Meetings and activity from April 2025 – March 2026

March meeting: A Global Perspective and Local Action

This month, our club has been buzzing with activity! From inspiring talks to exciting upcoming events, here’s everything you need to know:

A View from the UN: The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

We were privileged to welcome Susan Mendoza, a member of SI Bingley, as our guest speaker at the March meeting. Susan shared her incredible experiences as a delegate at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in 2024 and 2025.

Did you know? SIGBI and Soroptimist International (SI) both hold special consultative status at the UN, enabling members to participate in critical global discussions on gender equality.

Susan gave us a fascinating overview of the CSW, which has been fostering global awareness of women’s issues since its first meeting in 1947. Each year, the CSW focuses on a priority theme—this year, it’s Justice, while past themes have included Poverty.

Susan described the intense process of negotiations and meetings, where delegates work tirelessly to finalise statements. At the last CSW meeting, SIGBI delegates even met with UK parliamentarians, including Harriet Harman, the UK Special Envoy in 2025.

Key topics discussed included:

• Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
• Promoting Women’s Health
• Girls’ Leadership

One significant proposal was to categorise FGM as Child Abuse, though it faced resistance from some states. Despite the challenges, Susan’s talk was a powerful reminder of the importance of our advocacy work.

She urged all SIGBI members to complete their Programme Action reports. These are crucial for SI to maintain its permanent CSW status and continue being a global voice for women and girls.

Exciting  Events

Baroness Hale Afternoon Tea

We discussed our special event with club patron, Baroness Hale!

• Date: Saturday 24 April 2026
• Time: 2pm – 4pm
• Location: Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner
• Tickets: £20 each (£5 from each ticket will go to our chosen club charity, the Paul Cullen Trust).

Lady Hale has been a champion of diversity in the judiciary throughout her career. On becoming the first female Law Lord in 2003, she created her new coat of arms bearing the motto “omnia feminae aequissimae”, meaning “women are equal to everything”; something Soroptimists everywhere would surely endorse. An inspirational trailblazer, she was the first woman and first family judge to sit on the Supreme Court, and the first woman appointed as law lord in the Supreme Court’s predecessor, the House of Lords appellate committee.

The event included a talk by Baroness Hale, followed by a delightful afternoon tea. Her new book was also available for purchase and she kindly signed copies.

SOS Students Launch New Project

Our Sharing Our Skills (SOS) students, Cara and Freya, are launching an exciting new project to support the Growbaby charity in Darlington.

Here’s what they are planning:

• A collection box for clothing, nappies, and baby wipes located in Year 12 common areas.
• An upcoming free dress/pyjama day to raise awareness.
• Sharing leaflets across the school detailing the items most needed.

During the March meeting, we discussed how we can extend our support for this cause further in to the community. If you have good quality baby items looking for a new home, please let us know.

Fundraising Coffee Morning

We had a lovely morning of coffee, biscuits, and community spirit!

• Date: Thursday, 23rd April
• Time: 9am – 12pm
• Location: Town Hall, Richmond

Guests enjoyed hot drinks, sweet treats, and a fun tombola.

Programme Action & Club Highlights

Our club has been hard at work, and we’re proud to share some of our recent achievements:

• Tote Bag Initiative: Our team created 36 additional tote bag kits for other Yorkshire clubs after the success of our project for North Yorkshire Voice. We also donated the remaining fabric to a refugee centre and the Colburn sewing group.
• Collections: Members collected 45 pairs of spectacles and 30 mobile phones, which they sent for recycling and reuse.
• Fundraising Success: We raised £1,421 and donated it to the Hambleton and Richmondshire Specialist Palliative Care Team. The team thanked us with a heartfelt letter of appreciation.
• Future Planning: Our club has started organising a Women’s Film Festival, “Reel Women,” to celebrate next year’s International Women’s Day.

Membership News

We’re thrilled to announce a new initiative to recognise our members’ dedication. Long-service certificates will now be awarded for 10, 15, and 20 years of membership, in addition to the longer periods already recognised. These will be presented at future AGMs.

A huge congratulations to the following members for their incredible milestones:

• Shirley Thubron: 55 years
• Margaret: 45 years
• Judith and Chris: Approaching 20 years
• Sue Young: Approaching 15 years

Thank you to all our members for your hard work and dedication. Together, we continue to make a difference in our community and beyond.

February Meeting: A Night of Community Support and Future Planning

Our February meeting was held on Thursday, 19th February 2026, at the Holiday Inn Scotch Corner. This was a bustling evening of community support and future planning.

Supporting Specialist Palliative Care

We were delighted to welcome Claire Bunting and Sarah Holland from the Hambleton & Richmondshire Specialist Palliative Care Team as our guest speakers. They provided a moving and informative overview of their vital work. Their team gives end of life care and support to patients and their families. They work in both community and hospital settings. This essential service relies on funding from both the NHS and charitable donations.

Following a successful bingo night organised by SI Richmond & Dales, we were thrilled to present the team with a cheque for £1,421. This donation was gratefully received.

Other Donations

Treasurer Babs hunt confirmed that other recently agreed donations have been made:

• £100 to the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAA) to support their valuable work
• Driving Ukraine: £200 to support Angie Stirk and an all-female team with their next convoy.  They will be delivering aid to  female medics working within the ongoing war in Ukraine. This was in support of International Women’s Day 2026. The ladies reported on March 12th that they had reached Dover although the sea was very rough!

Club History

We hold a significant volume of historical paperwork from past years, which prompted a decision to review and digitise our physical archive.  We will form two groups for this.  One will sort and identify important documents, and another will scan and save these in digital form. The remainder will be shredded. We will also approach our oldest Honorary member, Shirley Thubron, who has additional historical material to include.

Some of Shirley’s material could also be used when we celebrate our 70th Charter Anniversary in 2027/8. Member Sue Bromby has proposed creating an Oral History of the club, potentially involving the Richmondshire Museum.

Member Recognition

We were reminded to vote for our member Lyndsey.  She has been nominated for both ‘Volunteer of the Year’ and a ‘Forces Family Award’ for her work in Scouting. We wish her the very best!

Programme Action

• Microfinance: Wendy Arrowsmith confirmed that the club’s Lend with Care account will be linked with other SIGBI donations.
• Coffee Morning: Our next coffee morning fundraiser will be on Thursday, 23rd April, at Richmond Town Hall.  Members will be donating for the usual cake and book stalls, tombola and raffle
• Sharing our Skills: Our SOS student, Cara, reported on two excellent ideas she and Freya are exploring as their fundraising project:
  • Growbaby, Darlington – a charity supplying baby clothes and equipment to families who cannot not afford to purchase such items. Cara had been in touch, and they will be delighted to receive donations
  • Women and AI: Research into Deep Fakes and the Grok tool.  They are linking this with the End Violence Against Women charity and are researching this.

Well done to both for great ideas!

• Baroness Hale Event: Members are encouraged to display posters and promote ticket sales for the Lady Hale event. This will take place on 25th April at the Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner
• Project ‘Reel Women’ Festival: Sara-Louise’s exciting idea for a film festival/weekend featuring women directors and producers, titled ‘Reel Women’, is moving forward. Chris, Faye, and Beki forming a team to work with her on this. This will be our contribution to International Women’s Day 2027

Other Activities

Acronyms & Jargon Sheet: Sue Eastham has produced a helpful sheet explaining Soroptimist acronyms and jargon, to help new and potential members.  It was well-received, particularly by our student Cara.  A separate sheet for Programme Action terms was suggested.

Community Involvement: Emma is now helping  The Unicorn Centre, a Riding for the Disabled stables in Middlesbrough

Driving Ukraine

SI Richmond and Dales has donated £200 to support the Driving Ukraine project, in which there is local involvement.  This is an all female convoy of donated vehicles and medical supplies going out to the Ukraine to be presented to a team of female medics. This is our contribution to International Women’s Day! Here is more information about the project:

Start the New Year

In December members of the club enjoyed a very pleasant evening at The Station, Richmond, sharing a Christmas Dinner. Then in January, we gathered to start the New Year with our big planning meeting at our usual venue, The Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner.  Our club programme year runs from April to March, and we hold a special meeting in January to plan the next Club Year, so that we are ready in good time.

New Members

This year we were delighted to formerly welcome two new members to the club, and present them their badges and welcome packs.  Two of  our other new members also volunteered for committee  roles in the club next year. They will take over as Programme Action Lead and Comms & Website when the current incumbents complete their term in March.    We were also  pleased to be joined by two students of Richmond School who will be with us this term for our Sharing our Skills Project.

This year’s Charity Distribution

Reviewing our Programme Action work, we agreed how we will distribute the money we have raised for charity this year. We will be presenting our main charity for this year, Hambleton & Richmond Palliative Care Team, a cheque for  £1400.  The remaining funds will be divided between several charities:

• EVA, the Redcar based women’s refuge, which we have supported on a number of occasions
• the next local Aid Convoy to Ukraine: planned for March this will be an all-female venture
• Wateraid
• Great North Air Ambulance
• Children’s Air Ambulance

Programme for 2026-27

Members contributed lots of ideas for discussion, and we were able to agree an interesting and varied selection of 8 speakers for meetings.  We also discussed a number of events for the year – fundraising, awareness raising and social – and the charities we plan to raise funds for this year.   Our main charity will be a local one, The Paul Curran Celebration Trust.  This charity was as set up after the death of Paul Curran in 2002, a local boy who suffered from a rare condition, Friedreich’s Ataxia and particularly in his later years had to have very specialised equipment and support.  The trust offers grants to children and young people up to the age of 30, who have any form of disability, together with dependents or carers. Grants are for health needs, education and training, and it will also provide advocacy/advice and information. The Trust operates only in the locality of Richmondshire.  We will also continue to support the charity Smartworks, which provides coaching, advice and clothing to support women entering or returning to the job market.

An Afternoon with Baroness Hale

As usual, we will be holding 3 fundraising Coffee Mornings at Richmond Town Hall through the year.  However, we are already working on our main fundraising event.  This will be held on April 25th, at The Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner. The event will be an afternoon with Baroness Hale, our patron. She will be in conversation with Chris Lloyd, chief feature writer of the Darlington & Stockton Times and Northern Echo. They will be talking about Baroness Hale’s new book, “With the Law on Our Side: How the Law Works for Everyone and How We Can Make it Better”.  The session will run from 2pm to 5pm, and includes afternoon tea. Tickets are £20: email sirrichmondanddales@yahoo.co.uk for instructions on how to book.

November Meeting at Colburn

Colburn Community Hub

As has become traditional, we held our November Meeting in Colburn, at the village Community Hub. We handed over an impressive array of donations – food, toiletries, gifts – towards the Christmas Hampers which the community group provides for those in need in the area.  There was also a heap of warm clothes donated for the Community Warm Rail. It is a privilege to help the magnificent work of the Colburn Community volunteers.

Lady Chaytor

Our speaker was Kate Streatfield, who gave us a tour and talk about the Easby Abbey ruins earlier this year. This time Kate’s gave us a fascinating insight into the extraordinary life of Lady Isobel Chaytor, ‘ A Titled Northern Lady’.  Although she came from a modest family in Middlesbrough, in 1912 she married the third son of  the Chaytor family, Baronets of Croft and owners of Witton Castle.  Unexpectedly her husband inherited the title and Lady Isobel was able to live a very full life as a society hostess, fashionista, traveller and adventurer.  She was a prolific gossip columnist of the London Society scene and later a Hollywood resident, very adept at self-promotion in her own columns in the Northern press! Kate is currently writing a book about Lady Chaytor which she hopes will be out in the middle of next year.

‘Call to Action’

Members who attended the annual Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland Conference earlier in the month reported that the new SIGBI President issued the Federation a stirring call to action to:

Be kind to one another, demonstrating what it means to be a Soroptimist (best of
sisters)
Embrace the very reasons upon which we were founded
Remember that all views are valid, let’s forget “we have always done it this way”
or “why have we always done it this way”. Instead listen, respect each other’s views
and move forward. We are a broad and inclusive women’s organisation, and there is
room for everyone.
Continue with all the wonderful and impactful work you are doing, whether it is
local, national or international, remembering always that every time you engage with
someone you are changing that person’s life.
And finally go back to your Clubs and Regions confident in the knowledge that you
are all MAKING A HUGE DIFFERENCE and it is recognised and respected by all who
come into contact with you

We will continue to do our best to embrace these core values of Soroptimism!

Programme Action Update

We held our third fundraising Coffee Morning of the year on 8th November, and are pleased to have raised £212 for our charities fund

Wendy Arrowsmith gave an update on our Lend With Care program, as we continue our regular micro-loan investments
Chris Bowran is in contact with Richmond School Sixth Form College to organise our next Sharing our Skills student visitors in the New Year.
Jenny Cathcart reported that Oxfam has sadly stopped accepting mobile phones for recycling, but she has found an alternative to the recent recipients for our old phones. Vodafone in association with Barnardo’s will refurbish old phones donated at Vodafone stores, and pass them on to those in need.  We have donated over 40 phones this year, gathered from members families.

Invitations

Club members have been invited to attend 3 Christmas Events:

The Richmond Mayor’s Charity Carol Service on December 10th

Richmond School Christmas carol concert in the school hall on Tuesday 9th December at 7pm
Richmond School have also invited us to their Christmas carol service in St. Mary’s church at 6pm on Thursday 18th December

A number of members will also be attending the SI Yorkshire Regional Conference. Babs Hunt has organised a card from the club for Judith as she becomes regional president for the second year. A present from the club has been purchased: a small tray with two mugs, and a plaque, all with maps of Richmond on them. They will be presented to Judith at the RCM

Upcoming Projects

Sue Young announced that Baroness Hale, our club’s patron, has written a new book.  This is a series of vignettes themed around making the law work better for everyone, and she is happy to come and speak to us about it.  This will make a good fundraiser, so Sue has booked the Holiday Inn Scotch Corner in April for a Talk with Afternoon Tea.

Babs Young reminded the club about the SI Yorkshire Region ‘Train Safety Day’ on 4th December.  Members across the Region will arrive at York Railway Station at 11:15 for a promotion of  Women’s Train Travel Safety, where there will be a media presence.  The group will then travel on to Scarborough for a special lunch.

As usual, there will be no Club Meeting in December except for a celebratory Christmas meal together.  January will see our annual planning day meeting at the Scotch Corner Hotel, when we will agree our charities, speakers and projects for the new year.

Update for October

Save Our Swale

At this month’s meeting we were joined as speakers by 3 representatives of Save Our Swale (SOS). They came to address the meeting about their campaign against pollution in the River Swale.  Brian Benson spoke about the poor history of water supply and sewage disposal regulation, in particular since the privatisation of the multiplicity of Water Companies under the Conservative Government in 1989 into a few large regional monopolies.  Nationally, management since then has resulted in massive dividend payments to the small number of shareholders, build-up of billions of pounds in debts, increasing charges and – most critical – ongoing underinvestment in the infrastructure.  This has resulted in leaks of 2-3bn litres of water a day, and chronic release of untreated sewage into our rivers.  Together with chemical run off and spills from farms this means widespread river pollution.

SOS is one of over 100 local groups campaigning about river pollution. Celine Barry described the actions they are taking.  They have applied for a stretch of the Swale in Richmond to be granted Designated Bathing Water Status (DBWS) as a means to force The Environment Agency to monitor water quality.  This has been a lengthy process, so for the last 2 years SOS has carried out its own monthly water quality monitoring which it reports to Yorkshire Water as part of campaign to hold the Government and Yorkshire Water to account.  They have widespread support from the County Council, our MP, and local businesses and landowners.  They use press and media and public meetings to raise awareness and pressure Yorkshire Water and – in coordination with the national Sewage Campaign Network – lobby for water and sewage services to be returned to not-for-profit public ownership.

Microbiologist Keith Thomas described the various means by which they monitor water quality.  Samples are taken at 7 locations from Wainwith to Brompton on Swale using a variety of test equipment to measure levels of bacteria, chemicals and invertebrates, plus observation of sewage plant overflows after rain. Despite reporting frequent high levels of pollution below the Richmond Sewage plant outfall and at Brompton on Swale below the Skeeby Beck junction, they have so far been unable to force Yorkshire Water to remedy the situation.  It is very difficult to prove that sickness is related to river contact, as the cause is unlikely to be reported medically.  However, one Richmond student who drank a pint of Swale water for a bet suffered a clostridium infection!

They are continuing to pursue their application for DBWS, monitoring and lobbying, in the hope that the Government will take notice of this national problem.  We wish them well with this important work.

Recent & Upcoming Activities

• Babs Hunt and Lin Ryan represented the Club at the Mayor’s Civic Dinner
• Jan Beeton will lay a wreath on our behalf at the War Memorial on Remembrance Day
• Babs and her husband (and guide dog puppy Iris!) will attend the Civic Service at St Mary’s Church as our representatives.
• Lin Ryan will attend the annual prize giving at Risedale School on 22nd October where the Soroptimist Cup for Making a Difference will be presented, and new member Lindsay represented us at the Prize Giving at Richmond School.

Programme Action

PA Officer Wendy Arrowsmith circulated the Yorkshire Region President’s Special Award for PA. This was awarded to us for our Tote Bags for Children in Care Project at last month’s Regional Conference.

We were pleased to note that the club continue to be trailblazers for PA in the Region, as two other awards related to Sharing Our Skills projects.  Regional Conference attendees brought donations for Smartworks, and took packs of Tote Bag fabric to make up. The Northern Region President had not been aware of EVA Women’s Aid, which we and Scarborough & Malton support, and intends to bring it up in her Region.

Volunteers signed up to assist at our upcoming Coffee Morning taking place on Saturday 8th November at Richmond Town Hall, for which members will be donating items for the tombola, raffle, cake and books & DVD stalls.

Membership Office Sue Eastham was pleased to see that 3 of our new members have been part of the group planning our Bingo Night fundraiser.  A total of 76 tickets have been sold for this event.

Yorkshire Region

Regional President Judith (who is one of our members) thanked the club for its support at the recent RCM at Scotch Corner, and also thanked Chris Bowran for designing her Presidential Logo (which is attracting favourable attention).  She is looking forward to the November meeting, which is her first as sole President instead of Joint President. The club wishes Judith well in her Presidential year.

Judith also encouraged any members who can to take part in the Train Safety Awareness Day being held on 4th December.  She would like as many people as possible to meet at York Station at 11:15 where she hopes to have a press and media presence.  Members from across the Region will be travelling to meet at this time, before continuing on from York to Scarborough.

UN Campaign about Violence Against Women

We were delighted to hear that last year’s Richmond School students on the Sharing Our Skills project are running their own project around the 16 Days of Activism against Violence Against Women. They have obtained permission to publicise this on the TV displays around the school.

The club held another Orange Café at the Swimming Pool café to mark this campaign.  Members were encouraged to use the café generally. It is run by a Ukrainian refugee couple, who are very welcoming.  This is particularly important while the pool itself remains closed for repairs.

Tote Bags for Children going into Care

Small team came together at Jenny’s this month to cut out and organise packs of fabric with sewing instructions for making Tote Bags. We pass bags to North Yorkshire Voice, who give them to children going into care to carry their personal belongings.   This was so that packs could be distributed at November’s RCM for other clubs to produce bags for equivalent uses in their areas.  More than 30 packs were made up.  About a dozen packs were given out at the previous RCM.

Bingo Night Fundraiser

September Meeting

This was the first “regular” meeting attended by our 3 new members, who joined us last month for the outing to Easby Abbey.  Babs was able to present them with their badges and formally welcome them.

Richmond Refugee Support

Our speaker was Annette Clarke from Richmond Refugee Support group. This is a voluntary group who provide social support for resettled people from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran and Ukraine.  They have arrived in our area by various different routes, though many are linked with the Ministry of Defence.  They and their families may have been given a settlement agreement for up to 3 years through work they performed for the MOD.  We were very impressed at the range of support the group gives.

The group helps provide a befriending service which provides many things. This includes explaining where local facilities are, taking people to medical appointments or helping support them to complete their driving license. The latter is very important to enable the refugees to have their own independence, get to work, and support other refugees mobility.

The group hosts a monthly meeting at the Swaledale Mountain Rescue Centre for mums and children called “Hokey Cokey”.  The do arts & crafts with the children but also some teaching of English – all ending in singing and dancing to the song.

There is also a bike scheme, providing donated bicycles for use by the refugees to get to work or the shops – or just for children to have fun. There is a maintenance day every month providing instruction on the bikes and how to keep them safe.

The Support group also learn a lot about the cultures of the people they are helping.  The volunteers say it is great to see multiple cultures joining together.  The refugees are encouraged to organise their own events. Invited volunteers are often overwhelmed by the generous hospitality they are given.

From 3rd October they are arranging a walking group where people attending will also be able to help their English language and conversational skills.  It is particularly important to provide support and social activities for the Asian women, who are generally much in the shadow of the men in their own cultures.

Business Update

• Two of our members will be representing us at the Mayor’s Civic Dinner and Sunday Service, events to which all local voluntary organisations are invited.
• Plans for our Bingo night in October are progressing.  This is in support of our charity this year, Richmond & Hambleton Palliative Care Team.
• A further 3 loans have been made through Lend With Care to female third world entrepreneurs.
• Dates were announced for three Coffee Mornings booked at the Town Hall in 2026. These are an invaluable source of income for our charity work, and an opportunity to publicise Soroptimism.
• There will be an Orange Cafe meeting on 25th at the Swimming Pool Cafe – which is run by Ukrainian refugees.  Members are urged to support this enterprise.

SI Yorkshire RCM

Our Club is hosting the Yorkshire Region Conference day at the Holiday Inn Scotch Corner. Eleven club members will be ‘meeting and greeting’ attendees, and guiding them through the vital car park registration procedure.  This meeting is the first chaired by our member Judith, who has taken over as Yorkshire President for the year 2025-6.  She will be announcing her programme of events.

There will be tables for all the clubs to display their programme action work, and arrangements were made to bring materials to show our work with

• North Yorkshire Voice (tote bags)
• Smartworks (clothing and accessory donations)
• the Women of Richmondshire Exhibition
• clothing supplies for the Richmond Dales Amateur Swimming Club.

These displays provide inspiration to club members across the region, encouraging cross-fertilisation with sharing of ideas.  We will also offer fabric, etc for attendees to make more tote bags. Donations will also be collected for Smartworks and EVA Women’s Aid.

Surprise Picnic

Several members surprised our long serving member Sandy with a picnic at Easby Abbey on Sunday 10th August.  Sandy lost her husband last year, and this would have been her 55th Wedding Anniversary.  Having been married at Easby Church, we planned with her daughter to take Sandy for a stroll around the Church and Abbey – and she was delighted to find us there, ready to picnic together.  It was a lovely occasion.

Meeting at Easby Abbey

Easby Abbey

We held our July Meeting at Easby Abbey, the English Heritage ruins on the edge of Richmond.  The evening began with a picnic in the grounds on a lovely evening, which was followed by a tour and talk about the history of the Abbey by Kate Streatfield, one of the English Heritage custodians.

Evidence suggests that a religious community of some sort existed on the site before the abbey was founded. This was probably based on the surviving parish church of St Agatha, and may have been an Anglian minster, a community of priests responsible for serving the surrounding parishes.  The Abbey itself was founded in about 1152 by Roald, constable of Richmond, and may have absorbed the earlier minster.  It was a Premonstratensian Foundation, only the third one in England.
Most of the Abbey was built in the 13th century.

The Premonstratensian order was founded in 1121 in Prémontré, France, by St Norbert of Xanten. Most monks followed the 6th-century Rule of St Benedict, renouncing the world for a contemplative life.  Norbert elected instead to follow the older Rule of St Augustine, which better fitted his aims that Premonstratensians should serve communities by preaching, teaching, charitable work, and sometimes by direct service as parish priests.  Nonetheless, the Premonstratensians were heavily influenced by the Cistercian order, borrowing their rules for founding abbeys, the use of lay brothers to carry out much of the manual work for the community, and the regulation of daily life. The Premonstratensians adopted white robes like the Cistercians, and were known as ‘white canons’.

The Abbey was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1536, following the establishment of the Church of England. The lands were sold off, and the buildings rapidly lapsed into ruin.  Stone was taken for building, and some substantial pieces were taken away – a choir screen which is in St Mary’s Church, Richmond and another screen in Wensley Church.  The estate was sold in the 18th Century to William Smith of Melsonby, who built a hospital and Easby Hall.  The ruins became an object of interest for antiquarians and Romantic artists in the 18th and 19th centuries.  The grandeur of the surviving buildings testifies to the success and wealth of the abbey.

In the 1950’s the Custodianship of the Abbey was given to the Ministry of Works, and was passed to its successor in charge of national monuments, English Heritage when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister.  English Heritage is now an independent Charity. Below is an illustration of what the Abbey would have looked like when it was fully built and in use and a photograph of the current ruins.

Business

A brief business discussion followed the talk, which included the welcoming of 2 new members.

We will be holding a fundraising Bingo Night at Richmond Town Hall on Friday 17th October 7pm for 7:30pm, in aid of this year’s charity, with proceeds going to Palliative Care Richmond & Hambleton.  We will obtain a temporary liquor license to hold a bar for the night. There is a sub-group organising this.

Wendy will be reviewing our PA reports and see if any are suitable to go forward for Regional awards in September.  We are hosting the September SI Yorkshire Regional Council Meeting at the Scotch Corner Hotel, as our member Judith will be the new President.  Members will be acting as club ambassadors to meet and greet our visitors.  There will be “show and tell” tables for clubs to demonstrate their Programme Action work.  We will be showing

• details of the Swimming Packs we funded
• the folder of entries from our International Women’s Day “Women of Richmond” exhibition
• examples of the tote bags for young people in care which we have been making.  We hope to encourage other clubs to make some too!

As the Club has it’s Summer Break in August, the next meeting will be our annual visit to Colburn Community Support at Colburn Village Hall in September. Members were reminded to bring contributions towards their Christmas Hamper Appeal, as usual.  Food staples such as pasta, tinned soup, tinned beans, tomatoes, corned beef, and ham are requested, and toiletries suitable for teenagers. Fray Bentos pies as well as Christmas treats such as small Christmas cakes, packets of biscuits, chocolate treats are really welcome. They will have a “warm rail” for donations of good quality warm clothes for adults and children, and a toy appeal for children for new or nearly new toys.

Our June Meeting

We held our June meeting at Holiday Inn, Scotch Corner on a very warm evening.  Sadly, our guest speaker from the Richmond & Hambleton Palliative Care Team, had been taken ill and could not be with us. However, our newest member, Sara-Louise offered to stand up and speak to us about her life and work. Sara is a real local, having been born in Northallerton, and lived all her life in Richmond.  She works as a senior member of a Chartered Accountancy firm in Richmond.  Her main focus is supporting new clients, especially those setting up new businesses, as well as supporting the women on her team.  She discovered Soroptimism when her Godmother Lin (our past President and current club Secretary) nominated her for our ‘Women of Richmond Exhibition’ for International Women’s Day. Sara received a very warm welcome from club members.

Our Programme Action officer reported back on recent donations of tote bags to North Yorkshire Voice, and clothing to SmartWorks. She also reported on recent loans to a team of ladies in Togo through our ongoing microfinancing via Lend With Care. She is currently corresponding with our Friendship Club SI Harare about the best way to send them the money we have earmarked to help them with their work.

We were reminded of Angie Dale’s work at Colburn Community Centre. We meet there in November, and in the past have contributed to the Christmas hampers that Angie and her helpers send out to those in need. She likes to add a gift for families with children, but has found that gifts for teenage girls are not always donated. She has asked the club to donate suitable gifts for these girls such as make-up sets, nail polish, fluffy socks, jewellery, pyjamas, emery boards, body lotion, perfume or body spray. We will  bring suitable donations in November!

Members also signed up to volunteer at our next fundraising coffee morning being held at the Town Hall in July. Members man the door and stalls, and make and serve beverages, as well as bringing donations for the tombola and raffle.

Donation to North Yorkshire Voice

Members of SI Richmond and Dales met recently with a representative of North Yorkshire Voice at The Station, Richmond. North Yorkshire Voice is an arm of North Yorkshire County Council which aims to give young people a voice within North Yorkshire, joining communities together through youth engagement. They work in particular with young people at risk or in care.  Our members met NY Voice to deliver a supply of large tote bags made by members of the Club. These will be given to youngsters going into care to carry their personal belongings. Otherwise they often have only black bin bags for lack of other options.

May Meeting

Richmond Dales Amateur Swimming Club

At our May meeting we were delighted to welcome as speaker Esme Flounders from Richmond Dales Amateur Swimming Club, who came to inform us of the impact of our fundraising for them. The £1146 raised at the Sharron Davies Evening has massively aided young girls to maintain training schedules.

Presently they have about 160 members in the club with 50% of the younger members and 65% of older ones being girls. Members commit to 12-16 hours a week training, increased for the older ones who also have 2 hours of gymnastic work each week. Prior to our support there had been a huge issue with girls missing training during menstrual cycles.

There are a range of products available for girls, but these are very expensive. We heard that race suits for a gala cost around £300 each and girls would need four per gala. Our funds have enabled the purchase of special swim pants to wear under swimsuits, some swimsuits and also starter packs of minerals and vitamins. Female immune systems dip before menstruation and these packs replace lost iron, magnesium and zinc plus pre-biotics to maintain optimal training fitness.

Chair Babs thanked Esme on behalf of the club for her detailed talk.

Scarves and Clothes

The evening was also designated as a Swap-Shop event for club funds with members bringing an array of scarves, for purchase after our talk.

Members also donated a substantial collection of clothes and accessories to be passed on to Smartworks local representative