Membership Matters
from Devon’s WI Advisers No 7, 15 Jan 2021 to all its members
Happy New Year!
Let’s hope that with the rolling out of the vaccine we can look forward to returning to more familiar times when we can meet up with friends and family again.
No 3
In the meantime, we totally understand the frustration and despair of WIs facing several more months of not being able to hold regular meetings and of those members without internet access. In these long days of lockdown it is important to keep in touch and to stay connected in any way possible; a phone call or even a postcard can mean so much.
Better days are ahead, stay positive and we will get through this!
Due to technical difficulties and theatrical gremlins at play, it is with great sadness that we have had to bring the curtain down on the Adviser’s pantomime, ‘Cinderella’, which was planned to be shown on YouTube. We do hope you won’t be too disappointed, we are so sorry. Oh yes, we are – really, really, sorry! Maybe next year.
On a more positive note, Jane Jury, has embarked on her formal Adviser Training. Good luck, Jane.
Evelyn Watson, Chairman Membership Support
Let’s
The current lockdown certainly presents challenges to us all, not least the sense of isolation and loneliness arising from the lack of regular social contact. If there’s a bright side it’s that we may have more time and inclination to get to grips with the technology that enables us to remain connected to our family and friends and, of course, to our WIs. Zoom in particular is fast becoming a popular means to keep in touch, albeit virtually rather than in person. Meetings can simply take the form of an informal coffee and a chat, or a craft demonstration, or a more structured meeting with a speaker. We know that many Devon WIs are already leading the way by offering Zoom meetings to their members, and we hope that those WIs may be happy to extend the invitation to members of other WIs who have not yet been fully able to embrace the
technology. If so, do please email roz.matterface@devonwi.org.uk if you are intending to host a suitable Zoom event and she will post it on the Devon Facebook page and spread the word. We fully appreciate the time, effort and energy that goes into planning and organising these meetings, and feel it would be great to share them with a wider audience if at all possible.
We also appreciate that not everyone will be able, or willing, to join in virtual meetings, so do please let us know of any other ways that you have been able to stay connected despite the challenges of the past year. We welcome your suggestions and stories which we are sure would serve as a source of inspiration for us all.
Using for the first time
In encouraging you to use Zoom we do realise that it is not necessarily that simple if you have no one on hand to help you into the unknown. (The writer may not yet have ventured that far herself had there been no one to help her.)
Please finish reading this article and be positive that you can do this: it’s not rocket science and your laptop or tablet cannot be broken or self-destruct! Help is at hand.
Thanks to WI Buckinghamshire, we have a library of excellent tutorials at our fingertips. These are available both as written documents to download and YouTube videos. Here is the link: https://www.bucksfwi.org.uk/library.html
Exeter Library also has videos available: Zoom for beginners laptop/PC: https://fb.watch/2Uglp1GI5c/ and Zoom for beginners iPad: https://fb.watch/2Ugkd4irTE/
Is there a Zoom user amongst our members who would be willing to offer support to others? If so, you would be welcomed with open arms. Please email wiadvisers@devonwi.org.uk for a chat. Thank you.
Adviser Zoom sessions with WI officers
Your Adviser will be contacting WI officers soon offering Zoom get-togethers with others in your Group. We’ll hope to answer your questions but please submit them when you book your place. There will be time to ‘socialise’ with a good opportunity to share what works well for your WI at this difficult time.
A free Zoom event hosted by Sister Axe WI
Heather Penwarden’s talk on being a Dementia Friend
WEDNESDAY 3rd FEBRUARY 2021 at 2pm
To receive the Zoom link, please email
jenny.roberts@devonwi.org.uk
Don’t forget that your Adviser has a Devon WI Zoom license that allows meeting duration beyond 40-minutes.
If your WI would like to make use of this, please approach your Adviser, or email wiadvisers@devonwi.org.uk, and we will sort something out for you.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE FROM THE GOVERNMENT: NATIONAL LOCKDOWN—STAY AT HOME
Check the government’s website with this link to find out all you need to know. Please keep checking this link for the latest update: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you -can-and-cant-do
IF YOU HAVE THE NHS COVID-19 APP on your mobile phone, you will find information specific to your own postcode area. This app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. It’s FREE, of course.
Pro-rata subscription rate eligibility
NFWI are delighted to announce a change to the pro-rata subscription rate ineligibility. IT HAS BEEN REDUCED from 10 years TO ONE YEAR.
The aim is to maintain the function of having an ineligibility period for former members so that WIs are not disrupted by individuals switching their membership on and off, while bringing in the most welcome and encouraging approach possible for
former WI members who wish to re-join. This will also support WIs wishing to reach out to their former members and invite them back – helping to retain as many members as possible.
This will come into action from 1st April 2021 so it can be active and applied throughout the next pro-rata year.
NB: this only applies from April 2021 going forward (no retrospective refunds or arrangements can be made for former members who re-joined before this date).
Try the WI
Has your WI used this National Federation leaflet with positive results? It’s available to download from My WI:
https://mywi.thewi.org.uk/running-your-wi/members-resources/leaflet-try-the-wi
There’s been a rush of interest in the WI via the NFWI website. If your WI has received such an enquiry and you feel you have little to offer at this time, please contact your Adviser, or email wiadvisers@devonwi.org.uk if you do not have her direct contact information. We wouldn’t want to turn away anyone who is keen to know more about the organisation.
There is also a WI Invitation to download on My WI: https://mywi.thewi.org.uk/running-your-wi/members-resources/wi-invitation Although we are not able to hold face-to-face meetings yet, there’s no reason why this invitation can’t be sent now to anyone interested, in readiness for when we can.
Did you know . . .
That WIs may make block bookings on Denman courses? And if your WI has the funds and the members agree, your WI could pay everyone’s course fee. After all, it’s educational and that’s what the WI’s charity status is based on. It must be offered to all members, of course, and it must be a democratic decision by the members to spend the funds, NOT JUST THE COMMITTEE’s decision.
A plea for the accuracy of email addresses
MCS reps, will you please make sure your WI officers’ email addresses are correct. This is the single most time-efficient way the federation is able to keep in touch with them and picking up accurate information on the MCS is vital.
Also, will all members with an email address please check their Spam folder regularly as we are hearing from some members that our emails are not arriving. This means that either the email address is incorrectly recorded somewhere, or emails are being delivered to Spam.
The ability to communicate online is so relevant these days and, with the WI national database at our fingertips, we need to know that its content is up-to- date and accurate. Your help and co-operation is so very important. Thank you.
Useful online links—there’s so much going on!
Denman at Home: Online Zoom courses for WI members and the public. https://www.denman.org.uk/whats-on/
WI Wanderers: A private Facebook Group with 6,000 members. Easy to join. Gives daily links to online events. https://www.facebook.com/groups/wiwanderers
Speakers and Demonstrators – Unofficial Women’s Institute: A public Facebook Group for members to share ideas for meetings and activities. Regularly updates an extensive Zoom Speaker List. https://www.facebook.com/Speakersanddemonstratorsuwi/
WI Social Media Admins: A private Facebook Group with over 500 members. Easy to join, whether or not you are an admin. https://www.facebook.com/groups/564462267662474
The resumption of meetings
A beacon of light is beckoning ahead with the rollout of the Covid immunisations. Some members have already received theirs and the Government has promised that all of the most vulnerable groups will be vaccinated in the near future. We are looking forward to the WIs across Devon re-opening in the spring/early summer, as soon as the Government gives the go ahead. This could be a good time for Officers and members to start planning programmes, finalising accounts, organising tea rotas, etc., and preparing for the resumption of meetings.
Annual Meetings and IFEs
How we will be able to conduct our Annual Meetings this year is uncertain at the moment; however, this uncertainty in no way affects the preparation and examination of the year-end financial documents as well as the WI Annual Report. If your WI has requested an Independent Financial Examiner (IFE), please be assured that you will soon hear who that person will be.
And on that note, the federation is in need of more IFEs. If you are a treasurer, past or present, and are willing to learn more of what’s involved, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please email m.hunter@devonwi.org.uk to arrange a chat.
DEVON’S WI ADVISERS WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR
Angie Cynthia Evelyn Jenny Maureen Pat Sarah Sylvia Jane Jury Bache Somerfield Watson Roberts Hunter Kirby Shorthouse West trainee
Membership Matters is a newsletter produced by WI Advisers of the Membership Support Committee
Devon Federation of Women’s Institutes, The Firs, Blackhorse, Exeter, EX5 2FT : 01392 255386 : wiadvisers@devonwi.org.uk
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