President Letter Jan 2022 President Sue Stringer seen above with Jean Johnson at SI Stockport’s 80th Charter Dinner I am very honoured to become President of SI Stockport and District. We are undoubtedly in a very difficult time with Covid-19. I hope we all come through unscathed. The world will probably be a different place, but I would hope we can continue on the path that Past President Sue and colleagues started us on 2 years ago. Firstly we must concentrate on supporting each other, and eventually when we can, continue helping our local charities, and start to have fun and socialise again. I remain positive that we will get through this difficult time.

Presidents Report AGM 2022   President Sue Stringer at her 2022/2 inauguration as Club President for a 3rd year.  Great service! President Letter Jan 2022 Autumn 2021 saw one of our 1st face to face meetings since the pandemic began with President Sue Stringer lighting candles to celebate the Club and Local, National and International SI projects.     President’s message 2019-20 President Sue Gledhill installing Sue Stringer President Elect at the 2019 AGM.   President’s Address 2018   President’s report May 2018  

  This year the Club’s annual plant sale was hosted by member Wendy Horne at her lovely home and garden. The weather was kind and the plants proved popular with members and visitors alike – perhaps tempted by the delicious cakes and tea/coffee on offer.  Plants were nurtured and provided by member Sue Wagstaff whose fingers get more green each year!  Thank you to Sue and Wendy and also to Pamela Brown for creating her usual high standard advertising flyers. Previous plant sales:

The Club has recently started a new project to help the Purple Community Fund which assists poor women and their families in the Phillipines to give them an income and help them take charge of their own destinies.  This is, very simply, collecting and sending them ring pulls from aluminium drinks cans.  The women are triane dto make these into jewllery, handbags and decorations; giving them an income and the rest of us the opportunity to buy their beautiful creations while participating in recycling. http://www.p-c-f.org

President Sue Gledhill and Membership Officer Liz McConnell met with Caroline Vandecasteele for SI of Kortrijk in Belgium, here in Stockport at the Alma Lodge.  Caroline’s husband Mike is a native of Stockport and so they are rregular vistors to the area.   Caroline, seated here in the middle, explained that Kortrijk is close to the Beigium border and that Flemish is their main language although most people speak English.  We hope to invite Caroline to one of our future Club meetings and hear more about how the Kortrijk Club is organised and runs.

May 2023 and President Sue has presented 2 members with long service awards. Pamela Brown received a certificate following 35 years of services with SI of Stockport And to Doreen Parker who was belatedly (apologies) presented with a 30 year service award; not long now until the 35 year certificate is due! October 2018 saw us celebrate 80 years of local, national and international action and service as the Club Soroptimist International of Stockport.  A celebratory 80th Charter Dinner took place and we were delighted to welcome so many guests from neighbouring clubs and one of our Friendship Link Clubs SI Guernsey who came for a weekend of fun and celebration.  We were joined by the Mayor and Mayoress of Stockport, a representative of greater Manchester Police and the Thank You from the guests was delivered by former MP Edwina Curry. 80th Year Charter Dinner

Poor sanitation kills and is degrading for individuals.  The charity Toilet Twinning (www.toilettwinning.org ) educates communities about sanitation and assists them in building latrines for themselves as well as building toilets for them.  £60 enables you to toilet twin with a community in need in Asia and Africa.  The Club held a lunch and raffle at President Sue Gledhill’s home enabling our first ‘twin’ in Malawi.  http://www.toilettwinning.org More success with our toilet twinning projest, this time including Myanmar and Kenya.  

The Club are delighted to have supported the Brinnington Contact Centre with £1000 of outdoor play equipment.  The Centre enables children in foster care and those on the child protection register who may still be with one parent to come and meet their parents, or the other parent under supervised access.  Siblings too placed with different foster carers also meet up at the Centre.  Stockport Council agreed to meet the installation and maintenance costs.

The Club were delighted to welcome Paul Ramsden from Stockport Talking Newspapers and present him with a cheque for £350 towards continuing activities.  Mr Ramsden gave a short talk on the operational aspects of the organisation that supports individuals with sight loss/reduction problems to stay in touch with news and events.  Stockport Talking Newspapers remains one of the Clubs’ on-going and local projects.  Paul Ramsden is seen here receiving the cheque from Club President Sue Gledhill, supported by Programme Action Officer Sue Wagstaffe.

2020’s lockdown has not stopped us from supporting GMP’s video interview unit.  Additional furniture, toys and drawing equipment have been provided for children who may be witnesses or victims of crime of accompanying adults who are. Stockport Soroptimists were delighted to be joined by local (now former) MP Ann Coffey in a visit to Greater Manchester Police’s video interview unit.  This important facility has been refurbished by the Club from something rather bare and not user friendly into a warm and welcoming space for victims and witnesses of crime 24 hours a day as necessary. Ann Coffey MP joins members of Soroptimist International of Stockport, DCI Chris Downey and DI Julia Bowden in one of the video unit’s recording lounges.