To mark the the Soroptimist Day of Action for the Environment Yorkshire Soroptimists partnered with World Wildlife Fund volunteers to clean the beach at South Bay, Scarborough. It is estimated that 20,000 tonnes of waste is dumped in the North Sea annually, which is the equivalent weight of 130 blue whales. To find your nearest beach clean and do your bit, see https://ywt.org.uk/our-events/beach-cleans. @UKPACc@YorkshireSIY @YorksWildlife @ana_cowie #SDG14LifeBelowWater Fuelling for action: The things you find on a beach Disappointed Ilkley Soroptimists stuck at Leeds station due to train cancellation (aiming for environmentally friendly travel, ironically)

As you might expect, as a Soroptimist August was quiet. Although I did succeed in meeting with staff from The Bridge Hotel to look at the detail of the September RCM.  Linda Davis and I met to shortlist for the Regional Programme Action Awards. Please remember that everyone attending the RCM on Saturday 23rd September will be able to vote for the overall winning project. The flyer and Booking Forms have gone out to clubs. I also met with Susie Westwood to finalise the planning for the New Members’ Event taking place on the afternoon of Saturday 7th October. An invitation has gone out to clubs. Please ensure that any member who joined our region after April 2022 receives a copy asap. When I wrote my last Newsletter, discussion was around the Convention in Dublin and the announcement about the cruise in Alaska for the

Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.     I have adopted this quote from the American songwriter Wille Nelson because it seems to me to be a good way to approach each new day I’m given. It also applies aptly to the position we find ourselves in as Soroptimists and theneed we have to both retain and attract members. Let’s give it a go and be positive. We have nothing to loose. June was certainly a positive month for me as your President. Work continues in producing 2 documents to be given to new recruits from Region. Plus another leaflet to be used at events such as the many Orange Cafes that are growing in popularity across Yorkshire. These should be with you all very shortly. Then I joined in the beach clean in Scarborough. Giggles, the gathering of

Were you at our March RCM? wearing odd shoes to highlight persistent gender inequality? If so you, at least your feet!, may appear in Pat Thornes’ lovely collage of photos taken that day which is SIGBI’s photo of the month for May. It was posted on the hub yesterday so should arrive in everyone’s mailbox any day now. Congratulations SI Yorkshire and especially photostar Pat Thornes. Scroll down the front page of our website to find more photos of the odd shoes worn at the RCM.

  Because I wasn’t in this country for 11 days in July, my report will be somewhat short. I did start on the 1st with an Officers Meeting where I was delighted to include Sam Lawson for the first time since her accident and subsequent surgery. The 6th was my Planning Meeting where it became abundantly clear that my year as Yorkshire President is rapidly coming to its twilight. How is that possible? The Soroptimist International Convention in Dublin then followed a family holiday.   The above shows most of the Yorkshire members arriving at the Gala Dinner. Having now been home almost 24 hours, I have yet to sit quietly and really reflect on the content of the presentations. What I can say is that I was rightfully proud of the two posters designed and displayed by our Region. Both generated interest and many

Online safety bookmarks It was agreed in 2021 that bookmarks were needed for 10 to 14 year old, and that young people should be involved in their design. An invitation was put out to all clubs who had involvement with local schools, to work with a group of students on developing a bookmark. A member of SI Dewsbury & District, who is a teacher at Heckmondwike Grammar School, took this up with her students, and following training on online safety, they were asked to design a bookmark as a house competition. The entries were assessed at the school, and the four winning hand-drawn designs were forwarded to SIYAMS. After much discussion, two were chosen. These were then taken to a printer, and we subsequently had 2,500 of each printed.  They were officially launched at the school, where all four students were awarded a certificate, and