A delegation from Soroptimist International Wakefield and district braved the November cold to join the first Wakefield Reclaim the Night march in solidarity with other groups and individuals on Thursday 27th November. This marks day three of the UN Women 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign (25 November – 10 December)  #NoExcuse. Club members wore orange and participated in banner making workshops and held an information stall prior to the march. Huge thanks to the organisers for enabling a fantastic event.

Soroptimists from Wakefield have been busy knitting tiny baby jackets for the neonatal unit at Leeds to help  keep tiny babies snug. Tiny jackets knitted with love are on their way to support these little miracles and their anxious parents soon.

Soroptimist sisters were honoured to attend this year’s festival of remembrance in Wakefield and lay a wreath to the fallen.

Members visited the South West Yorkshire Partnership Teaching NHS Foundation Trust mental health museum based at Fieldhead Hospital to gain an insight into the historical reasons why women were admitted to the former West Riding asylum later known as Stanley Royd hospital and their subsequent treatment. Interesting that more patients were female and their conditions ranged from asthma to having a baby out of wedlock. Thanks to Jackie and Sally for the talk.  This local museum is well worth a visit and has many interesting artefacts on display.

SI Wakefield and District members enjoyed a literary evening with guest SI Yorkshire President Judith Clarke on Thursday 25th September. Club members shared extracts from their favourite books which covered a wide range of genres. It was a double celebration as the group also was celebrating our Yorkshire Presidents Award for our charity fundraising challenges activity and long time member and past club and Yorkshire president Judith Alce’s birthday.

With the colder weather approaching SI Wakefield and District have taken up a collection of a bumper harvest bundle of items for CAPS Wakefield to help support them this Autumn. We managed to collect a staggering 90 assorted food items.  It included: 20 tins of baked beans, 11 tins of spaghetti, 25 tins of soup, 2 pasta, 16 cans/boxes of chopped tomatoes, 3 cans of tuna, 2 packets of biscuits, 1 box of tea bags, 3 bottles of juice, 5 chocolate drinks powder, 1 ready to eat porridge, 1 tin of potatoes!  

Members of Soroptimist International of Wakefield and District joined with members of Garstang club on Wednesday 21st May for a day of friendship and fun out in the dales at Gargrave, near Skipton. There was Coffee, lunch, lots of chat and sunshine. pictured here are  members enjoying a day out together. Thanks to Garstang club members for being the hosts in their beautiful part of the world!

The annual Charter dinner for Soroptimist International Wakefield and District was held at the White Horse, Sharlston on the 27th March 2025. Members enjoyed a delicious meal and quiz followed by presentations and speeches. Pictured are award recipients and attendees on the night. Thanks to the staff at the White Horse for their super service.

At our annual General meeting on the 24th April, Soroptimist International Wakefield and District celebrated a successful year 2024-5, filled with fun and friendship. Not only did we celebrate our achievements in raising money for charity and giving  service in our local community we submitted 16 Programme Action Reports on our activities to SIGBI, we gained three new members bringing our total membership to 26 for this year.  We also congratulated our longest serving member on her 51 years of service to the cause of championing the rights of women and girls.

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.