South Ribble Council celebrates Women of Achievement

Monica Lea, Tracy O'Reilly (Mayor's PA), Pauline Robinson and Margaret Hollinhurst

The Women of Achievement Luncheon 2019 – now in its twentieth year – was hosted by the Mayoress of South Ribble, Shirley Rainsbury, at the Hallmark Leyland Hotel.

She says: “It was a fantastic afternoon. I was so pleased with how many came along to support the event. I’m thrilled to be able to say we have raised thousands of pounds for the Mayor’s Charity Fund, which are St Catherine’s Hospice in Lostock Hall; HomeStart Central Lancashire; and The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA). I met some fabulous individuals, all doing great things.”

The guest speakers included Joan Whittle, a volunteer at Rosemere Cancer Foundation; Donna Hussain, who is involved with HomeStart Central Lancashire; and Kate Eastham, author of The Liverpool Nightingales, a non-fiction story about the history of nursing.

Guest speakers, Donna Hussain from HomeStart Central Lancashire, Mayoress of South Ribble Shirley Rainbury, Joan Whittle volunteer for Rosemere Cancer Foundation and Kate Eastham author of Miss Nightingale's Nurses

READ ABOUT LAST YEAR’S EVENT: Click here for more stories

Joan says: “I was very grateful for being asked to speak at the lunch. I spoke about Rosemere Cancer Foundation – something very close to my heart, as my husband died of cancer 17 years ago. We need £842,000 to redevelop the Ribblesdale Cancer Ward so I spoke about that and was happy to raise awareness of the work we’re doing. Many of the ladies spoke to me afterwards. A lot of them were very moved by my story and had gone through similar experiences.”

Donna says: “The others speakers were really good and I enjoyed listening to them. It was an honour to speak at the event. I spoke about my role as treasurer of HomeStart Central Lancashire. I was able to tell everyone about some of the ongoing projects I’m part of, such as the People in Crisis initiative in partnership with Citizens Advice Lancashire. I’m so proud of what we do, because people come to us at times of desperate need – whether it’s homelessness, debt problems, benefits, Universal Credit, divorce, employment issues. All the women were really supportive and I am glad I inspired them.” Kate says: “It was just amazing to get all those women together in one place. It was a wonderful occasion where everyone was interested in and supportive of each other.”