Several members of our Club enjoyed a walk around Westgate led by Kevin Trickett from Wakefield Civic Society. In 2020 Wakefield Council and Historic England formed a 4-year partnership to improve the condition of some of the buildings in the Upper Westgate Conservation Area, aiming to change people’s perception of the area, which includes many locally and nationally listed buildings.  Kevin entertained us with his knowledge of the history of Wakefield and encouraged us all to open our eyes and look up as we are walking in the streets of Wakefield.

On 28 July Wakefield Soroptimists set out on a summer social trip to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, hoping to see the SIGBI memorial.  Sadly the exhibit was being repaired.  However, the group saw most of the site on a guided train ride, following which there was time to visit the memorials that had specific interest for individual Members.  There was the added bonus of unexpectedly witnessing an official visit by Priti Patel who was attending the commemoration of a memorial to members of the Police who had fallen in the line of duty. We were able to visit Litchfield on the way home, with a chance to see the Cathedral and a temporary beach set up outside the cathedral.  

Wakefield Soroptimists hosted visitors from across Yorkshire for their Jubilee get together on  9th June. With strawberries, fizz and cake galore our honorary member Cynthia was crowned Wakefield’s Catering Queen for all the delicious cakes, she provides at every meeting. Yorkshire President Lindsey was on hand to join in the festivities and celebrate our longest reigning monarch HM Queen Elizabeth pictured here with another SI Wakefield club honorary member and past Yorkshire president Judith being gifted a commemorative teatowel .

At our 2022 club AGM president Linda was proud to award club member and multiple-term club and Yorkshire president Judith Alce with honorary membership. Congratulations from all your Soroptimist sisters Judith, its a well deserved honour.

On Saturday 23rd April a group of intrepid Wakefield soroptimists set off on a sponsored hike around St Aidens nature reserve in a show of solidarity with #SHEWALKS2, a campaign highlighting the barriers faced by girls in rural Zimbabwe, many of whom have huge financial, geographic and administrative barriers to get to school and receive an education. The charity SHE is working with these girls to break down the barriers they face by providing sponsorship and other practical support like bicycles and textbooks to enable more young girls to receive their education and realise their dreams of a brighter future. Find out more about this inspiring charity at SHE – part of the Catalyst Foundation – SHE is led by girls in Zimbabwe, to break down the barriers to their education.

SI Wakefield and SI Dewsbury have worked together to plant trees at Dewsbury Country park to support the environment.  Two Coastal Redwoods were planted in the country park arboretum feature to celebrate the Soroptimists International Centenary  and soroptimists helped plant  further also planted 50 small trees to help start off a new small woodland on the 19th and 21st November. The trees are still small, but will hopefully grow and future soroptimists will be able to reap the rewards of improved air quality and biodiversity.

The Brilliant Breakfast event hosted by Wakefield Soroptimists by the Queens Mill tearooms, Castleford on the 14th October, raised £130 for the Princes Trust women supporting women campaign. During the event President Linda presented Jane Walton, chair of Castleford Heritage Trust with a toilet twinning certificate to thank them for hosting the Brilliant Breakfast on the 14th October.  

Wakefield soroptimists responded to a recent appeal from the office of their local MP, Yvette Cooper for books for needy families. Pictured handing over the collected book donations to an aide is president Linda Phillips

Wakefield soroptimists (along with some of our soropti-Misters – our husbands and partners) visited Newby Hall on Thursday 22nd July for a long awaited reunion and picnic after our meetings continued online for the last 18 months under lockdowns. It was a lovely day, rather warm at times, and club members spent quite a while catching up on each other’s news, enjoying each others company again, sitting under trees in the lovely setting of Newby Hall gardens drinking coffee and tea, and then lunch – a fairly typical Soroptimist outing! It was good to be out and about again after such a long period at virtual meetings. We look forward to being able to resume our usual regular meetings in person again in September.

Recently Wakefield Soroptimists raised £1080 to fund latrines with our ‘5P2P’ initiative. Members donated 5p every time they used their bathroom and  communities in Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire and South Sudan were able to have basic latrines built for them through charity Tearfund and its toilet twinning appeal. It also helped fund water taps in Guatemala, Malawi and Nepal, plus school blocks in Pakistan and Malawi and other facilities. Find out more about this charity and the fabulous work they do to bring sanitation and clean water to the poorest communities worldwide at https://www.toilettwinning.org/ .