Secretarius Mark Lodge, the newest Lodge on the Province, meets twice a year and invites ladies-to-dine at their half-yearly meeting. At their meeting on 21st November 2014, held at Middleton, the ladies were entertained by two guest speakers; Sue Biggs, Federation Programme Director from Soroptimist International of Great Britain & Ireland (SIGBI) and RWBro John Prizeman, President of the Mark Benevolent Fund.

Sue’s talk: “A Lancashire Lass in the Big Apple” covered her experiences of attending the annual Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in New York and her role as Programme Director co-ordinating the activities of Soroptimists in the 29 countries of the SIGBI Federation (www.sigbi.org) to improve the lives of women and girls.

Following Sue’s talk and questions from the ladies, RWBro John Prizeman gave a talk on the Hope for Tomorrow charity which is being supported by the Mark Benevolent Fund. Hope for Tomorrow (www.hopefortomorrow.org.uk) is a national cancer charity dedicated to bringing cancer treatment closer to patients’ homes. Their Mobile Chemotherapy Units effectively reduce the long distances of travel and waiting times for treatment that patients often endure, and also help them to avoid the stresses and strains of busy Oncology Centres.