COME AND MEET US :)
The Soroptimist club of Ilkley and district will be hosting a “Come and meet us” evening in Burley-in-Wharfedale on Thursday the 27th of May, at 7:30pm in the hall at St Thomas More and St John Fisher church on Bradford Road.
Hear a firsthand account of a trip to Sierra Leone from one of our members and learn more about what UK clubs achieve, including the fun we’ve been having this year with our microcredit scheme. There will also be the chance to browse a unique jewellery stall where all items are designed and made in Matugga, Uganda at a project run by one of our members.
Free refreshments will be available. All women are welcome to attend.
Protected: Newsletter March 2010
Spring Fayre and coffee morning
A Spring Fayre and coffee morning will be held at the Clarke Foley Centre on Saturday the 13th of March from 10am - 12 noon.
Hosted by Soroptimist International of Ilkley there will be stalls selling books, DVDs, jewellery, good quality used clothing, cakes and bric-a-brac.
Take a break from shopping and enjoy a cup of coffee and one of our delicious cakes and bakes.
All proceeds in aid of Hope and Homes for Children and Bradford Nightstop.
International Women’s Day
A display has been created in Booths supermarket, Ilkley, to publicise International Women’s Day which takes place on Monday the 8th of March. The display also highlights the campaign to end violence against women and is a collaboration between Soroptimist International of Ilkley and Amnesty International.
International Women’s Day is a global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women and has been marked annually since 1911. Although much has changed since then both Soroptimist International and Amnesty believe there is still a need for greater equality between the sexes and that all women should be able to live their lives free from the threat of violence.
Show your support by visiting the display in Booths or making a comment on this posting.
Anne-Mary (Website Officer, Soroptimist International of Ilkley)
Protected: Newsletter February 2010
Protected: Minutes of the Membership and PR meeting, 9th June 2009
Diary of events 2009 -2010
If you would like to learn more about our club you would be very welcome to join us at a meeting. Please get in touch via the “Contact us” page on this website.
Meetings are held in the Jack Lofthouse Annexe, The Clarke-Foley Centre, Ilkley at 7:30pm, unless otherwise stated.
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2009 |
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December |
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10 |
Christmas social |
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2010 |
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January |
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14 |
Renewal evening with Val Hills |
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28 |
Drumming workshop with Anna Green |
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11 |
Business meeting |
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25 |
Frolics at Fran‘s |
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March |
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11 |
Business meeting |
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13 |
Coffee morning at the Clark Foley Centre, Ilkley. In aid of Bradford Nightstop and Project Sierra |
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25 |
Speaker meeting |
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April |
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8 |
Business meeting |
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22 |
AGM |
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PROGRAMME FOR 2010 – 2011 BEGINS. DETAILS ARE STILL BEING FINALISED. |
The Revival Centre, Matugga, Uganda
The Revival Centre in Matugga, Uganda, is not specifically a project of the Ilkley club but is of special interest to its members. Ilkley member Libby Chappell and her husband Phil head-up the Centre’s UK support team.
The centre was established in 2001 by Pastor Ivan Lugolobi and began with a school of just 30 pupils. Since then it has grown and now comprises a primary school of 450 pupils, and a secondary school of 180 pupils. There is also an orphanage for 105 children, a clinic which serves the entire community and 5 satellite churches.
In June 2007 Libby and Phil gave a presentation to the club explaining how they became involved, how the centre had developed and what they hoped would be achieved in the future. We learned how, from nothing, Pastor Ivan and his team had created a very special place that made a positive difference to the lives of people in his community. As a result several Ilkley Soroptimists chose to sponsor an orphan at the centre and the club continues to take a close interest in the development of the centre.
For more information visit the Revival Centre website at: www.revivalcentrematugga.org.uk
The Chappell family, and John Sheen, with orphans from the centre
Decorating bras for Walk the Walk 20/11/8
Work in progress!
Presidents Megan Blake and Margaret Cook
Pat Booth
Archives
Contact us
Minutes of meetings (members only area)
Ilkley members only area
Collecting for Breakthrough Breast Cancer 11/10/08
We were supported by the fabulous Guiseley Music Centre Jazz Band
Is Fran (far right) collecting for Breakthrough Breast Cancer or auditioning for Chicago? Check out the hand on hip and feather boa pose!
Ah bless! Our supporters come in all shapes and sizes.
Gallery
Say “No!” to plastic bags. Awareness raising in our local supermarkets.
Projects
SI Ilkley 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.
The projects listed below include some of the local and international issues we research and support in SI Ilkley:
Kanengoni School. Zimbabwe
Ilkley members support SI Vabatsiri, Zimbabwe.
By paying the capitation fee for the Vabatsiri club Ilkley members have released funds to help support The Kanengoni School. This rural school has no facilities and the children study under the trees. The school gives education to children who would not normally be given the opportunity to go to school. If children are considered clever enough they try to fundraise to send them to senior school.
The Ilkley club has been able to provide benches that are now in daily use in the school.
Programme Action
Soroptimist International of Ilkley works to make a difference,through programmes and projects locally, nationally and internationally. They use “Awareness, Advocacy and Action” to further their Programme Action.
Awareness: All around the Ilkley area are Help Line posters,prepared and distributed by club members. These posters give contact numbers of organisations that can offer a variety of help and advice to people who find themselves in trouble, anxious or distressed.
Advocacy: The Club has a Writing Group which takes up the cause of victims of human rights abuse by appealing to those politicians and leaders who are in a position to take action to remedy the situation
Action: Over the years, the Ilkley Soroptimist Club has been instrumental in setting up projects that are giving long term benefit to vulnerable sections of the local community. Notable amongst these are the Ilkley Talking Newspaper, established by the Club nearly 25 years ago; and the Wharfe Valley Project which regularly brings together isolated and lonely older persons.
The Ilkley Club works internationally and with other non-governmental organisations. The members contribute aid to women’s groups in Africa by the provision of haberdashery supplies for income generating projects.They also co-operate with Rotary International by filling Aqua Boxes that will be vital to preserve life in disaster areas.
Helping to save the environment
Help to save the environment by refusing additional packaging in shops
Following the resolution passed at the annual conference in Nottingham asking for a ban on free plastic bags in supermarkets we are urged to take our own shopping bags with us to the supermarket and to refuse plastic bags in other shops.
Playing our part in saving the world’s resources.
In our efforts not to waste the world’s resources we collect the following
Books (to buy and sell)
Medicines (in date)
Mobile Phones
Stamps
Toiletries
The Aquabox Story
Soroptimist International of Ilkley members fill two Aquaboxes.
The gift of clean water…the gift of life
Picture a disaster situation. We’ve all seen them, beamed into our comfortable living rooms via the magic of the television set. Thousands of stricken people: shocked,dis-orientated, perhaps cold, perhaps grieving and more than likely desperately short of something we all take for granted-clean drinking water.
Which is where the aquabox comes in.
The Aquabox is a strong plastic box. It’s initially filled with a selection of useful- possibly lifesaving items-including warm clothing, hardware and hygiene items.But crucially it also contains a filter cartridge and a matching supply of fourteen water treatment tablets.
Water that’s fit to drink.
Shipped out to a disaster zone, the recipient removes the contents.The Aquabox’s filter cartridge is loaded with its supply of treatment tablets, add up to 1,100 litres of polluted water and ‘hey presto’ we’ve delivered a safe, pleasant tasting supply of drinking water.Truly the gift of life
A worldwide life saver.
The Aquabox was an original Rotary idea. Introduced in 1992 it’s now a major contributor to disaster relief worldwide. It got the thumbs up from the World Health Organisation and has been used in disaster zones from Albania to Zaire.
Women Walkling for Women Walk
SI Ilkley monitor the Dalesway and help support Project Independence.
Members and friends braved high winds to monitor the state of the Dalesway riverside path between the town and Farfield in Addingham.
Walk planner Fran MacAulay said:”We have checked this route in summer so last weekend we could experience how slippery many parts were.
“We reported also on a section where the railings beside a steep flight of steps has fallen away leaving barbed wire too close to the pathway”.
Ilkley Soroptimists undertake this task on behalf of the community and report their findings to Bradford Council.
This year the walk was sponsored and more than £230 will be sent to Project Independence to help womwn survivors of war.
Soroptimist International has already raised over £43.000.
The money will be used to help women affected by war rebuilding their lives by starting small businesses.
It is hoped that the four year project will raise nearly a million pounds to help nearly 2000 women in Afghanistan,Bosnia and Herzergovina and Rwanda.
World Water Day
World Water Day 22/03/2008
To mark World Water Day Ilkley members will once again be turning wine into water. At the speaker meeting on 28/02/2008 glasses of wine will be sold and the proceeds will be sent to Water Aid.
The speaker for the evening will be Robert Smith: Yorkshire Water: it’s only a drop or two
Project Sierra
2007-2011 Quadrennial Project
With our Quadrennial Project partner Hope and homes for Children Soroptimists are striving to improve the health of women and girls in Sierra Leone.
In Sierra Leone, of 1000 children born, 283 will die before their 5th birthday-the highest mortality rate of under-fives in the world. Malaria and diarrhoea are particularly dangerous killers. The maternal mortality rate is also the highest in the world-one in six women dies of childbirth related causes.
Project Sierra will help to boost the general healthand strength to combat illness of young children living in extreme poverty, by improving living conditions and nutrition. All of the children and families in the programmes have access to medical facilities,medicines and treatment through Project Sierra.These are made available to other vulnerable children within the host communities also.
Carers and young mothers are taught about health, nutrition, disease prevention and child care.Sexual health and HIV/AIDS education is included in the education of young mothers.Local partnerships with specialist health and preventative health service providers give Project Sierra the benefit of suitably trained experts.
Soroptimists around the world are taking Project Sierra to heart. A great range of events- concerts-quizzes,sponsored walks, meals, fashion shows, exhibitions- have already been held or are being planned.
Do check the website www.projectsierra.org regularly for updates
Club Officers
Our Officers
| Liz Stringer | ….. | President |
| Megan Blake, Margaret Cook | ….. | Immediate Past Presidents |
| Jo Thornley | ….. | Secretary |
| Chris Lynes | ….. | Minutes secretary |
| Sheena Bradley | ….. | Treasurer |
| Fran McAulay | ….. | Programme Action Officer |
| Joy Lynch | ….. | Executive Committee |
| Anne-Mary Inglehearn | ….. | Executive Committee |
| Glenis Senior | ….. | Executive Committee |
| Anne Mary Inglehearn | ….. | Website Officer |
| Jenny Humphreys | ….. | Social Secretary |
About our Club
SI Ilkley
We make a difference - join us!
Club meetings are on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, with the exception of August and December. They are held at the Clarke Foley Centre, Cunliffe Road, Ilkley, at 7:30pm.
The first Thursday is usually a business meeting and on the second Thursday we welcome a guest speaker.
After the meeting tea and coffee is served giving members time to meet together and socialise.
In addition to regular meetings a number of social events are organised throughout the year and these will be listed amongst our diary entries.
President’s message
Early summer is a good time for new beginnings as the earth around us comes back to life. It is a time of hope and optimism. Another club year has just begun! This year our theme is ‘Youth Matters’. We have an exciting and interesting year ahead. We like to think we can look on the world with the freshness and vitality of youth. If you would like to join us, to work on local and global issues, to make a difference, and to have fun and mix with like-minded women then read on. Come to a meeting: you will always be made most welcome.
Dr. Liz Stringer