17 May 2012 MARKET-DAY PUBLICITYRAISING AWARNESS OF THE TARGET OVARIAN CANCER CAMPAIGN
The successful experience of setting up a stall on a market day in Richmond to raise awareness for specific programme action projects (see archived events for 2011) led to another highly successful aware-raising event, this time to raise awareness of Ovarian Cancer and its common symptoms.
The weather, as the photo shows, was very chilly but despite that many people of all ages came for information as well as curiosity including some who chose to talk about their own or their families’ relevant experiences. Several hundred leaflets were distributed.
We are fortunate that the pitch for our market stall is highly visible to purposeful market shoppers and to interested visitors and sight seers.
31 March 2012 SHARING GOOD PRACTICE ON THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Richmond and Dales Club hosted a meeting at The Station, Richmond at which 16 Soroptimists representing five Clubs shared progress on their work concerned with the elimination of violence against women. All five Clubs [Darlington; Durham; Harrogate & District; Richmond & Dales and York Ebor] are regularly involved in marking the Elimination of Violence Against Women day each November and the Anti-Slavery day each October.
A variety of on-going initiatives were explained and discussed including those concerned with working with Domestic Abuse Services; Supporting local refuges; Distribution of leaflets and ‘loves me, loves me not’ bookmarks; Raising awareness of the sexualisation of young girls, etc
Richmond & Dales’ highly successful, awareness-raising initiative led by Past President, Chris Bowran, which entailed running a stall on one Saturday market-day in July and October last year was the vehicle for distributing many dozens of cotton bags containing leaflets and ‘freebies’. No fewer than 400 ‘loves me, loves me not’ bookmarks were handed out in just one morning alone. As a direct result of the latter, the Hambleton & Richmondshire Domestic Abuse Forum arranged for 25,000 such bookmarks to be distributed to schools throughout North Yorkshire and it was agreed that our Club members will carry out a poster/leaflet campaign in the area every few months.
THREE CALL MY BLUFF EVENTS
Since June 2011 SI Richmond and Dales members have hosted three light-hearted Call My Bluff fund-raising events. The most recent one took place on 11 February in a local village hall when 50 people attended and joined in the revival of the well known panel game in which two teams vied to confuse and mislead each other in finding the correct definition of various amazingly obscure words.Two of our members, Angela Edwards and Carole leDuc showed their verbal skills in the winning team while the catering skills of several other members was demonstrated in a delightful light supper of home-made soup and bread, and tasty desserts.
The three evenings raised more than £1,000 to improve the lives and educational opportunities for women and children in Zimbabwe; the money will be taken to Zimbabwe by the delegation of SI Yorkshire members when they travel there in August.
The photograph shows the two teams in action with question master, Roger Frier.
A VISIT TO WAKEFIELD’S CHANTRY CHAPEL & THE HEPWORTH GALLERY : January 27th 2012
Seven members of our Club joined more than 60 other Soroptimists from 10 other Yorkshire Clubs for a fascinating day in Wakefield.
The visit began with a tour of the 14th century Chantry Chapel on Wakefield Bridge. Massively restored in the last 160 years, it is one of only three such chapels remaining in England. Its ownership and use have moved from sacred to secular and back again; the chapel is currently used for monthly services organised by Wakefield Cathedral. The remainder of the visit was spent at the spacious Hepworth Gallery (pictured above) which was opened in July 2011. Built beside the river Calder the Gallery displays sculptures, paintings and drawings by Barbara Hepworth and some of her contemporaries.
Follow us on twitter @SIRandD
