A number of Members attended the mayor’s annual charity afternoon tea event to support the Mayor of Wakefield Cllr Darren Byford, his consort Peter Davis and their chosen charity Memory Action Group (MAG), a peer support group for people living with dementia and their carers in Wakefield district.  S I Wakefield & District members have always attended the Mayoral annual at home event, and this time it was a fundraising afternoon tea hosted by the Mayor and his consort, who later in the year will be a guest speaker at a Wakefield Club meeting.  At the event the members enjoyed the afternoon tea and a very interesting and amusing talk given by Milly Johnson, a well-known author from Barnsley.

Two SI Wakefield and District members volunteered to act as stewards for an event organised by MY Hospitals Charity celebrating 125 years of Pinderfields Hospital on the 7th March 2025.  Other members also joined the event which involved a line of over 2,000 people of all ages and backgrounds, holding hands, from Pinderfields Hospital to Wakefield Cathedral.  MY Hospitals Charity supports the work of the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust which provides care to over half a million people every year across three hospitals sites in Wakefield, Pontefract & Dewsbury and provides vital community services to the local area. The charity raises and allocates funds to projects that elevate the physical and emotional well-being of patients and staff and improve facilities and services across the Trust. This free event was an opportunity to celebrate The Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS and meet the local businesses and

Two members of the Club volunteered to collect for the Marie Curie organisation this March by taking part in the great Daffodil Appeal.  They gave two hours to collect, at Morrison’s Supermarket, Wakefield, wearing yellow outfits and giving out yellow daffodil badges.  Many people stopped and chatted and also donated to this very worthwhile organisation.  Marie Curie are professional nurses who give hands on respite nursing care to people with terminal illness.  They will nurse a person in their own home, sometimes spending as long as nine hours nursing a patient through the night, enabling a family to rest and recover.

For the UN 16 days of activism against Gender based violence campaign in 2024 A poster was designed based on the daily challenges of the 16 Days of Activism to raise awareness.  The posters were distributed to all 12 of the Wakefield  District Council and 5 of the 6 Community Libraries.   Members were invited to visit the local libraries to see the posters in place and chat to staff. This awareness raising campaign led on to a secondary campaign with the SIYAMS bookmarks highlighting safe relationships.  Following the libraries receiving the 16 Days Activism Posters SI Wakefield and District were contacted and asked if the ‘Love Me Love Me Not’ bookmarks were available. These, and other bookmarks and safeguarding information were then delivered and distributed to the Wakefield District Libraries. Pictured are two of our members wearing it Orange to highlight the district wide campaign.

Soroptimists joined organisations from across the Wakefield District and beyond to celebrate International Women’s Day at the National Coal Mining Museum for England on Saturday 8th March 2025. The Museum teamed up with We Are Wakefield and Labour Women’s Network to deliver this fantastic event to #AccelerateAction including an afternoon tea and a range of inspiring speakers.

Members and guests enjoyed an afternoon of tea, scones and quizzing at the, Spring cafe in aid of the care leavers in Wakefield on the 5th October.

Soroptimist International Wakefield and District entered a scarecrow with a historical women theme to the 2024 Walton Scarecrow Festival  which took place over the weekend of 14-15 September 2024. Local nurse Nellie Spindler is one of very few women who were killed in service on the frontline of WW1. Her full story is here on the Imperial War Museum website Staff Nurse Nellie Spindler And The Battle Of Passchendaele | IWM. She was from Wakefield and is buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium, the only woman among more than 10,000 men. Her gravestone includes the inscription ‘A noble type of good heroic womanhood’. Her scarecrow was placed at 27a School Lane, Walton, just below the village hall and a short distance from our meeting place at St Pauls church.

Wakefield and district Soroptimist summer social this year took the form of  a visit to a private garden in Midgley on Thursday 22 August. The Circles garden  is an organic and self-sustaining plantswoman’s ½ acre garden on gently sloping site overlooking fields, woods. The garden is designed and maintained by the owner who conducted a tour of her wonderful plot. Proceeds from our visit were donated to the National Garden Scheme and refreshments were provided by St Austin’s Church choir.

President Julie has chosen Leaving Care WMDC as one of the projects for Soroptimist International Wakefield and District 2024/25 Julie & Programme Action Convener Amanda met with the Team Leader, Stephanie of the Leaving Care Team to agree on how SI could support young people Leaving Care. The final decision was to provide a “Provisions Bank”.  A list of items from Beans to Tea Bags was developed.  Members were asked to bring items to a meeting on 27/6.  On 28/6  Pasta 8, Noodles 10, Crackers 2, Tins 33,  Tuna15, Peanut Butter 2, Jam 5, Instant Porridge 3, Cereals 3, Pain au chocolate 2, Tea bags 4, Coffee 2, washing up liquid 3, Shower gel 7, Toothpaste 5, Deodorant 2, Washing Liquid 3, Sanitary products 5, Pants Female 5, Male 5, Socks 7, Toilet bags 2, Soup 4, Nutella 1 & finally pasta Sauce 2 were delivered to the Leaving Care

Blankets and Baby Jumpers to My Hospital Charity – Mid Yorkshire Hospital  In June 9 knitted blankets and 25 baby cardigans were delivered to Pinderfields Hospital. These blankets are used in various wards across the complex, including dementia, palliative care and children’s wards. Katie a Play Specialist at the Trust has said that:  “The play team feel the blankets are fantastic for our complex needs children to use as a comforter or soother. The knitted items are used to benefit some of our children undergoing procedures to reinforce a positive experience.”  This is Wakefield and District’s 6th year working in partnership with MyHospitalCharity.  This Project also  supports people who have identified as having mental health issues as knitting is known to be good for health and well-being.