Angela, Wigan President, was pleased to accompany thirteen members, including five of our new members to the lunch at Statham Lodge. Incoming Regional President, Dorcas Akeju OBE, was delighted to meet so many Wigan Soroptimists. A great afternoon was had by all!

After a long 18 months when people have not been able to meet in large groups it was wonderful to see everyone sitting in the sunshine, listening to the Band and generally having a very good time- it was even warmer in the kitchen ! The main aim of the Tea at the Farm however was to raise money for Wigan Hospice and I am delighted to report that we raised over £2000.00 at the time of going to press, this was raised through ticket sales , raffle , tombola , Bric a Brac and book sales plus some very kind donations. Some pictures from the event can be seen on our Facebook page , Twitter and Instagram. Pictures will be uploaded here later.      

Soroptimist International Wigan look forward to welcoming everyone back to Tea at the Farm in August (date to be confirmed) The last farm tea was a great success click the link Summer Afternoon with Cream Tea and Cakes at Maxwell Farm August 10th

Graphine Structure At the Zoom Business Meeting in March the club had a fantastic talk from a remarkable 14 year old Ava Garside granddaughter of one of our members. Ava gave a very impressive talk about the development of a pin badge that she devised and had developed with the help of nano-scientists at Graphene@Manchester in Manchester University. The badge  could be worn to identify exposure to air pollution e.g. by pupils on their way to school to choose the least polluted route. She has been interviewed about her idea on national TV and radio. She hopes that eventually her design will be available commercially. Ava is a remarkable young woman she loves music, playing the violin  and in addition to her schoolwork is undertaking and accelerated flexible programme on entrepreneurship with MIT.

Members of SI Wigan virtually attended the International Women's Day Live debate on March 12th. This year's theme was #ChoosetoChallenge. Where there was discussion on gender stereotypes within the workplace and looking at how we can best tackle the barriers that many women and girls still face.

Blue plaque for SI Wigan's founding member SI Wigan have successfully applied for a blue plaque to commemorate our founding member and 1st President in 1941. ( Yes we are 80 years old this year). Dr Muriel Haigh was the first women GP in Wigan and the unveiling of her plaque will for the centrepiece of our 80th celebrations in May 2021, and coincidentally the 100th anniversary of SIGBI. Wigan Council will celebrate with us in partnership. The Plaque will be installed on her house where her son still lives .SI Wigan have worked with a local historian to produce a booklet about her life.