Four of our Club Members were raring to go – for their bacon sandwich – prior to walking 10k in aid of local hospices. The Rotary Navigation Walk takes place along the towpaths of the Hebble, Calder, Huddersfield Narrow and Broad canals.   There is a variety of starting points and distances, the longest being 21k.  Walkers are raising funds for the four hospices of Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield, including the Forget Me Not Children’s hospice and each hospice receives an equal share of whatever money is raised by the event.

Members of SI Wakefield were introduced by president Susie to The Mayor and Mayoress of Wakefield and Yorkshire President Jennie Levick as guests of honour, as well as guest speaker Amanda Mackenzie OBE at their charter lunch held at the Hotel St Pierre on the 5th March 2017.

We have just completed our first batch of 25 bags which will be passed to the Christian African Relief Trust and sent to Africa.  The bags, which contain washable sanitary kits, underwear and a cloth for washing, will be donated to women and girls who can’t afford or don’t have access to the sanitary products available to those of us in England.  The kits are reusable and should last three years.  The young women often miss out on education during the ‘time of the month’ as they are regarded as unclean.   This is an on-going project in our Club and everyone is able to join in – from cutting out, sewing or making the tea!

Susie Westwood, President of SI Wakefield presented cheques to Libby Ballance from Kettlethorpe School, recipient of this year’s bursary to support her voluntary placement in Tanzania this summer and Mirban Hussain of Wakefield Alzheimer’s Society who spoke to members about dementia and the side by side project at a meeting on the 23rd February.

Wakefield Soroptimists held an event in Walton to raise funds for the Meru Garden project which is one of the national projects being supported by Soroptimists. Members were given a presentation by Programme Action Co-ordinator Jane Walton which showed how the funding would educate, enable and empower women living in Meru in Africa to grow their own crops. Marjorie Wilde engaged members in a quiz and plant sale. Over £200 was raised.

SI Wakefield member Amanda Potts wore her wedding dress on a fundraising walk to celebrate her weight loss  and raise cash for charity. Amanda wore her dress from 2005 for a 20-minute walk from her office in St Peter’s House, Bradford to City Hall, she has lost three stone since January. You can see a short video on the website of local Bradford newspaper Telegraph and Argus. All Amadnas Soroptimist sisters are extremely proud of her achievements.

S I Wakefield took to the seas on 28 July – more precisely, members and friends cruised on the Calder & Hebble Navigation.   Using two boats we set sail and travelled as far as Cooper Bridge, where we feasted on pie and peas followed by cakes, before returning to Mirfield.  In spite of the rain earlier in the day, the sun shone and we were able to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the canal. The cruise was booked through Safe Anchor Trust which is a charity based in Mirfield that organises trips for community groups.  The Trust was originally set up by the Yorkshire Probation Service: skippers were probation officers and crews were offenders who operated the locks and acted as stewards. During this trip our members took turns to operate the locks and admire the passing scenery.    

SI Wakefield in partnership with Balne Lane Coffee Club (a coffee club supporting elderly people in the area) knit squares, that are then stiched in baby blankets by SI Wakefield Members and knit baby clothes. These are then send to CART (Christian African Relief Trust) for distribution. Working in partnership with the coffee club members this provides the members an oppurtunity to contribute to global relief. SI  Wakefield also support the coffee club by joining them at meetings and providing some financial support by contributng to purchases of coffee, tea and biscuit.

Wakefield Soroptimists have recently worked with Stanley Grove school to collect backpacks containing items for use in school to be sent via charity Mary’s Meals to children in Africa to enable them to attend school. Jane Walton spoke at an assembly and asked pupils leaving school to donate their old backpacks. Members visited school to collect the backpacks at the end of term. Find out more about this worthy cause at https://www.marysmeals.org.uk/get-involved/the-backpack-project/

SI Wakefield held a ‘Bring a bra’ event at their business meeting on Thursday 9th June. The used bras were in support of the Purple Teardrop Campaign which supports victims of trafficking and is working with an American charity to help women and girls in Mozambique, Uganda and El Salvador to start businesses. The bras are used to sell and make money to buy more bras and thus build a business. SI Poole has been promoting this in the UK and has arranged with their local CVS to transport the bras to where they are needed, SI Wakefield’s bras will join the campaign to help these women create economic opportunities for themselves to support their families. Pictured here are members with their donated bras on a photoshoot to raise awareness of this campaign.