Thankyou to Ann and Rita, whose blogs about our RCM are below. Send your blogs about Soroptimist events and activities to: communicationssiyorkshire@gmail.com. Long or short they will be gratefully received.
Ann’s blog:
This was my first F2F meeting in over two years and I was looking forward to it. It was really nice to see old friends and catch up with their news.
The Venue was very good as was the lunch! We sat with two ladies from SI Keighley at lunchtime and had a good chat ,it was interesting to get a different perspective.
The speakers were excellent and inspiring they were especially pertinent at the moment with all the turmoil going on worldwide.
It was also good to hear of the initiatives that are going on in SI Yorkshire for Ukraine.
All in all, it was a lovely day . Ann Whitewick
Rita’s blog:
Two years ago, the March 2020 SI Yorkshire RCM was held in an atmosphere of slight bewilderment and benign curiosity. Not one Yorkshire Soroptimist knew exactly what lay ahead only a few days later. Two years on and ninety-one SI Yorkshire members gathered at The Bridge, Walshford. President Lindsay welcomed us in a spirit of gratitude of having made it through a challenging 24 months. Maybe slightly distanced, but the greetings were warm.
Three members from Wakefield, Harrogate and Dewsbury attended their first RCM and 18 clubs were represented. On a personal note, as SI York Ebor was the first club I joined in 2006, there was sad news about its closure. This closure also meant that the Get Care Sorted Regional Project has regrettably folded.
With our thoughts and prayers for our Soroptimist sisters in the Ukraine and neighbouring countries, President Lindsay lit a candle for peace in Ukraine. In December sunflower seeds were given out for club competitions. We had no knowledge of how important the national flower of Ukraine would become in 2022. We also remembered four Yorkshire Soroptimists who sadly have died recently. But many congratulations to SI Skipton in Craven member, Sylvia Young: 100 years old and 75 years a Soroptimist.
Highlights from the Officer’s Reports, which will be covered more fully in the RCM Minutes:
• Booking deadlines soon for:
The Yorkshire Conference on Domestic Abuse on May 21st The Jonas Centre Weekend on July 1st to 3rd.
- Orange the World is for every 25th of the month, not just November.
- Welcome Packs are available for New Members
- Clubs need to update their websites.
- A new What’s On What’s App group is being created by the Communications Officers.
- A new Benevolent Fund Officer is needed from November 2022. Who would like toshadow Hilary Putman?SI Harrogate member Pat Shore MBE was SI Yorkshire’s final ‘Who is She?’ in the 100 SIGBI Women. Pat was interviewed by friend and fellow SI Harrogate member, Val Hills. Pat’s place in the 100 women is well deserved.
An excellent lunch was enjoyed by the members. We take our ability to pay for and consume good food for granted. There was a timely reminder in the afternoon from two organisations focused on feeding hungry people.
1. Fran Dobson spoke about Mary’s Meals www.marysmeals.org.uk and was presented with a £500 cheque.
2. Laura Chalmers spoke about The Trussell Trust. www.trusselltrust.org I was pleased to see Laura again and promoted to Area Manager, after she had spoken to SI York Ebor about the York food bank many years ago. How upsetting that the need for food banks has increased over these years.
An excellent day and look froward to meeting again on Saturday, June 22nd, 2022, when SIGBI President Maureen Maguire will also attend the RCM.
Send your blogs about Soroptimist events and activities to: communicationssiyorkshire@gmail.com. Long or short they will be gratefully received.
Join SI Yorkshire’s WhatsOnWhatsApp: email your request to communicationssiyorkshire@gmail.com