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.
June 2024 Orange Café This month 5 members of the club visited a local Sainsburys Supermarket Café. We had been given permission to display information about “Orange Café” and Soroptimist International and the “STOP Violence Against Women and Girls cards. Members spoke to 10 women about the purpose of the café and answered questions regarding Soroptimism.
President Julie has challenged members of Wakefield and District to complete 90 challenges during her presidency to celebrate the club’s 90th year. Members have recorded individual challenges as well as ones for the club. Julie set herself a personal challenge of swimming in open water. Julie has been training since January 2024, and completed the on 8th June when she took part in the Great North Swim in Lake Windermere. This project is multi-faceted as it encourages members to challenge themselves and benefit others as well, in this instance it will raise funds for a young person’s charity, Julie had worked with Gold From the Stone Foundation to raise funds by asking people to sponsor her. This foundation provides Christmas Lunch for young people who have left care, to ensure they have a meal and a gift. Watch out for more challenges throughout the year!
SI Wakefield and District members worked with others from the Yorkshire Region and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to collect small plastic items from Scarborough South Shore Beach on 6th June 2024. We were reminded that small plastic including cigarette butts, these contain toxins and can take15yr to disintegrate. Items collected also included socks, underwear, drink cups and a nail!
On 24th May SI Wakefield and district members held a successful Orange Café at Sainsburys Ings Road to promote the work of soroptimists, raise awareness of the 16 days of activism and raise awareness of Domestic Abuse and the support services available. Leaflets and Cards have provided information about the purpose of Orange Cafés. To find out more about Orange cafes and what they are all about see the SIGBI blog at https://thehub.sigbi.org/blog/view/Orange_Cafes__why_are_they_important_5qg
We were honoured to have no less than three SI presidents at our recent AGM. Our new club president Julie Clarke received her chain of office for this year in the presence of Yorkshire president and fellow Wakefield and District club member Sally Westwood, plus we were also honoured by a visit from national president Ruth Healey! The theme of the evening was orange in support of the UN campaign to end violence against women. Find out more at https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/unite/orange-the-world
