A Celebration of Strength and Inspiration : Our 4th International Women’s Day Event. #AccelerateAction #IWD2025
On Friday 7th March 2025 we marked our fourth annual International Women’s Day celebration, this year at the beautiful venue, Farington Lodge in Leyland. The day was a resounding success, filled with inspiring stories and heartfelt moments.
Returning as our MC, the ever-professional and entertaining Heather Wright ensured the day flowed seamlessly.
We were privileged to welcome a lineup of exceptional speakers, including two remarkable nurses from our headline sponsors, Spire Healthcare. Their insightful presentation highlighted the vital services they provide for breast cancer treatment and care. We are extremely thankful for the support from Spire in helping our day be a great success.
Our keynote speaker was best selling author Freya North who gave us a wonderful insight into the meticulous research she undertakes for her books as well as the process she follows before she deems a book suitable enough to go to her publisher. It was also interesting to hear how she came about becoming an author quite by accident rather than writing a thesis for a PhD. A testament to her popularity, most in attendance joined a lengthy queue to purchase a book or two (and more) which she patiently sat and signed every single one. One lucky raffle winner also received signed hard backed first edition copies of 2 of her books.
Champion boxer Lisa Whiteside shared her powerful story of resilience and
determination, proudly displaying her hard-earned medals and recounting the challenges she overcame during her rigorous training.
Pat Ascroft, an extraordinary woman in her 80s charmed us with her humorous and inspiring account of a 400 mile bike ride across a desert she had undertaken to raise money for Mencap.
The presentations concluded with a little comedy slot from an award winning comedian Dawn Bailey.
We extend our sincere gratitude to our other invaluable sponsors
Lancashire Dog Sitting Services
A special thanks to Dawn Roberts for overseeing the organisation of the event, and we must also mention her fabulous husband Dave for his generous contribution, including the Grand Prize Draw a £250 spa voucher which was won by Wendy Crowther.
The generosity of everyone who donated raffle prizes contributed to a fantastic total of £1,700 raised for The Suzy Orrsome Foundation.
With the success of this event still fresh in our minds, we’re already looking forward to next year’s celebration on Wednesday, March 4th, 2026. The venue is to be confirmed, so stay tuned!
