Our Christmas gifts for the children in Harbour’s refuge and in the community have been delivered by Santa’s elves. This year, 21 children will receive a parcel containing books, gifts or games, pyjamas and a selection box. Thanks to members Anne and Sue who helped Santa Claus with the shopping; his workshop is so busy at this time of year. However, you can always count on Soroptimists to help out when needed. Thanks also to all our members and their friends and families who also donated items for the children. As Lesley Gibson,  the Chief Executive of Harbour, reminds us, domestic abuse recognises no boundaries and the individuals and families with whom Harbour works are going through a very difficult time in their lives. It means a lot to our members to support women and children at Christmas and throughout the year.      

We held our last meeting of the year on Monday 11th December and as is our tradition, we shared a meal together and enjoyed some festive fun and friendship. As usual, our members produced the most amazing food. We also remember the organisations we support, especially Harbour.  As part of our Christmas meeting, we make up gift bags for women with whom Harbour works in the community and we use some of the funds we have raised to give gifts to the women and children who will be living in Harbour’s refuge over Christmas. This year, we also raised more funds for Support and Grow from a mini Christmas market and a raffle. Coming right at the end of the 16 days of activism against gender based violence, we think about the women for whom Christmas might be a difficult time and pledge to turn

Earlier this year, our club voted to adopt Support and Grow North East as our club charity for 2023-24. Support and Grow is charity which is rooted in local communities and provides a range of services across North Tyneside, Northumberland and Newcastle. Find out more about what they do at www.supportandgrownortheast.com/ A group of members visited Support and Grow on 15th November to get to know each other and we had a wonderful morning with Louise and her colleagues. They made us very welcome and we learnt a lot about the work Support and Grow does across the region. We heard some powerful stories about how the charity’s services have helped individuals and communities. I think it’s safe to say we were all inspired by what we heard and look forward to working with the team to support their work in whatever way we can.

At our November meeting, Planet group received their Reach for the Skies award, which they won for their creation of a bee friendly garden at St John’s church in Whitley Bay. Their success was announced at our Regional Meeting in September but it was lovely for club members to celebrate together.

Our club regularly donates items to support Kori Project which works to educate, empower and improve the health of women and girls in the Kori district of Sierra Leone.  Some of us were privileged to meet some of the trustees of the project in 2022 and member Rosemary keeps us updated with news and dates of shipments of items. At short notice, Rosemary got together 15 knitted/ crocheted blankets, 3 knitted jumpers, 49 knitted baby hats and a bag of 26 recycled bras to add to the shipment heading to Sierra Leone on 31st October. The knitted items are very important to the project as they are distributed to pregnant women who come to the clinic to give birth. At the clinic, the new mothers learn how to keep themselves and their babies well and safe and are encouraged to return for regular health checks. Soroptimist

  Club members were out in force on Sunday 1st October to support the Whitley Bay Fiesta. The theme was Express Yourself and there were lots of opportunities for this, not least the launch of the Whitley Bay Poetry Trail. As usual, there were stalls selling a variety of goodies, activities for everyone and lots of cake! The Whitley Bay Fiesta always brings the community together in a joyful way, building relationships, promoting well-being and giving everyone the opportunity to get together. The next Fiesta is on Sunday 3rd December – don’t miss it. We’ll be there.

We are delighted to announce that the bee friendly garden project, led by our Planet group, was awarded the Reach For The Skies award for programme action at the regional meeting on 23rd September. One of 5 finalists for the award, the project was beautifully described by Linda (on the right). She explained to us how important bees are to our environment, the risks faced by the bee population and the ways in which the garden project will attract not only bees but a wide range of other wildlife too. The garden in the grounds of St Paul’s church in Whitley Bay is also proving to be popular with the local human population. All those attending the meeting left with a gift bag containing some crocuses to plant to help attract bees to their own gardens and advice on plants which can attract bees throughout

September’s meeting was led by our members who make up the Planet group and they gave us a lively account of the work they have been doing over the last few months in relation to environmental issues. The group’s current project is the creation of bee friendly gardens in the grounds of St Paul’s church in Whitley Bay. As well as planting the gardens, the group is setting up bird boxes and bug houses to attract a wide range of wildlife. They also have a maintenance rota in place to make sure the garden always looks marvellous. The project has been nominated for a regional best practice award and the winners will be announced at our next regional meeting on 23rd September. Action on climate change is central to the work of Soroptimist International and local projects like those led by Planet group make a

We were delighted to welcome the Workie Ticket Theatre Company to our July meeting to tell us more about their work.  Their new project, Walk the Line, launches soon and will include a performance of a short play about a single mother who sings to block out her abusive ex. Find out more here.

Every August, we hold out annual fund raising garden party. This year, we took the opportunity to celebrate the life of the Tina Turner, the Queen of Rock and Roll. A survivor of abuse, she rebuilt her solo career, performing in low profile venues, until the release of the Private Dancer album in 1983. Always an inspiration, she once said if you just stand up and go, life will open up for you. She also said that there’s no rule which says you cannot wear a mini dress in your late 40s and some of us took that advice to heart, despite the torrential rain which turned the garden party into an indoor event. A great evening of fun and friendship.