It’s International Women’s Day today, 8th March, an opportunity to celebrate women and all their achievements and to call for action on gender equality. This year’s theme is Give to Gain, reminding us that generosity and collaboration leads to opportunities for all women. We can all give something; offering our time, our attention, our knowledge and experience and our solidarity helps to create a supportive network where all women thrive. Members of our club have been out and about in the area today, giving out roses to women and girls to celebrate International Women’s Day. It was a pleasure to find that many women we spoke to knew about International Women’s Day and we enjoyed making this contribution to building that network.

We were delighted to induct a new member at our meeting on 9th February – welcome Christine, pictured below with Anne, a long standing member. One of the lovely things about being a Soroptimist is finding out more about each other and the wealth of knowledge, skills and expertise that each person brings to the club. Our members are our greatest asset and the successful Programme Action carried out over many years is a testament to their talents. Our speaker last night was one of our members, Jane, whose professional career was in the field of immunology. She gave a really interesting presentation about immunology and why it matters, and explained some of the differences between women and men in the fight against infection. Jane’s talk prompted lots of questions and discussion and we all learnt something. Thank you Jane for such an interesting and

Thanks to the generosity of members, friends and families, our club has again been able to deliver Christmas presents for the families currently in safe accommodation provided by Harbour, our local charity supporting individuals affected by abuse from a partner, former partner or other family member (https://www.myharbour.org.uk/). Each woman will receive a festive bag of beautiful toiletries and there’s a gift for all the children (27 this year). Each child will get a pair of pyjamas, a book, a toy or game and a selection box. On behalf of all our club members, Merry Christmas to you all.

For many years now, our club has supported Harbour, a local charity working in the area of domestic violence (.https://www.myharbour.org.uk/). At Christmas, we hope we can offer a little extra support in the form of gifts for the women and families in the refuge and for those with whom Harbour is working in the the community. At our December meeting we always create gift packs for Harbour to take out into the community, and members, friends and family are always very generous in their donations. This year was no exception and we have been able to make up 66 gift packs, and we have 42 selection boxes for children. As always, thank you to everyone who donated and to members who carefully packed the gift bags. A special thank you to Judy who delivered everything to Harbour. Women supporting women is a powerful thing.  

What a wonderful evening we had on 6th December at St George’s church in Cullercoats. Tyneside A Capella and Compass Acapella gave us a programme of festive songs and others from their repertoire which filled the beautiful church with voices. We sold out of mulled wine and nearly ran out of raffle tickets, such was the demand. At the moment, the amount raised for Riverside Primary’s project, The Den, stands at £2,171. Thank you to everyone who came along; we really appreciate your generosity. Such an event doesn’t happen without a lot of work, so thank you to the team which organised the evening, led with efficiency and fun by Helen. Thanks to all who sold tickets, shopped for the refreshments, donated to the raffle, created the hampers won by three lucky people, helped out on the night and were just generally wonderful. The Soroptimist

As part of our activity to mark the 16 days of activism to end violence against women and girls, we held our latest Orange Cafe in Cafe @ the Hub in Whitley Bay today. The Orange Cafe is an opportunity to raise awareness in the community of the campaign and of Soroptimists. We talked to lots of people about the 16 days and gave out information. Thanks to everyone at the Hub for welcoming us the the venue once again.

Is it too soon to mention Christmas? Definitely not when you hear that we are presenting a fabulous concert of Christmas songs on 6th December 2025 at 7.30 pm with the amazing choirs, Tyneside A Capella and Compass Acapela. The concert is at St George’s church in Cullercoats and tickets are £12 (including a complementary mince pie); refreshments will be available too. There will be a chance to win a marvellous Christmas hamper in our raffle – cash only please for refreshments and raffle tickets. All funds raised will support Riverside Primary School’s plans to create a sensory room, The Den, which will support and enhance children’s learning and give every child a smile. Tickets are available on Eventbrite. Scan the QR code below or go to  https://jinglebells.eventbrite.co.uk Don’t delay if you want to start the festive season with an evening of favourite Christmas songs.

On 29th September, some of our members delivered a donation of nappies to St John’s Baby Bank in North Shields. The Baby Bank supports parents who are finding it challenging to provide the basics for their babies (up to 18 months). Our club is delighted to support such valuable community project. Thanks to the shoppers and those who delivered.                                                  

Our Planet group organised and led our September meeting and we welcomed a guest speaker, Claire Oliver from the Tyne Rivers Trust. Claire gave us an excellent overview of the work done by the Trust. It was fascinating to hear about the projects which enhance natural flood management, such as restoring wiggly rivers (much better at limiting erosion than straight rivers), and creating areas round rivers which absorb water and thus reduce the risk of flooding. We also learnt about the risks of invasive species, the role of volunteers in citizen science projects testing water quality and practical things we can all do at home to help our gardens to increase the amount of rainfall absorbed by the land. Thank you Claire for really informing and educating us. September 21st is the UN International Day of Peace and we always mark this in our September

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when the members of SI Tynemouth, Whitley Bay and District hold their summer social, there will be fun, amazing food and exceptional dressing up. This year was no exception as we marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen. There were multiple Miss Bennets, Woodhouses and Dashwoods in attendance, and three Mr Darcys. Well done on all the costumes and for all the contributions of food and raffle prizes, and thanks to Vivianne for hosting for the third time. We also raised £431 for out club charity, Riverside Primary Wellbeing Project.