IPP Margaret Dennis 2009-10
Progressive Dinner Saturday 4th July 2009
Well, didnt we have a good time! On Saturday 4 July President Margaret organised a progressive dinner. The evening naturally had an American theme with guests wearing red, white and blue. There were some very inventive food combinations as well, to follow the colour theme through. (A slice of strawberry, feta cheese and a blueberry was one idea surprisingly tasty)! And Janice Grout (congratulations Janice on your marriage) produced a wonderful warm American cheese, garlic and crab dip that was to die for. I understand that the recipe will be available for a small charge for charity. The evening was great fun and a good way to talk to many people as the progressive nature of the evening resulted in different groups of people chatting together.
The dinner was organised to raise funds for the club friendship weekend arranged for July 17-20
The evening resulted in some people fondly remembering members efforts. For newer members, members efforts were a way of raising a small amount of money to help keep the subs down. Every member was invited to raise 5 in whatever way they wished. Sometimes 2 or 3 members would get together to organise something. And regular events took place, maybe a cream tea, maybe a few people would pay a small amount to see a video (DVD) and have a supper, or a walk and a quiz the ideas were as varied as the club members. The idea was dropped a few years ago when it was felt that it was fairer just to bring the subscriptions up to a reasonable level so that everyone contributed the same. Much fairer, but perhaps not as much fun???
Grete 06/07/09
SWIMMARATHON - 14th MARCH 2009
Members, Isabel Huggett, President Geraldine, Wendy Wood and Penny Ward plus ’soropti-daughter’ Vicki Sheppard, entered the Kendal charity swimathon on Saturday 14th March 2009. They swam for 55 minutes and achieved 98 lengths, raising 300 for charity. The event took place as the Club funds were being made ready for the auditor, so the money will be allocated in President Margaret’s year 2009-2010.
SI Grange over Sands 55th Anniversary Charter Lunch
On Saturday 10 October 84 Soroptimists and guests helped SI Grange celebrate its 55th anniversary. We all met at he Racecourse at Cartmel. The room looked very attractive in cool creams.
Guests were welcomed by President Margaret. We were all asked to stand in memory of Ethel Ripley who had sadly died a few days earlier. Ethel had been a member of SI Grange for 42 years and was an honorary member of the club.
IPP Geraldine read the aims and Penny Ward gave the grace. The toastmistress was President Elect Isabel.
The toast to Soroptimist International was given by Miss Gillian Sandford. Gillian was an international journalist and gave an interesting and occasionally harrowing talk on her time in post war Sierra Leone. She spoke about the value of the work done by Hope and Homes for Children in the country. This Charity aims to help women, children and families put their lives back together after the trauma of war. Soroptimist International is working with Hope and Homes for children under Project SIerra
Marie Blacktop, the Regional President, responded to the toast. Then President Margaret’s family completed the celebrations: Son Mark spoke on behalf of the guests and daughter Louise sang two songs, ‘Summertime’ and ‘The lark in the clear air’ accompanied by her brother Simon.
We all had a very pleasant time
Grete Hughes (18th October 2009)
How do I join SI Grange over Sands?
Please contact our secretary…..
Rosemary Hoyle on telephone: 015395 58108
or
via email: rosemary-hoyle@sky.com
Friendship Links
SI GRANGE-OVER-SANDS VISIT TO SI WINCHESTER
On 18th June, a party of 9 Soroptimists from Grange-over-Sands, SI Fylde and SI Blackburn, set off in a hired mini bus to visit Wiltshire on an Archaeological Field Trip with our resident Archaeologist, Dorothy Sheppard. As part of our trip, we visited Winchester, where we have a Friendship Link with their Club. Dorothy had organised a meeting with some members of SI Winchester. We were met at Danebury Iron Age Hill Fort by Laraine from SI Winchester who guided us into the city centre. We were very lucky to have a guided tour of Winchester, led by a professional guide, Elizabeth, seeing King Arthur’s statue, and Round Table, a walk by the River Itchen, past the Bishop’s House to Winchester Cathedral also seeing Jane Austen’s house. The tour ended at Ann & Gavin Scott’s lovely home, opposite the Cathedral, where we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon tea and good companionship with members of SI Winchester and their Grant of Friendship visitor, Arna, from Estonia. The day was made perfect by the most glorious weather, which we enjoyed all week.
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FRIENDSHIP VISIT TO SI VIAREGGIO
Six members of the Club - President Margaret, Pam, Sue, Rosemary, Dorothy and Penny - flew to Pisa on Wednesday, 10th February 2010, at the invitation of Grange’s new friendship link, SI Viareggio in Italy. The visit was timed to include the annual carnevale, dating back to 1873.
Viareggio is the largest centre in the Versilia region of north-west Tuscany, around 40 minutes drive north from Pisa. It lies on the cost, part of 20km of uninterrupted sandy beaches, and is backed by the snow-capped Appuan mountains. We were met at the airport by three of the Italian Club, including Nannina who visited Grange last August. Whilst our luggage was driven to our host houses, we were shown round the famous sights of Pisa. Later we dined with our respective hosts, and were glad of an early night having started off at 4.00am.
Thursday was spent exploring Viareggio, walking along the sea front and to the end of the pier. Two more members treated us to lunch and in the afternoon we were taken to the new Carnevale citadel, built for the construction and storage of the carnevale floats, and housing a museum showing the carnevale’s development over the years. Eighteen of us dined at the home of Adriana, the incoming President (a notary), the evening starting with Moet Chandon, and finishing with the Italian Limoncello liquer!
Friday, left to our own devises, we were up early to catch the train to Florence. It was cold and rainly, but we made the most of it and managed to take in the major sites. That evening Crstina (owner of an art gallery) invited us to dinner at a local hotel, where the menu consisted of fish! We started with smoked swordfish, followed by mussel soup, and then five more courses of fish. We declined dessert!
Saturday we were taken to Lucca, a beautiful Tuscan town protected by massively thick 16th 
century walls. The return journey included a visit to the home of Puccini at Torre del Lago, where he composed many of his operas. The house is now a museum, and we were introduced to the composer’s granddaughter. We also went to the site of the horrific train explosion last year. Although the area is still cordoned off, we were able to see the extent of the devastation. The full day was rounded off by a formal dinner with the Club at the Palace Hotel, where they hold meetings. It began with three national anthems - Italian, British and the European Union. President Patrizia, a paediatrician, welcomed us and presented Margaret with an engraved plaque formally establishing the link, and Margaret presented them with a book on the Lake District. We were each presented with two books telling the history of Burlamacco, the carnevale’s mascot. The daughter of Umberto Bonetti, the artist who designed the mascot, is a Club member and she and her sister signed the books.
Sunday was Carnevale Day, and the festival atmosphere was terrific. We had special seats in the stand giving us a bird’s eye view. The 2 hour parade comprised bands and dancing troupes, but the main items were the huge floats. Most allegorical, depicting national and international events and featuring caricatures of political celebrities; even Gordon Brown made an appearance! One of the floats depicted violence against women. Later we wandered down to the harbour where stalls offered all sorts of food. We were met by 3 more members, and enjoyed our first course of black or white risotto from the stalls, taking the second course - fried fish - back to the home of Maria Luisa (a shipyard owner). Each room of her apartment had different foods on offer! Of note was a cheese platter and special carnevale cakes…some of us managed 3 of them!
Monday we were off with Nannina and Anna (a Professor of Classics), who drove us through the exclusive private beach area of Forte dei Marmi. We turned inland to visit Pietrasanta, a pretty old town known for its marble. Michelangelo came here to choose his raw materials. Next stop was Camaiore, a small town founded in Roman times, which contains many artistic treasures.
Tuesday, our final day, was spent mostly packing. Although we had travelled ‘light’ we had acquired 18 books, 6 of them hardback, 6 jars of home-made marmalade, and 6 glass vases! This entailed a trip to the market to buy an extra case and to a travel agent to book one case into the plane’s hold.
All in all, we met 22 of the 33 members of the Viareggio Club. We were warmly welcomed and received tremendous hospitality. We had an exciting and enjoyable visit, and hope friendships made during the week will be strengthened in the months to come.
Friendship Link Weekend
16th - 21st July 2009
Grange Soroptimists recently welcomed overseas members from their friendship links in Czech Republic, Finland & Italy for a weekends programme of events. It proved to be a wonderful opportunity for sharing friendship & exchanging ideas about mutual areas of concern. Visitors stayed in members homes & were taken to as many local places of interest as time allowed. They sampled local produce in the evenings at members homes & all agreed it had been a great success.
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More information on our five friendship links coming soon.
Friendship links:-
Pori
Prague
Goeztepe
Winchester
Viareggio Versilia
Public Events Diary
We have many events throughout the year that are open to the public, please see diary below….
We look forward to seeing you at one of our events…….
Saturday 12th June 2010 - Edwardian Festival - Park Road Gardens
Saturday 28th August 2010 - Car Boot Sale - St Charles Field, Kents Bank Road, Grange
Saturday 27th November 2010 - Chocolate Fair - Victoria Hall
Saturday 19th February 2011 - Ceilidh - Cartmel Village Hall - ticket only
Wednesday 9th March 2011 - Planning for your Future - public meetings afternoon and evening at the Victoria Hall
Charter Lunch - 26th September 2010
IPP Geraldine’s year - 2008-2009
SATURDAY 30th August 2008 -
NSPCC BIKE RIDE
In aid of President Geraldine’s charity, the NSPCC, a number of intrepid cyclists set off on on part of the Walney to Wear bicycle route on Saturday 30th August. The route took them along through Meathop and Ulpha to Gilpin Bridge, and after a lunch stop, back into Grange. At the same time club members walked along the prom collecting donations and the event was so successful that there are hopes it will be repeated. Everyone who took part, club members, husbands, children and grandchildren had a memorable day.
S
UNDAY 12th October 2008 - Charter Dinner
The Charter Lunch was held at the Grange Hotel on Sunday 12th October. SI Grange-over-Sands welcomed Presidents from other clubs in the region.
SATURDAY 13th December 2008 -
Christmas Chocolate Fair
On Saturday 13th December, SI Grange-over-Sands held a Christmas Chocolate Fair in the Victoria Hall, organised by our Programme Action Officer, Emilia Giffney and man
y hard-working volunteers behind the scenes as well as on the day itself. The day, although wet proved to be hugely successful with a steady stream of visitors enticed by the smell of chocolate and the opportunity to support Shelterbox. Shelterbox provides humanitarian aid in the form of unique “Shelterboxes” which have inside a 10 man tent and other essential supplies for an extended family to survive for at least six months. This charity, supported by Rotary International, has provided emergency aid for over half a million people in more than 40 countries. Each box costs £490 and our aim was to raise enough money for two. The event raised £1700 which was a wonderful surprise.
There were plenty of activities for families to take part in, games and craft stalls, storytelling, refreshments and not forgetting Father Christmas who was very busy all day. The chocolate fountain and box decorating were very popular and visitors were splendidly entertained throughout the day by members of Cartmel Music Centre. The pictures give a flavour of the day.
SATURDAY 14th February 2009 -
Valentine Ceiligh
On Saturday 14th February SI Grange-over-Sands held a Valentine’s Ceilidh in aid of the local Citizens’ Advice Bureau. The village hall was decorated with hearts and balloons and deep pink floral displays from South Lakeland Nurseries and we took the opportunity to display our new roller
Soroptimist banner.
All the tickets were sold. We had a great band, excellent supper and entusiastic dancers. There was a raffle with
Valentine’s prizes like champagne, chocolates made by a local chocolatier and a heart-shaped cake. We also rolled £1 coins for a bottle of gin. In total £450 was raised for the CAB.
President Geraldine sent a big thank you to all involved in making the ceilidh a success. People were dancing, laughing, having fun and raising money for a good cause at the same time.
Club Officers 2010 - 2011
OFFICERS 2010/2011
PRESIDENT: Isabel Huggett
PRESIDENT ELECT: Judith Pool
VICE PRESIDENT:Vacant
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: Margaret Dennis
SECRETARY: Rosemary Hoyle
TREASURER: Dorothy Sheppard
MINUTING SECRETARY:
Executive:-……….. rota
Business:-………… Grete Hughes
PROGRAMME ACTION OFFICER:. Janice Carrick
MEMBERSHIP & EXTENSION OFFICER: Margaret Dennis
PROJECT GROUP FACILITATORS
Economic & Social Development and )
Human Rights & the Status of Women): Pam Baines
Education: Janice Carrick
Environment: Sue Fleetwood
Health: June Gabbitas
REPRESENTATIVES TO REGIONAL COUNCIL
Margaret Dennis…..until Nov 2010
Isabel Huggett
Judith Pool……from Nov 2010
Diary Dates 2010 - 2011
2010 - 2011 Programme
APRIL 2010
Friday 23rd St George’s Day Celebration 7.30pm at Isabel’s
MAY 2010
Tuesday 4th Club Meeting
Fri-Sun 14th-16th Joint Regional Conference Warrington ‘Victory over Adversity’
Monday 31st Closing date - Regional President’s Rosebowl Competition
JUNE 2010
Tuesday 1st Club Meeting
Wednesday 2nd Afternoon trip to Cartmel Races - picnic afternoon tea
Thursday 10th Summer Evening Walk - Cartmel with Jacon Join supper
Saturday 12th Edwardian Festival
Saturday 19th Regional Meeting - Lancaster University
Sunday 20th Regional Lunch
JULY 2010
Saturday 3rd Annual Regional Walk
Tuesday 6th Club Meeting plus talk re Fistula Hospital
Tuesday 27th Beach Clean at Humphrey Head 5.30pm - 7.30pm
AUG 2010
Saturday 28th Car Boot Sale, St Charles Field, Kents Bank Road, Grange
Tuesday 31st Club Meeting (instead of September)
SEPT 2010
Saturday 11th Regional Meeting - Lancaster University
Sunday 26th Charter Lunch - Grange Hotel
OCT 2010
Sunday 3rd Cumbria Clubs - Allithwaite Community Centre
Tuesday 5th Club Meeting
Thurs-Sat 21st-23rd Federation Conference - Manchester
NOV 2010
Tuesday 2nd Club Meeting
Saturday 13th Regional Meeting - Lancaster University
Saturday 20th Friendship Quiz - Victoria Hall
Saturday 27th Chocolate Fair - Victoria Hall
DEC 2010
Tuesday 7th Club Meeting
Tuesday 14th Christmas Party - Netherwood Hotel
JAN 2011
Tuesday 11th Club Meeting
FEB 2011
Tuesday 1st Club Meeting
Thursday 17th Archaeology talk by Dorothy Sheppard - Cartmel VH Supper Room
Saturday 19th Ceilidh - Cartmel Village Hall
Saturday 26th Regional Meeting - Lancaster University
MARCH 2011
Tuesday 1st Club Meeting
Wednesday 19th Planning for the Future - Public Meetings - Victoria Hall (afternoon and evening)
APRIL 2010
Tuesday 5th Business / AGM
Tuesday 12th Change of Insignia
S I Grange-over-Sands Projects
SI Grange over Sands Projects
Each Soroptimist International club identifies the needs of its community, then establishes specific projects to address these needs. All our projects relate to one or more of the six Programme Focus Areas: Economic and Social Development, Education, Environment, Health, Human Rights and the Status of Women, and International Goodwill and Understanding.
More information is available in the Our Work pages, where you can read more about the current Programme Focus aims and the Quadrennial Project, supported by all clubs in the Federation.
The projects listed below include some of the local and international issues we research and support in SI Grange over Sands:
First Responders
First responders are trained volunteers who are sent out by the ambulance service if the ambulance is delayed because of a previous callout. The volunteers are sent out to people suffering heart prtoblems. They wait with patients until the ambulance arr
Two years ago it was decided to set up a local team as a programme action challenge. This was achieved by organising an open meeting, signing up local volunteers, obtaining grants and raising money by fundraising. The volunteers were trained and last year the Grange and District First Responders was up and running.
Monday 26 March is their first anniversary party
Fairtrade
Grange achieved Fairtrade Town Status in Spetember 2006
There was an open meeting at The Parish Hall in Grange in October 2005. Joe Human. who is chair of the Cumbria Fairtrade Network, was the speaker. There was a display of Fairtrade information, Fairtrade goods on sale and Fairtrade refreshments available.
At the beginning of Fairtrade Fortnight in March 2006 a number of Grange Soroptimists went to a meeting in Keswick to celebrate Cumbria achieving Fairtrade County Status. George Alegiah posed for a picture with Grange Soroptimists.
As a result of a public meeting in March 2006 a committee was elected and work began to register names of individuals, businesses and organisations who support Fairtrade
Safe Houses
Items are collected by club members and are taken to safe houses locally twice a year
Wednesday Club
For several years club members have taken a young woman with Downes Syndrome from Grange to Ulverston to enjoy a weekly social club meeting
Grange Soroptimists work with Ladies’ Circle to provide this respite for carers. The project started with three young children. However, as time has passed, two of the children have grown up to achieve more independence
Mercy Ships
Mercy Ships, a global charity, has operated a growing fleet of hospital ships in developing nations since 1978.
This is one of President Jane’s charities for the year. Kay Rouse, who has spent time working with the charity during holidays, gave an inspirational talk to the club about the medical care given by volunteers. Before Kay came to the club an article in the local newspaper, Grange Now, resulted in an amazing number of new and nearly new sheets and blankets for the wards. Pens, paints and paper were also donated for children to use while they were either waiting for, or recovering from, treatment. Financial donations were also given.
Updates
Children’s Writing Workshop
Over 70 Year 5 children from five local primary schools were given the practical experience of how to write an exiting short story
On Tuesday 7 February over seventy year nine children from local schools attended a writing workshop with Alan Gibbons. This workshop was organised and funded by SI Grange over Sands and is an example of the club working pro actively with the community.
Alan Gibbons has been writing children’s books for 12 years. He is the winner of the Blue Peter Book Award 2000 for his best-selling book Shadow of the Minotaur. He has also been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal in 2001 and 2003 and has won the Leicester Book of the Year Award. His books have been published in Japanese, German, Italian, French, Thai, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Swedish and other languages. So he knows what he is talking about!
The workshop addressed the current concerns with children’s writing in a wonderfully humorous style in combination with a very impressive, structured presentation. Alan Gibbons managed to keep the children absorbed for three hours. He began with telling them how he started writing and then gave them the bones of a story for them to write. ‘Ten thousand pounds.’(Two children, the narrator and a friend find a scratch card after dealing with a gang of bullies. The children then have the moral dilemma of whether or not to keep the card, having hidden it while they decide.) Alan broke the rest of the session into ten minute chunks, giving the children ideas on how to develop each situation, emphasising that the children needed to imagine how their character was feeling about the situation in which they found themselves. The children worked on their own, in pairs or in groups. At the end of the sessions Alan Gibbons taught the children some ‘scouse’ – he is from Liverpool, and told them the ‘official’ scouse version of Snow White. The children were ‘eating out of his hand’
The children will finish/polish the stories at school. Teachers will choose the best four from their school. Alan Gibbons will decide which of the stories is the overall winner and SI Grange over Sands will publish all of the short listed short stories in a booklet. Possibly with illustrations: Alan suggested that the children might like to develop the ideas in their stories by designing a film poster
Pictures from the session and examples of the work from the 5 schools will be displayed in the local library.
Children, teachers and helpers learnt a great deal from this three hour session. And everyone was entertained.
Aquabox
Aquabox containers can be bought via Rotary and then filled, ready to be sent to anywhere in the world where they are needed in a crisis
Aqua Boxes cost £50 to buy and about £120 to fill with a variety of emergency equipment. Once the box is emptied it becomes a water filter. Clean water is obviously vital for survival after any major catastrophe. Each Aquabox is given a number and its progress can be followed via the website.
This is the second Aquabox the club has sent
Sensory Garden
Several years ago Grange SI was involved with the planting of a Millennium garden in Grange Park.
The garden has been completely redesigned and several club members arranged to go along on March 16 to do all the planting. March 16 proved to be a bad choice with a heavy covering of snow obliterating everything. However the following week the planting was successfully carried out in glorious sunshine.
Friendship Links
SI Prague celebrated the club’s 10th anniversary in September 2005.
We have had a strong friendship link for the past nine years and six of us, President Jane, Sheila Phizacklea, Carol Edwards, Grete and Trevor Hughes and Mollie Bell set off on the train to Manchester Airport on Thursday 22nd September looking forward to what was a return visit for most of us to Prague. Collecting our luggage we were pleased to see that Kaija, a Soroptimist friend from Finland, and her husband Ese, had also arrived at the airport. A minibus took us to the Cloister Inn and we checked in. We had arranged to see Kaija and Esa for a meal on the first night. Going out to the hotel where Kaija and Ese were staying, we got hopelessly lost, but eventually found it. We had a very good meal in what looked like an undersea cavern
The next day we met Milada, President of SI Prague, in Wenceslas Square and she showed us some of the hidden parts of the city. We also travelled on the metro and visited the cemetery where many famous Czech people are buried, including Smetana, and Dvorak
In the evening we were taken by Vera and Katya to meet other guests from Italy, Germany, Austria, Luxemburg, Slovakia and Finland. We were all going on a dinner cruise on the river Vltava. It was very exciting to see groups of Soroptimists from various parts of Europe came from different areas of Prague to converge at the meeting place by the river. It was a very pleasant evening with good company.
On Saturday we met our friends again and went on a guided tour of St Vitus Cathedral and other parts of the city. Later we went to an organ recital at a very old church, St. Martin by the Wall
In the evening there was a Gala Dinner at the Savoy Hotel with over 100 guests from many clubs in S.I. Europe. We were the only representatives from S.I.G.B.I. The evening started with a video presentation of club projects and important occasions in their ten year history. The presentation included many photographs from their visits to Grange. Candles were then lit by Milada, the outgoing President of SI Prague; Jana, the new President; Carol, on behalf of SI.G.B.I., and Suzana, as the founder President. After a delicious meal there was a raffle. There was also a stall of cards and gifts made by children with a variety of disabilities. There were some speeches, which Irena translated into English. At the end, several Presidents from the various countries gave greetings including President Jane. President Jane presented a cloth to President Milada. The cloth had been embroidered with the names of the two clubs, the Grange oystercatcher, and the names of the members of Grange club.
On Sunday we travelled by tram to meet Jana and the Luxemburg visitors and were taken to the castle. Later in the afternoon we spent time in the city shopping and going to other places of interest. In the evening we had an excellent meal at a nearby restaurant before walking to the Rudolfinum Concert Hall where we experienced a wonderful programme by the Russian Symphony Orchestra. This was part of the Prague Autumn Festival. There were several encores and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the lively performance.
Monday saw us out and about again, but going our separate ways this time. We all met up for lunch, then more shopping and a short rest before we went to the same restaurant as the night before, but this time Milada, Suzana, Jana and Irena joined us. It was a fitting end to our stay in this lovely city - to share a meal with our very good friends.
It was a memorable and happy occasion and we hope to repeat it in the not too distant future.
School in a box
Each box, put together by UNICEF, is used to set up a temporary school for up to 80 children in an emergency
A very successful New to You clothes sale held on January 26 2007 raised enough money to buy 2 Schools in Boxes. There was enough money left over to put towards President Sue’s Send a Cow Project.
Club News
New Seat in memory of Edith Mortimer
nity garden. David is seen here with President Margaret and some members of SI Grange. The seat offers a very pleasant view over the community garden,Grange and the bay. 
International Day of Peace - 21st September 2009
The 21stSeptember was declared by the United Nations as an International Day of Peace, with the intention that the entire world observe a day of peace and non-violence. To mark this day, members of Soroptimist International of Grange have presented a peace lily to each of the Churches in Grange and District, the Library and to the Town Council. They have also invited each of the primary schools and Cartmel Priory School to join in this observance by including a prayer for peace in their school assemblies on this special day. Copies of the prayer have been sent to both the churches and the schools:
Lead us from death to life, from falsehood to truth,
Lead us from despair to hope, from fear to trust.
Lead us from hatred to love, from war to peace.
Let peace fill our hearts, our homes, our town, our country, our world. Ame
n
The Grange members have mounted a display in the showcase window next door to Mulberrys, and a special flag will be flying!
Penny Ward (12 August 2009)
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About our Club
The Grange Soroptimist Club was Chartered in1954, when Grange was part of Lancashire, with SI Ulverston as its mother Club and Founder President Mrs. F.H. Brown. Meetings were held in the upstairs room at the Hazlemere Cafe where about 20 members attended. In common with other Clubs in the Region, hats and gloves were worn at these meetings. Laura Johnston, jeweller, was a founder member and has just completed 55 years of service!
For a time there were co-members which necessitated a move to a larger venue at the Netherwood Hotel. Since then both the Grange and Graythwaite Hotels have been used for meetings but now we meet at the United Reform Church Hall.
At the start, two business and two speaker meetings were held each month. Fund-raising was essential to pay for rent of rooms, payment to Central Office and especially for donations to various charities. The main fund raising was the annual Jumble Sale held in the Victoria Hall each New Year. This was always successful but times change and this has since been discontinued.
Over the years, fund-raising efforts have included Fashion Shows, coffee mornings, treasure hunts, walks, swimarathons and dances. On incorporation into Cumbria, a Lancashire Evening was held at the Netherwood Hotel with Lancashire food, clog and folk-dancing and photographs were shown in Lancashire Life in April 1974. Enjoying ourselves while raising funds is one of the pleasures of membership of Grange SI!
At first donations to charity were mostly for local people. However, over the years, the focus has grown to encompass both national and international work and includes not only fund-raising but also direct service, lobbying and awareness raising activities. We not only support our regular charities but also the President’s chosen charities each year, currently the CAB and the Soroptimists’ Quadrennial Appeal, Project Sierra, a Family and a Future, in conjunction with Hope and Homes for Children in Sierra Leone. There is more detail about our work under the Programme Action section.
For 55 years, Grange SI has been providing immense service to the local community and to projects throughout the world and remains eager to tackle issues of concern and provide aid where possible. Our individual voice maybe small but together we achieve a strong, global voice for women.
Many thanks to Ethel Ripley and Hilda Postlewaite for their help with the ‘about our club’ page.
President’s message
Welcome to the website of SI Grange-over-Sands, which celebrates its 56th year, as Soroptimism itself celebrates 75 years of service.
Grange is a thriving Club, being one of the largest in the region with 40 members (of varying ages and representing many different professions) some of whom travel miles from the surrounding areas to attend our meetings. New member receive a warm welcome.
We have Friendship Links with Prague, Pori (Finland), Izmir (Turkey), Viareggio-Versilia (Italy) and Winchester, and have exchange visits from time to time. The last visit of our links to Grange was in July 2009 and six Grange members visited Viareggio-Versilia for the Carnivale in February 2010.
We have recently introduced changes to the way we operate in order to ensure that Programme Action remains at the heart of our activities. Now every member of the Club is involved in one of the four areas of Programme Action (namely: Economic and Social Development and Human Rights and the Status of Women, Education, Environment, and Health; mirroring the international and regional structure. The Club is evolving into a more dynamic group even more focussed on the needs of women and girls not only locally but throughout the world. The new arrangements generate continuity and plans are already underway for projects which will continue beyond the current year. Our major project for the next year is the End of Life Planning Public Meetings on Wednesday, 9th March 2011, from 3-5pm and 7-9pm. See local press in January or February 2011 or contact the Club for information. Details of our current projects and plans for the future will appear on a separate page.
This year our particular charities are Practical Action (a charity concentrating on Intermediate Technology solutions in developing countries) and The Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture. We are also supporting Project SIerra, the International Quadrennial Appeal, for which one of our members is the Regional Ambassador. We also support the Morecambe Bay Partnership in a practical way, with participation in Beach Cleans.
Our latest fund-raising event in aid of our charities was a stall at the Edwardian Festival on 12th June and we are to hold a Car Boot Sale on Saturday, 28th August in Grange on the Catholic Church field (opposite the Co-op). We look forward to seeing you then.
In friendship
Isabel Huggett (President of SI Grange-over-Sands)