been ratified by us.  She also requested that the proposed exclusion from our ratification of immigrant women be removed.  No response has yet been received – but Jenny acknowledged that he is “a bit busy” at the moment!

Orange the World

Badges for the UNESCO ‘Orange the World’ project have been produced by the SIGBI UK Programme Action Committee, and these were distributed at the meeting.  This campaign to raise awareness of violence against women is running each month on 25th July with a different focus.  Members are asked to wear something orange plus their badge and promote conversations about the month’s topic.  Members will be provided with a few salient facts to assist them.  Chris Bowran has put together facts about Stalking for 25th July and Jenny Cathcart will provide similar information for August.  A list of the ongoing monthly topics will be available at the September meeting, when other members will be able sign up to be responsible for the remaining topics.

Baroness Tanni-Grey Thompson evening – more donations

From the proceeds of the Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson evening, we have presented a bench with plaque plus six safety helmets for kayaking to Marrick Priory Outdoor Centre.  We have also given £300 to Colburn Community Support towards the purchase an iPad with external keyboard.  This will be used to people who have no internet access or lack skills, and therefore need assistance filling in on-line forms.  This is now a pre-requisite for accessing a wide range of Government services, businesses and for job applications.

EVA Women’s Aid

The balance of the money from Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson evening (about £250) is to be given to EVA Womens Aid of Redcar.  This charity supports older women suffering domestic abuse.   The focus on older women has been developed because such women in refuges are often used as mother figures by younger residents, which puts pressure of the older women who need support themselves. Following successful grant applications, EVA has recently been able to purchase 7 flats. These will be used as halfway houses to independent living for women in their hostel care.  They have also been able to take on more paid staff.  the club has agreed to adopt one of the flats in our club’s name, and to fund household goods to supply and maintain it on an ongoing basis. This initial money will enable us to start a fund.

Colburn Foodshare and Colburn Community Support

Member were also asked to bring items to the next meeting in September, which will be held at the Colburn Community Centre.  We will donate any contributions to Colburn Foodshare charity, along with some period supplies funded by the club.  In addition, Colburn Community Support has asked for children’s books which can be
distributed to families who have no books of their own.

Presentation to The Friends of Garget-Walker House

On Tuesday two of our members visited Garget-Walker House Dementa Care Centre in Richmond for the presentation to The Friends of Garget-Walker House of a Bistro Table and Chairs set.  This was assembled and placed in the garden of the day care centre for the use of people suffering from Dementia.  The present was warmly received by the members of The Friends charity, which raises money to support the work of the Dementia Day Care Centre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SI Yorkshire Region Weekend Away

Several members of SI Richmond and Dales took part in the SI Yorkshire Region Weekend Away at The Jonas Centre last weekend. About 40 Soroptimists from all over the Yorkshire Region attended, most staying in the Jonas Centre lodge accommodation.  As we lived so close, our members were “day only” attendees.  It was an excellent opportunity to get to know members of other clubs, and renew contact with those we have not seen for a long time, due to the intervention of Covid restricting activities.  A relaxing change from our usual “business meetings”.

There was plenty time to chat or explore the Jonas Centre grounds, and share convivial meals together.  President Lindsay had also organised a number of workshops which were well supported, including guidance on usuing Social Media for publicity, jewellery making, felting and Zentangle mindful drawing.  Everyone also took a turn at preparing meals, setting and clearing tables and washing up. A jolly good time was had by all.

It also provided an opportunity to check up on the progress of the SI Richmond & Dales Tree which we donated for planting in the grounds at the Jonas Centre on behalf of “Soroptimists past, present and future”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tea Dance to be held in Richmond Town Hall

We will be serving refreshments and running a raffle at a Tea Dance to be held in Richmond Town Hall on September 25th.  This is the first of what is hoped to be a number of these events, being run by Adrian Bramley and his orchestra.  The raffle profits and a share of the ticket money will be donated to one of our current charities.  If you fancy taking to the floor for a whirl, the details and tickets are available on https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tea-dance-adrian-bramley-tea-dance-orchestra-tickets-359667985627

 

 

 

 

Orange the World in June

Members and friends of SI Richmond & Dales highlighted the Orange the World Campaign against violence against women this week.  They wore their Orange ribbons to highlight the campaign when they attended the Royal British Legion Queen’s Jubilee Gala Dinner in Richmond.  This month the focus of the SI Yorkshire Orange the World campaign is elder abuse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richmond is now a ‘Toilet Twinned Town’

We are delighted to report that SI R&D has completed it’s Toilet Twinning campaign.  We have now organised 20 toilet twins across all the categories of organisations required by the Toilet Twinning charity.  They have duly confirmed that Richmond is now a ‘Toilet Twinned Town’.   Catterick, Richmond and Colburn Community Library Trust (CRACCL) has agreed to display the official certificate on our behalf in Richmond Library.   Jenny Cathcart, who led the project, has presented the certificate to CRACCL Trustee Judith Clark and Chair Sue Young.

This has been a long campaign which we had to put on hold during the pandemic.  We are very pleased with this achievement, which has enabled twenty communities in Asia, Africa and Latin America to receive their first proper toilet facilities.  This is a significant contribution to health and safety in these communities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June Monthly Meeting

Talk by Hannah Russell at June Monthly Meeting

SI Richmond and Dales held their June monthly meeting on 16th June.  We were treated to a fascinating talk by local children’s author Hannah Russell.  Hannah told us how her career began and grew.  She started writing at the age of 18 after a riding accident caused a spinal injury, forcing her to stop horse-riding and give up her ambitions to be a riding instructor.  At about the same time, she acquired Little Alf, a Shetland pony who suffers from dwarfism, so is only 28″ at the shoulder.   He had been rejected by his fellow Shetlands, and needed a lot of care and attention.  She started reading to him, and telling him stories – which became her first books.  Alf  makes up in character what he lacks in size, so she has plenty of material.

Her books are published in the UK and overseas, and she has received a number of awards.  Not content with this, she has also launched two ethical clothing on-line shops – one supporting a rhino aid charity.  Before the pandemic, she ran a shop selling her books and merchandise, and then another one for interior design.  She has now given these up to concentrate on her writing, giving talks and her on-line businesses.  And she is still only 26! She greatly impressed us with her enthusiasm, energy, fearlessness and positivism.   What a role model!

New Members welcomed by SI Yorkshire President

Two new members to our club, Lynn Clarkson and Fiona Woods, were formally introduced at the meeting, and presented with their badges and membership certificates.  These were presented by our other honoured guest, the SI Yorkshire President, Lindsey Green.  Lindsey was able to give us an update on the upcoming Regional Conference Meeting, which is to be held at Askham Grange Prison, near York.  The Region has developed ties of support with the rehabilitation team at the prison, and the inmates are always pleased to welcome us as visitors.  They produce a very good lunch!

Lindsey also spoke about the launch of the UK Programme Action Council campaign to Orange the World. On the 25th of each month we are invited to wear orange and/or a special badge to highlight issues about violence against women. A different theme will be the focus each month, e.g. domestic abuse, elder abuse, stalking.

She also reminded us that there is still room for day visitors to the Regional President’s Weekend at the Jonas Centre, in Wensleydale, and invited members to come and join in the varied programme of activities.

Update on funds disbursement

Past President Sue Young updated us on the donations made from the Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson event.  In addition to the £75 for a bistro outdoor table and chairs for Garget-Walker House, £100 has been given to Richmond & Catterick Riding for the Disabled to fund a children’s pony trek at Masham.  Marrick Priory Outdoor Centre has suggested a number of things we could donate to them – from helmets and buoyancy aids for kayaking to a bench (with plaque) or trees.  These are being evaluated.  Sue was also able to confirm that £200 of trees will be planted on our behalf by the Richmondshire Landscape Trust this autumn, as part of the SI Centenary Tree Planting.

Toilet Twinning completed

Project Leader Jenny Cathcart confirmed that she has received the certificate marking the completion of the Richmond Toilet Twinned Town campaign.  She will organise a handover at the Richmond Library to CRACCL representatives, who have agreed to display it for us.

Upcoming activities

Plans are in hand for two upcoming events.  We are running a Coffee Morning at the Town Hall on 23rd July, for which a volunteer sheet was circulated.  Donations for tombola, bric-a-brac & books stall and raffle prizes were requested, to be brought to the July meeting.

We are also running and raffle and simple refreshments to raise funds for our work at a new venture – a Tea Dance at the Town Hall on 24th July being run by Adrian Bramley, the father of one of our former Sharing Our Skills students.  Sue Eastham is leading a group for this, and a sign-up form for volunteers was circulated.

We have also been invited by Colburn Community Trust to contribute unwanted children’s books to them.  It is hoped to be able to give books out to children who do not have books at home, or access to the library. CRACCL is donating withdrawn books from it’s stock too.

 

Thornton Hall

A group of our members met recently for a stroll through the beautiful flower gardens at Thornton Hall, near Darlington.  Thornton Hall was built around 1550 by Ralph Tailbois, and is one of the oldest buildings in Borough of Darlington.  The gardens have been designed and developed by the current owners of the Hall since they arrived in 1989.  They started with bare grazing paddocks and have produced a wonderful display of beds full of flowers and shrubs.  Only open for a few days each year, a visit here is a real treat.  And so was the Afternoon Tea: delicious!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richmond Mayor-Making

Jane Beeton and Margaret Clayson represented SI Richmond and Dales at the recent inauguration of the new Richmond Town Mayor, Councillor Ann Brewer. This is a traditional ceremony, with regalia dating back to 1668.      In addition to the Town Councillors, the ceremony is attended by representatives of a wide range of town organisations, to celebrate the appointment of the new Mayor following May’s local elections.

Interestingly one of the new Mayor’s three nominated charities for the year ties in with ours, being Garget Walker House.  She is also the Town Council representative for Dementia Awareness. The other charities are developing disabled access at St Mary’s Church and the Richmond Meet.

May Meeting

SI Richmond and Dales held its May meeting on Thursday 19th May.  We welcomed as speaker Lieutenant-Colonel Jim Turner, Commander of Catterick Garrison, Richmond’s near neighbour.

He gave an very entertaining and informative talk on the history and structure of the Garrison, and his role in command.  Very wide-ranging it is, too.

We also welcomed a new member, and guest Leslie Richardson, Head of 6th Form at Richmond School.  She spoke briefly to mark 10 years of our collaboration with the school in our ‘Sharing our Skills’ Project.  Leslie commended us for the considerable achievements of the project.  It has introduced students to meetings and organisation skills, and raised their awareness of issues around the world.  They have responded with fundraising to support our charities and organise their own groups.

Our Programme Convenor, Jenny Cathcart, was also able to report that we will shortly have completed a long-running project to make Richmond a Toilet-Twinned Town, in association with charity Toilet Twinning, which builds toilet facilities in communities in poorest parts of the world, funded by donations from individuals and a variety of local organisations and businesses in the UK.

Donations have now been made to Garget-Walker House and Riding for the Disabled, Richmond & Catterick from money raised by the evening with Baroness Tanni-Grey Thompson.  Tree planting through Richmond Landscape Trust is also in progress.  Fundraising for Colburn Community Support has been agreed with the Station Singers – SI Richmond & Dales will provide “front of house” for their Christmas Concert, and a raffle.