The award for Young Achiever 2014 was given to Georgina Morris at the Town Hall by the Deputy Mayor Cllr Susan Loudon on December 5th.She has achieved academic success, contributed greatly to Winstanley College life and was a well deserved winner of the award.. See also the Young Achiever page for information of previous winners.
On November 24th SI Wigan held a meal and beauty evening for members and friends. The event was generously supported by Lancome Beauty Department staff from the Debenhams Department Store in Wigan who kindly donated raffle prizes and a very generous prize for the SI Wigan Charity Ball which will be held in March 2015.
SI Wigan and Wigan Rotary have raised money and donated sleeping bags to the Brick Centre for the homeless in Wigan for the last four years. This year a total of 70 sleeping bags were donated jointly (35 by each organisation ) and given to Trish Green from the “Brick ” to support homeless people in the area over the winter months.
On October 27th 2014 a Speaker Meeting and meal was held at Haigh Hall in support of the Poppy Appeal. Christine Bradford from the Royal British Legion gave a presentation about the history of their fundraising and the support that is given to people of all ages that have served in the armed forces and their families. SI Wigan annually supports the Poppy Appeal by knitting or crocheting over 300 poppies which are sold to support the appeal. Club members also attend the Remembrance Day Parade to lay a wreath at the War Memorial in Wigan town centre.
Friendship is a key component of Soroptimism and on October 21st 2014 a Friendship Meal was held at the Wheel Restaurant Wigan for club members, partners and friends. The theme was French to celebrate the clubs close links with Toulon, six club members attended the Conference organised by SI Toulon in March this year. There are also friendship links with SI Castlebar, SI Stratford-upon-Avon, SI Crans Montana, SI Vilnius Old Town and from October 2014 SI Guelph in Canada.
Wigan Borough Archivist Alex Miller spoke to the club in July 2014 about the Edward Hall Diary Collection. This contains diaries dating back to 1698 and are a hidden social history of people’s lives. It also includes some diaries of women, which are rare as they often lacked the education or social opportunities to write and preserve their diaries. Following his inspirational and fascinating talk it was decided that all members of the club would contribute in turn to a weekly diary to record women’s lives today. This should be completed by the end of 2014 and will be added to the Borough Archive for future generations to read. In September 2014 documents and information relating to SI Wigan, its history and the important role of the club in improving the status and lives of women and girls since its foundation were also placed in
