Many of you may know our ex-President Cheryl Findlay is walking the entire coastline of the UK and Ireland, an amazing feat which is taking two years to complete. Cheryl is walking with her husband Brian Burnie, the man behind this epic coastal walk in aid of his cancer transport charity Daft as a Brush. At various points, Cheryl is making contact with Soroptimist clubs and very recently she has met with people from our Northern Ireland contingent. Here are some snaps taken recently –  SI Portadown’s Maureen Maguire joined Brian for a little walk (in the rain) and was then shown around the Bluebell Bus, which is acting as home for Cheryl and Brian for the entire journey .   Cheryl was hosted by the “small, but very active” group of 9 members from SI Londonderry, (Cheryl is front right). Above, left is Maureen Maguire

On 8th May, Sunderland Club members were visited by guest speakers Graydon and Claire Downs, representing local charity The Three Tumours and heard about the great work carried out in support of cancer patients.  President Elect Rosemary Jenkinson gave the vote of thanks.

On Saturday, 23 March, SI Sunderland member, Karen Alexander (along with Anita Heskett-Saddington, who will be also joining the group as a new member in May, and also Jess Tobell and Katrina Brown) were invited to the home of the President of the SI Banjul club in the Gambia.  Karen and Anita were in Gambia carrying out volunteering work for the Sunderland-based charity BRAmnesty, set up and managed by Anita and her friend Katrina.  The charity’s aims strongly align with those of Soroptimism; the BRAmnesty Mission is to “Empower women and girls to take control over their own lives to combat poverty and inequality”.  SI Banjul President, Aminatta LR Ngum, along with fellow Gambian members Hannah Davies (Programme Action), Beatrice Mboge and Sharon Davies, welcomed their guests with a splendid buffet of local food.  Aminatta also has the position of United Nations Judge for Criminal

In March, Sunderland Soroptimists were invited to have tea at Sunderland City Council in the Mayor’s Parlour with the Mayor, Councillor Lynda Scanlon.  Members thoroughly enjoyed the visit, particularly updating the Mayor with recent Programme Action activities and the long history of the Sunderland Club, currently in it’s 80th year.

On Wednesday, 6th March, representatives from the SI Sunderland donned protective clothing and ventured into the very glamorous (not!) waste disposal plant at Wrekenton, Gatehead.  Members had been invited by Wendy Fail from Groundwork North East, who delivered a fascinating after-dinner presentation to the Club in February, explaining the processes which take place locally to separate and recycle items from our household waste.  This year’s Programme Action work has focused on highlighting the importance of eliminating single-use plastics to minimise environmental damage and to raise awareness of the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling as much waste material as we can.  Members found the visit to the learning centre based at the plant fascinating and came away with a much better understanding of the process.

  Sunderland members welcomed Wendy Fail from Groundwork North East and Cumbria, as guest speaker on Wednesday, 13 February.  In her role as Groundwork’s Visitor and Education Centre Co-ordinator, Wendy presented a fascinating talk about the South Tyne and Wear waste management project, explaining in detail precisely what happens to all of our rubbish, including recycling and the energy which is being harvested from incinerating tonnes of waste at the Energy From Waste plant in Teesside. As this topic is central to Sunderland’s Programme Action work for 2018-19, Wendy is kindly arranging for a visit to the Teesside plan in the near future, so that members can see at first hand the process involved.

Once again, following their annual tradition, members gathered at Falstone Manor care home, to entertain residents with their festive rendition of Christmas Carols, followed by drinks and mince pies.  The afternoon was very ably directed by our “carol co-ordinator” Anne Brewis (front, centre).

Sunderland member, Marge Wilkinson, in championing the Red Box Project on behalf of our Club.  The project is a community-based, not-for-profit initiative, which aims to support young people throughout their periods by providing red boxes filled with free period products to local schools. It was was founded in March 2017 by three friends who wanted to give young people in their local area access to sanitary products. After reading about ‘Period Poverty‘ in the news, they were angered at the idea that young women were missing out on their education because they couldn’t afford the products they needed during their period. They decided to take action and contacted several secondary schools in Portsmouth to ask if a constantly stocked box of menstrual product would be welcomed. The feedback from teachers was that the issue was real and the resource was needed. Recognising that the need

  SI Sunderland proudly presented eight members with Long Service awards on 12 December, ranging from am impressive 25 years to an amazing 55 years – ladies, we are all so proud and fortunate to have you in our Club!