November Activities

Here is an update on our November activities, in what proved to be a busy month.  As we don’t meet in December, here are some Christmas Greetings from the club:

 

 

16 Days of Activism/Orange Cafes

As already posted, we have been busy supporting the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.  We held a fundraiser coffee morning at the Richmond Town Hall which doubled as an “Orange Cafe”.  We raised a total of £263 for our charities, as well as promoting the campaign.  To mark it’s end, we held a further “Orange Cafe” meeting on Sunday 20th December at Morro Lounge in Richmond.  This was attended by 7 members, who share a pre-Christmas chat and cuppa.

Remembrance Day

Our President, Babs Hunt, represented the club at the annual Remembrance Service in Richmond.  She laid a wreath at the War Memorial on our behalf alongside those presented by the many military and civilian organisations attending.

 

 

 

 

Presentation at Regional Meeting

Babs also spoke at the Yorkshire Regional Meeting in November.  It was our club’s invitation to present our Programme Action, and Babs did a fine job.  She began with the Sharing our Skills project, in which her daughter took part.  This introduced her mum to the club of which she is both President and Treasurer!  She highlighted the students’ contribution to our Toilet Twinning of Richmond, and ended with our current work on the 16 Days Campaign.   Reading out the poem written for this project by our new member, Lorna had considerable impact, with requests to be allowed to use it from other clubs.

November Meeting

We were very pleased to be able to welcome 3 new members to our meeting in November.  The meeting was held at the Colburn Community Hub, with a meal cooked for us by the Community Cafe volunteers.  Instead of a speaker, member Wendy Arrowsmith did an interview with Angie Dale, the stalwart activist and supporter of the Colburn Hub, and dedicated independent local politician.  We heard the diverting and at times difficult story of Angie’s upbringing in Colburn, her career in the army, and her journey through public service locally.  Her dedication to the local community, especially those struggling to make ends meet, is inspirational.

Members of the club brought donations of food for the Colburn Foodshare scheme, and voted to fund a donation of further items for Christmas Food Hampers.  Some hundreds of these hampers are given to the needy in the district.  Two members of the club went shopping and took our donation to Colburn of £95:00 of goodies.  Both donations included Fray Bentos tinned pies, which are particularly popular with clients.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having received more repayments on our LendWithCare loans, we have been able to make two further loans.  These went to a group of lady traders in Malawi, and a lady farmer in Cambodia.  This is such a wonderful way of making our charity money go further, and keep doing good.

Finally, we were delighted to hear from new member Lorna that she is to revive the Reminiscences project.  This was set up some years ago by our late long-standing member Sheila Harrisson.  The project involves visiting care homes and similar establishments to encourage their residents to share memories about their lives with us and each other.  This is done in conjunction with the Richmondshire Museum, which provides boxes of historical objects from their collection, which stimulate conversations.  Lorna will be having a ‘trial run’ at The Millings in Bedale shortly.

 

UN Campaign 16 Days of Activism in Action

Our 16 Days of Activism Campaign launched on Saturday, 25th Nov at our Coffee Morning in the Town Hall.  We have persuaded over 50 businesses to put up our poster either in their window or inside their premises.  Local Funeral Directors Blenkirons are flood-lighting their premises in orange each night, and Johnsons Cleaners have produced a 16 Days of Activism T-Shirt which adorns a dummy in their window.  We have also decorated a Christmas Tree in the Richmond Methodist Church as part of their Christmas Tree Festival.  Here are some images of 16 Days of Activism in action.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UN Campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

This year SI Richmond and Dales is taking part in the annual UN Campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.  The campaign runs from 25th November – International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women to 10th December – International Human Rights Day, with the slogan for the campaign is “Orange the World“.  We are raising awareness of these issues with a campaign to “Orange Richmond”.  We have persuaded over 50 businesses across the town centre to display posters we have designed and provided, together with flyers for customers to take away.   The club is holding an Orange themed Coffee Morning on 25th November, and meeting for an Orange Cafe session at Morro Lounge, Richmond at 10:30 on 10th December. We will also be decorating a 16 Days of Activism themed Christmas Tree in Richmond Methodist Church from 1st December, as part of their annual charity Christmas Tree display.

Gender based violence may be experienced by anyone, but is predominantly suffered by women and girls. It is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today. Sadly it remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it.  It occurs in many forms, such as:

• partner violence (battering, psychological abuse, marital rape, femicide)
• sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, street harassment, stalking, cyber- harassment);
• human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation)
• female genital mutilation
• child marriage

If you or someone you know is suffering, or has suffered abuse or violence, there are people who can help.  For help, advice or more information, contact one of the following:

Independent Domestic Abuse Services:   https://idas.org.uk/contact/
EVA Women’s Aid    https://evawomensaid.org.uk/
Family Help Darlington        https://www.familyhelp.org.uk/
Unseen UK  https://www.unseenuk.org/
SIYAMS: Soroptimist International of Yorkshire Against Modern Slavery https://sigbi.org/yorkshire/si-yorkshire-anti-slavery-group-overview/

One of our new members has written the following evocative poem inspired by the campaign:

Is it time

He’s jealous, possessive
and tries to control me
He makes me feel guilty
And thinks that he owns me

He takes my money
And judges my clothes
He threatens to leave
If I don’t do as I’m told

He teases and bullies
And slaps me around
Makes me cry and afraid
and throws me to the ground

He hates my family
And I can’t see my friends
I feel so alone
How will this all end?

Deep inside 
I know this is wrong
I must take ownership
I must be strong

I need to get out
I must go somewhere
But what about money
Support and childcare

We love you and can help
You are not alone
There is support for you
Just pick up the phone…

 

 

Our Activities in October

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.

 

 

 

 

 

October Meeting

We were very happy to welcome 3 prospective new members to our meeting, and 2 representatives of Spouse Force.  Spouse Force works to engage army spouses in community activity  in and around the Garrison, and reduce isolation.   Our Club is developing a partnership with SpouseForce to enable their members to join our meetings in a similar manner to our Richmond School students on the Sharing our Skills project, which has been running for 12 years now.

The Fellmongers Company of Richmond

Jan was also the speaker at our October Meeting. She told us about the fascinating history of the Fellmongers Company of Richmond, of which she is a member.  The origins lie in the medieval craft guilds which were found in market towns throughout the country.  Each represented a particular craft, and was both a way of keeping the “mysteries”  (craft techniques) of the crafts secret, to protect their livelihoods and maintain craft standards by limiting entry to qualified people.  Ancient Guilds here in Richmond date from the mid 1100’s.  Jan showed us the two crests of the Skinners and Glovers which amalgamated to form the Fellmongers, which were two of thirteen Trade Guilds in the town.

The modern-day Mayors of Richmond wear a wonderful ceremonial chain depicting all thirteen guild crests.  On St George’s Day the Fellmongers of Richmond elect their new Master.  The election is then followed by a procession to St Mary’s Church and a service of rededication for the Guild.  Women are now equally a part of the Guild, and both our local ‘dignitaries’ Baroness Hale and Baroness Harris are former Masters. Each year there is also an Apprentice Award evening, to recognise the achievements of the local apprentices who have received Guild support.

Jan ended with a wonderful story of a Richmond resident, Henry Bradrigg, a Fellmonger and Alderman of Richmond in the 1th century. During the plague of 1645, when 600 people of Richmond died, many of the wealthier people fled for safety.  However, Henry stayed on, he did a great deal to help and support the townsfolk of Richmond who became infected with plague.  He set up ‘pest houses’ on the edge of town to isolate people, and paid for food to be delivered, as well as visiting victims to offer support.  He suffered personal loss as his wife Anne, his grandson Henry, and his maid Anne, all died from the plague.  Many Richmond people survived because of Henry’s help and support.

Certificates Awarded

President Babs was pleased to be able to present 3 Certificates to members of the club.  Anne Potts and Anne Morton were given Soroptimist International 30 Year Long Service Awards, and Jenny Cathcart, PA Lead, accepted a SI Yorkshire Region shared Programme Action Award on behalf of the club.  This was awarded for our Toilet Twinning of Richmond in this year’s Regional Awards.

Babs will be attending the next Yorkshire Regional Meeting in November at which she will be doing a short presentation on our Programme Action.

Programme Action Plans

Members signed up at the meeting to help run our fundraising Coffee Morning at the Richmond Town Hall, which will be taking place on the morning of 25th November.  There was also an updated on plans for our campaign of awareness raising for the United Nations 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.  We are planning to canvass businesses and other organisations around Richmond and Leyburn – plus the Garrison, with support from Spouse Force.

We aim to persuade them to put an orange display in their windows and display one of the posters Jenny has designed for the project on the “Orange the World” theme of the 16 days campaign.  We will also provide flyers for their customers to pick up.  As we are trying not to impinge on the vital Christmas shopping period, we will run the campaign from 25th to 30th November, tying it into our Coffee Morning as an ‘Orange Cafe’. The campaign will end with an Orange Cafe meeting at Morro Lounge on the 1st of November.

Bingo Night

On Friday 27th we held a very successful fundraising Bingo Night at the Richmond Rugby Club.  Over 60 people attended, taking part in four fun games of Bingo plus a raffle, and consuming a delicious ‘Pie, Pea and Mash’ supper prepared and served by the Rugby Club Chef.  We raised a total of £576 after costs, which is going to support Northallerton & District Breast Cancer Support Group, our charity for the year.

 

September Update

Soroptimist International Convention in Dublin

Here is the September update on our activities, which featured lively meeting this month.  Two members reported back on their experience of attending the Soroptimist International Convention in Dublin.  They attended as part of a 50 strong party from the Yorkshire Region who travelled to Dublin together.  The party added exploration of the city to the Convention meetings.  There was praise for the Dublin Convention Centre’s exceptional organisation and efficiency.  The Centre staff succeeded in providing tea, coffee, and a hot lunch to 1600 SI members without queues.

There were several impressive speakers at the Convention.  The keynote speech was given by the former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson. She is currently chair of The Elders group at the United Nations, of which she is a founder member. The main themes of the convention were Gender Equality and The Environmental Crisis.  There was discussion  on the experience of social and political pushback in many parts of Europe against previous gains in gender equality.  It was also pointed out that women and children are often disproportionately impacted by the effect of climate change in vulnerable parts of the world. They are likely to be suffering high levels and poverty and deprivation already in many such communities.

The report from Convention sparked considerable discussion in the club.  This highlighted the important of organisations such as Soroptimist International continuing their work.

Yorkshire Region

Members are proud that one of our number, Judith Clark, will be joint President of the SI Yorkshire Region in 2024-5, having been appointed joint President-Elect from November.  Judith has been a stalwart Soroptimist for many years. She has served on the Regional Council as Secretary for some years, as well as undertaking several officer posts in Richmond and Dales, including President.   The Richmond & Dales club has been nominated to take its turn in providing a presentation about our programme action at the incoming President’s lunch and Council meeting in November.  Our President Babs has agreed to do this talk for us.

Income and Spending

The club received over £90 this month from EasyFundraising donations, which will go into our current charity fund.   President Babs thanked those who participate in this scheme, and encouraged others to join in.  Repayments from LendwithCare have also enabled the club to make a further loan to a group of ladies in Malawi.

Plans for Upcoming Events

Members agreed plans at the October meeting for  awareness raising during the UN 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, which has the slogan “Orange The World“.  This event runs this year from 25th November to 10th December.  We aim to “Orange” Richmond for the period, by encouraging local businesses to put “orange” displays in their windows, and/or light up premises orange.  A team is taking this plan forward, and developing publicity materials to support the campaign.  Our fundraising Coffee Morning at the Town Hall on 25th November will be an “Orange Cafe”.  Two further Orange Cafe sessions will be held – one on 1st December at The Ralf Fitzrandal pub in the evening, and the other at Morro Lounge on 10th November from 10:30 am.

We will also be holding our fundraising “Bingo Night” at the Richmond Rugby Club on 27th October.  Entry is £13:00 which includes a “pie & pea” supper and the first game.

Sharing Our Skills

Member Chris Bowran has led the Sharing our Skills project since it began 12 years ago.  She invited other members to join here in discussions with Richmond School on selecting a new group of students to shadow our meetings in early 2024.  This project introduces young students to volunteering and gives them insight and experience in how organisations work.  It also and raises their awareness of the issues facing women and children around the world.

We also hope to have two representatives of Spouse Force sharing a similar experience by being at our October and November meetings.  Spouse Force was set up by a Catterick Garrison resident who is keen to bring together army spouses to encourage them in local volunteering and community work.  Army spouses often experience loneliness and isolation due to the frequent moves from location to location which is characteristic of army life.   It is hoped that Spouse Force can bring them together, and also help them develop self-confidence and useful skills for employment. We hope that Spouse Force and SI Richmond and Dales can develop another ongoing relationship which is as fruitful as the student SOS project has been.

 

Soroptimist Cup for Making a Difference

Member Sue Young recently attended the Richmond School Awards night to present the Soroptimist Cup for Making a Difference to this year’s recipients.  We donated this Cup to be awarded each year to pupils in recognition of outstanding voluntary actions contributing to the school or the local community .  This year it was awarded jointly to Amy Salvin, Thomas Greer and Toby Watson.  The three of them were inspired by a visit to the Store House foodbank which helps local people who are struggling to feed their families.  Amy, Thomas and Toby ran a campaign to raise awareness of this issue in the school.  They delivered assemblies and organised quizzes where the entry fee was a food donation.  This was a great success, resulting in more than 1000 items being donated to the food bank.  Worthy winners of our cup, indeed!

 

 

 

 

 

Update for August

We don’t have a regular club meeting in August, as so many people are away on holiday.  However, that doesn’t mean no activity that month! Here is my update for August:

Kiplin Hall Visit

A group of members and their other halves went on a guided tour of the local historic house Kiplin Hall.  We had an excellent tour guide, who took us through the history of the house whilst displaying its architecture and contents.  This impressive Jacobean mansion was built by successful statesman George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, from 1619.  He was also the founder of the American colony in Maryland, and there are ties between the house and it’s American connections to this day. The last family owner, Bridget Talbot, bequeathed it to the Trust she set up in 1971, and opened it to the public.  Bridget Talbot was a notable woman in her own right and would have made a great Soroptimist.  She was honoured by the Italian Government for her service as a nurse during World War I as well as being a talented artist in the Arts & Crafts movement.  Examples of her exquisite marquetry work can be seen in the Hall.  After the enjoyable tour we had a pleasant lunch together in the tea-room, but the rain sadly prevented us from spending the afternoon exploring the extensive grounds and lake.  Maybe next time! One of our members is a regular volunteer at the Hall.  Anyone who is interested in joining her would be heartily welcomed.

Donations

Member Sue Eastham’s husband Barry presented Richinda from EVA Women’s Aid a load of supplies for their flats which he has donated from his garage business. We – and Richinda – are very grateful for his generosity.

 

 

 

 

 

Other members have also been busy this month.  Jenny Cathcart has donated an Android Table to Colburn Community Support, and Faye Doorbar has donated a sewing to Colburn Community Foodshare, and an embroidery machine to Just the Job for use on their craft products.   We have also been able to make a further microloan through LendWithCare. The first repayments on our 6 loans from June were enough to make the further loan, to a lady in Zambia.

Orange Cafe

We were delighted to welcome a potential new member who came to our Orange Cafe drop-in at Morro Lounge on 25th.  As well as members wearing orange, we were joined by Faye’s dog – suitably ginger haired and arrayed in orange trimmed harness and felt flower. Anyone who wishes to find out more about us is welcome to join us at Morro Lounge in Richmond from 10:30 on the 25th of each month.

 

 

 

 

 

July Meeting

The speaker at our July meeting was Alice Rose, Programming curator of Kiplin Hall, the local Jacobean historic house.  Alice described her role then went on to describe the history of the house and its families and current facilities and exhibitions for visitors.  She also outlined future plans for the Hall and grounds in a wide-ranging and fascinating talk. We will be visiting as a group in August.

We were delighted to welcome two new members at this meeting – Rachel Pavitt and Jane McLennan.  They were welcomed and presented with their badges by the President and their mentors, Chris Bowran and Sue Eastham.

President Babs reported back on her attendance at the Yorkshire Region meeting held in July at Askham Grange Prison. She was impressed by the speakers, and the experience of visiting the prison.  Christina Gabbitas spoke of her work writing educational stories, passing on knowledge to school children on drugs/knives using animated videos, comic strips and poems, and Dishi Attwood, SIGBI Director of Membership talked about how she engages potential new members by storytelling.  The next RCM will be in September, where the Programme Action awards will be voted on.

Programme Action updates

Programme Action officer Jenny has written to our MP, Rishi Sunak, urging action to implement the recommendations of the SIGBI Special Report on Domestic Abuse Courts, which highlights deficiencies in the operational procedures impacting on victims.  The report has also been forwarded to other local organisations asking them to support us in this campaign.

Plans were discussed for a new fundraiser project being planned for next year.  This will be a “coffee and cake” event at the Town Hall next Spring in association with Grumpy Mule coffee, promoting their “Cafe Feminino”  initiative which supports a Peruvian women’s coffee growing cooperative, and assists them and their children.  Sue Young, who is organising the event, learned about this through local Chocolate maker Mocha, who sell Grumpy Mule coffee, so we will provide an outlet for selling their chocolate at the event.

Plans are progressing with Spouse Force on our joint project.  We will be inviting 2 or 3 women from the Garrison to join our meetings for 3 months in the Autumn, to learn about volunteering, meetings and what Soroptimism is about.

Babs also confirmed that our £220 donation has gone to the Soroptimist International President’s Appeal, ‘Opening the Door to a Brighter Future‘.  This supports educational initiatives in Cambodia, Uganda and Georgia.

Progress on LendWithCare Micro-financing

All the 6 female entrepreneur’s projects to which we lent money in June were quickly fully funded, and the first repayments have arrived.  This was enough to enable us to make another loan, which has gone to a further female group in Zambia.

Orange Cafe

Several members met for coffee at Morro Lounge in Richmond.  This was the latest in our regular “Orange Cafe” sessions held on the 25th of each month from 10:30am.  This is aimed at promoting the United Nations Orange The World campaign to tackle violence against women throughout the world, and raise awareness of both this and Soroptimism.  A range of useful leaflets and bookmarks are available for visitors joining us.

 

 

 

 

Cheque presented to Colburn Community Support

Members Judith Clark and Sue Young visited Colburn Community Support to present them with a cheque from our fundraising for this new organisation, set up last year, which provides support to the impoverished community of Colburn.  CCS aims to support individuals, families, and businesses in the community by offering practical & admin support, budgeting & financial management advice, help with CVs, job applications & benefit forms, bereavement support, business mentoring and advocacy services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June Meeting

Our speaker at the June Meeting was Irene Boreham, from the Breast Cancer Support Group associated with The Friarage Hospital MacMillan Cancer Care Centre in Northallerton. Irene told us about her own journey through breast cancer and then went on to describe the history of the support group and the services it provides.

All its members have and have survived breast cancer, which enables them to share experience with other sufferers.  They provide emotional and practical support and social contact for breast cancer patients.   Through fundraising events they are also able to provide financial support to those in need of help to access their treatment.  The group has been in existence for over 25 years, and has managed to weather the difficulties of Covid and continue its important work.  This group is our chosen charity for this year.

EVA

After our inspiring talk last month by the Director of EVA Women’s Aid, the husband of one of our members was highly impressed.  So much so that he has agreed to donate £150 every month from his filling station business located near Redcar, EVA’s base.  We were delighted to hear of his generosity.

Bingo Night Fundraiser

President Babs asked everyone to save Friday 27th October to our diaries. We will be holding a fundraising bingo night at Richmond Rugby Club, with supper.  Details to follow…

International Women’s Day 2024

A sub group has been set up and had it first meeting recently to plan our celebration of International Women’s Day next March.  The group have decided that the event will be called ‘Women of Richmond’.  It will be held at the Richmond Town Hall as a drop-in event with two time slots – one in the afternoon and the other in the early evening.  Refreshments will be available, and an exhibition will be on show.  We aim to highlight the careers of as many notable Richmond women, past and present, as we can.  Members are invited to send President Babs nominations for the exhibition in time for the next sub-group meeting in late July.  If anyone has access to display boards, the organising group would be grateful for offers for the exhibition.

Orange Cafe

Last month saw our first Orange Cafe meeting, when several members met for coffee and to discuss how best we can support this initiative.  The aim is to promote awareness of
the UN ‘Orange the World‘ campaign to Eliminate Violence Against Women, and also of Soroptimism.  We have agreed to hold a monthly meet-up at the Moro Lounge in Richmond Market Place.  The Moro Lounge management are being very supportive, as they wish to develop community links.   We will meet on the 25th of every month from 10.30, wearing orange and our ‘Stop the Violence’ badges, and displaying leaflets/flyers etc, in the hope of interesting other customers in our activities.  As well as having coffee and a nice chat!

Lend With Care

We have just donated £252 to the Lend With Care programme, part of the Care International charity. This programme provides loans – micro-finance – to small entrepreneurs in developing nations to enable people to start or develop businesses.  These businesses help applicants out of poverty, so they can better support themselves and their families.  Raising even small amounts of capital is incredibly difficult for people with low incomes, so this programme is invaluable.

We divided the money up between 6 applicants, all women, living in Ecuador, Pakistan, Zambia, Vietnam, and Peru.  Their businesses are very varied: dealing in dried fish, tailoring and dressmaking, livestock rearing, wig-making, and traditional textile embroidery.  We wish all our ladies’ luck in their enterprises. When they have been able to pay back their loans, we will be able to make more loans to new applicants.  This is a wonderful way of providing aid which can be ongoing.

 

Coffee Morning on June 22nd

We held another of our fundraising Coffee Mornings at Richmond Town Hall on Thursday June 22nd.  Sadly, numbers attending were rather low – which has become the norm on Thursdays since the Covid pandemic.  However, between serving teas, coffees and biscuits, and running a raffle, tombola and bric-a-brac stall we were able to raise a total of £123.50. A nice boost for our charity fund.  Thank you to all those who came and supported us.  Our next Coffee Morning will be a Saturday in November, which hopefully will draw more customers.

 

Presenting a Cheque to Friends of Garget-Walker House

Babs Hunt, our President, together with member Lin Clarkson recently presented a cheque to the Friends of Garget Walker House.  This was at a recent fundraising coffee morning run by the Friends, held in Richmond Town Hall.  The Friends of Garget Walker house provide resources, activities and support for dementia sufferers and their carers in Richmondshire.  SI Richmond & Dales has supported the Friends with donations on several occasions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presentation of Cheque to Marrick Priory Outdoor Centre

Two of our members recently attended a fundraising lunch at Marrick Priory Outdoor Centre, where they presented a cheque for £150, as an additional donation to the Centre. This is part of the money raised at our Quiz Night.  Sue & Judith are pictured below with the Director on the bench we purchased for them earlier in the year.  We have also received a “thank you” email, including a picture of the safety helmets, which were part of the earlier donation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update from our May Meeting

Here is our monthly update from our May meeting.  We were very pleased to welcome visitors from two other SI Yorkshire Clubs – Regional Membership Officer Judith Parsons, and long standing stalwart of the Region, Pat Kilbane – and another prospective new member of our club.  Judith and Pat congratulated the Club on its good record of recruiting new people.  Judith spoke about the need to continue to bring new members into Soroptimism.  This is designated “Membership Month”, but Judith says that every month should be membership month.

EVA Women’s Aid

The Speaker for the meeting was another SI member – Richinda Taylor of SI Scarborough, Malton & District.  Richinda was speaking in her capacity as CEO of the Charity EVA. She  began  her talk by reminding us of the vision of EVA, which is to end violence towards women and girls. The ethos of EVA was to create ‘women only’, safe places for women who had suffered  violence and domestic abuse, and to support them. It is a chilling statistic that 3 women each week are killed by men.

She went on to update the club on progress made on the new purpose built flats in Scarborough, one of which had been equipped using donations from SI Richmond & Dales.  Richinda is determined to create safe spaces for those older  women, who perhaps had suffered many years of domestic abuse or coercive control, and wanted to break free from the cycle of violence.  This age group of women need specific care and skills to enable them to survive of their own.  In a mixed group with younger women, the older women can be drawn into supporting the younger ones, who may see them as mother figures, rather than being able to concentre on their own recovery.

Richinda devised a campaign to educate society in general that there is no age limit to domestic abuse. This was known as the ‘45+ Project’. A number of older women felt empowered to break away from their abuser and come forward for help after this campaign.  Richinda organised specific funding for the building of 7 purpose built flats in Scarborough, especially for these women. An outstanding achievement, and she tells us this is only the first! Richinda works with 17 funding providers, as EVA is not funded by the local authority. This is a full time job in itself, managing the grants and funding, and reporting back.

EVA also provides education programmes (often devised by the women themselves) which inform women of their rights, and educates them in many areas, including how to avoid  abusive relationships in the future.  The club members were greatly impressed with Richinda’s passion and commitment, and we are delighted delighted to have been able to support such a fantastic organisation.

Richinda kindly gave us all an EVA ‘goody bag’  to either hand to a woman in need, or to leave in a Doctor’s waiting room.  In return we presented her with a car boot load of items for her to take back to the flats – including duvets, bedding, towels etc.   Richinda thanked us most profusely for all our support.

President’s Activities

Our new Club President, Babs Hunt, Babs has had a very busy start to her Presidency.  She has represented the club at the Richmond Mayor’s Charity Dinner; SI Selby Luncheon; Incoming Regional Presidents’ Lunch and the Yorkshire Friendship day at Newby Hall.  She will be attending the Richmond Mayor Making Ceremony next week, when Ian Woods (husband of our member Fiona Woods) will become Richmond Mayor.  Representing the club at local events is a valuable way of raising awareness of Soroptimism, and highlighting what we stand for.

Orange Cafe

Another SIGBI initiative was discussed at the meeting, following on from our participation last year in highlighting the UNESCO “Orange The World” campaign to eliminate violence against women and girls. The plan is to integrate this with a social gathering for club members.  On the 25th of each month – Orange The World Day – we will gather at a local cafe to have a coffee, wearing our Orange badges, and Soroptimist Blue clothing.  This will enable us to highlight both the campaign and Soroptimism.

Literature on the campaign focus and leaflets about Soroptimism will be available to pass on to anyone who shows an interest in our activity.  As it is a Thursday, it was agreed that the first Orange Cafe meeting would be on 25th May at the Richmond Town Hall coffee morning.  We could ‘kill two birds with one stone’ by supporting this coffee morning as it was also being run by one of our members on behalf of her charity.

Our own Coffee Morning

We will be running a coffee morning of our own at the Town Hall on June 22nd to raise funds for the charities we are supporting. Members signed up to a volunteer sheet for this event, and were reminded to bring items for the raffle and tombola to the next meeting.

SI Harare

Our new Friendship Officer, Wendy was delighted to report to us that SI Harare had written to thank us for the money donated last year.  They tell us they have bought a printer, ink and paper for Dalston Primary School, their latest project, and students were also presented with sanitary supplies in toiletry bags.  We received some photos of the presentation:

 

 

April Meeting and AGM

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 life. Morrisa, although young, showed how she had already learned to respond to commands.

We heard daunting facts that whilst 1:5 of the population has some degree of sight loss, every minute someone will lose their sight. Of this group 75% are unemployed. Having a guide dog counters this bleak statistic, but there just aren’t enough. It takes two years to fully train a guide dog and there was an aim for 1000 new guide dogs to be created each year. The Covid Pandemic severely damaged this aim. The socialization programme had to be suspended due to the limitations on public movements and interaction,but in 2021 4,044 new guide dog partnerships were created.

Training is expensive and reliant on funding. Sponsoring a guide dog is the main source, although naming a puppy for £2,500, gifting in wills, lotteries and raffles also bring in funds. Of each £1.00 raised, 53.1% is for guide dogs & adult services, 8.3% on campaigning, 7.7% for children and young people, 0.5% on research and 27.9% Richmond and Dales on generating income. Current campaigns include support on public transport, such as audible announcement of stops on buses.

After questions, thanks were given to the speakers, and they were presented with wine and plants.

Annual General Meeting

We looked back with pride at our activities and achievements over the last twelve months, both in programme action work and recruiting new members.   It is always surprising how much we have done every year!  A significant part of the funds raised this year were carried forward from our very successful International Women’s Day event last March, when Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson spoke at the Scotch Corner Hotel.  We decided to do the same, and carried forward money raised at the Dame Vera Baird evening last month into the new year.  Here is a summary of the charities and activities we have supported during 2022-23

• Colburn Community Support – donations to purchase equipment for this new community care charity.  Colburn is the most deprived locality in our area.
• Colburn Foodshare & Community Hub (food, books and sanitary products donations)
• Friends of Garget-Walker House – donations to support this Dementia Care facility
• EVA Women’s Aid – equipping a flat in a new development at this Women’s Refuge
• Centenary Tree Planting (Richmondshire Landscape Trust) – as part of the Soroptimist International Centenary celebrations
• Marrick Priory Outdoor Education Centre – donations for equipment for use by visiting children
• Richmond & Catterick Riding for the Disabled – funding for a day trip for disabled children
• Toilet Twinning Richmond – working with the Toilet Twinning Charity, twinning the toilets in 20 public and commercial premises (which funds installation of toilet facilities without them in Africa, Asia and South America).  We succeeded in making Richmond a Toilet Twinned town
• Sharing our Skills (SOS) in association with Richmond School – involving students from Richmond School in our activities. This gives them experience of how organisations run, encourages the volunteering ethic, and raises awareness of women’s issues.
• SI Harare projects – donation to assist our Friendship Link Club in Zimbabwe with their projects in this country which is facing so many challenges.

There are also the ‘ongoing initiatives’, recycling various household and personal items, supporting the Richmondshire Talking Newspaper and Coffee & Cake Chat sessions at Richmond and Colburn libraries in association with CRACCL (Catterick, Richmond & Colburn  Community Libraries group). We have also donated sanitary ware via SI Yorkshire Region to an orphanage in Ukraine, and have begun collecting empty pill strips for recycling, also via Yorkshire Region.

All our officers were thanked for their sterling efforts in making the club such a success.  The new President, Babs Hunt, was welcomed, and presented with the official chain of office by Sue Eastham.  The new Executive Committee was also confirmed.  Many officers have continued from last year, but Lin Clarkson has joined the committee as Communications officer, and Sue Eastham takes over as Membership Officer from our longstanding stalwart, Sandy Baxter.  Our plans for the new year are already in place, following our big planning meeting in January, so we aim to be out of the blocks running!