Lancashire Federation of Women's Institutes
LFWI Offices, Croston House, Lancashire Business Park, Centurion Way, Leyland, PR26 6TU
Your membership support team (wi advisers)
In brief, and according to MyWI, advisers:
- form new WIs and help grow existing groups
- promote the WI at outside events
- visit other WIs and attend meetings
- plan and run training sessions - such as public speaking, training treasurers and helping secretaries and presidents in their role
- support struggling WIs and suspend WIs when necessary
- keep the Federation informed of WI activities and opinions
We would also like you to know!
- Just like you, your WI Adviser is a WI member who is passionate about every member getting the best she can from her WI experience
- Advisers have been trained by NFWI and work under the authority and guidance of the Federation Board of Trustees
- Advisers are volunteers
- Advisers aim to support, encourage, assist ,advise, share ideas and try to help you find the answers to queries and problems
- Advisers are only a phone call or an email away
MEET THE MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT TEAM!
Ruth Grimley
I have been a WI Adviser since 2015. I so enjoyed visiting WIs to give my report after an NFWI Annual meeting that I wanted to do more with the Federation.
I live in the Preston area but have WIs all over Lancashire. I really enjoy meeting the challenges of WI and supporting those who are having difficulties. It's also great to be involved in celebrations and the good things that WI offers.
In my spare time I enjoy gardening - well pulling up weeds and cutting back brambles in a garden restoration I am involved in!
Rhiannon Cannon
I live with my husband Ian and three elderly cats in the beautiful village of Rufford in West Lancashire.
I am a member of Rufford WI where I was President for five years and I am a dual member of Ainsdale WI near Southport. I have made many friends in both institutes.
Ian and I are both retired from Rolls-Royce where we held roles in Marketing and sales. Our time is now spent trying to get our garden into order, travelling and we both love to cook.
I have been an LFWI Adviser for six years and really enjoy the role. Being an Adviser has brought me into contact with so many inspirational members across the Federation not least my fellow Advisers.
Sheila Mitchell - currently on sabbatical
I was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire in 1951. After leaving school I joined HMRC and spent 36 years working as a tax fraud investigator in various locations in Yorkshire and Durham before taking early retirement in 2009.
Following retirement, I relocated from the North East to Lancashire. Not knowing anyone, I did the obvious thing and joined the WI in 2011. The ladies of Tunstall WI made me very welcome and before I knew it, I was on the committee and then secretary and later president.
Through the WI I have found new skills and interests as well as making many new friends whose support I have valued tremendously. The WI has given me so much and by becoming an adviser I feel I am able to give something back.
I live in Melling near Kirkby Lonsdale with my husband John.
Judith Pugh
I have been a member of Edgworth WI for nearly 37 years and was appointed as a WI Adviser in May 2012.
I don't bake or make jam! But I do enjoy knitting, cross stitching and walking. I have completed several long-distance trails.
I joined the Board of Trustees in 2018, being part of that team until April 2023.
I am also an IFE (Independent Financial Examiner) and an IFE Trainer.
Jackie Hobson
I moved to Preston in the early 80s moving onto a new housing estate with two young sons and husband, obviously knowing no one. The week I moved in a lady visited to welcome me to the area and asked me if I knew there was a local WI. I had not a clue what the WI was, but she sold it to me saying it was a fantastic way of meeting people – she wasn’t wrong.
I joined Ingol WI where I am still a member 40 years later. During my membership I have been Secretary, Press Secretary, President and currently Treasurer.
25 years ago, I was approached by the then Federation Chairman who persuaded me to train as a VCO, as advisers were then. This is a job I love. I love meeting other members and helping them with any problems, but the pinnacle has to be forming new WIs.
2004 until 2008 saw me nominated as Lancashire Federation Chairman – what a privilege for a working member. I carried on being a Board of Trustee member on and off throughout the following years and acting as Chairman to the Membership Team.
From 2017 to April 2023 I was Federation Chairman again – a role which I felt so humble to carry out, being able to visit many WIs and meet so many inspiring women.
Jane Jackson
I have been a member of Norden WI since February 2014 and am now also a dual member of Cherestanc WI.
I have been both a WI President and Secretary.
I am involved at Federation level as a member of the Leisure Activities Team and also an IFE.
I trained as a WI Adviser in February 2021 which I enjoyed tremendously and which gave me even greater insight into how amazing the WI is.
I feel proud to be a member of such a fabulous organisation for women.
Anne Neal
I was born and grew up in Farnworth near Bolton.
My Hobbies include crafting, genealogy and photography.
Employment throughout my life has been varied with most being office based.
Being a qualified counsellor has enabled me to work as a volunteer for various charities in the past.
I only joined the WI 7 years ago while living on Anglesey where the birth of the WI started in the UK. Up until that time I always thought the WI was just ‘jam and Jerusalem’. I was proved wrong.
I now live in Darwen and am a member of Hoddlesden WI
Helen Aldcroft
Brought up in the Kent, University in Manchester brought me back to my Northern family roots.
I worked as a Primary School Teacher and Deputy Head for 23 years - a job I loved and felt very passionate about. However, I was extremely fortunate to be able to have a 'life change' back in 2013 and began to explore other interests and challenges.
I live about as far east in Lancashire as you can get, and I have been a member of Milnrow and District WI since its formation in 2016. I have been President since 2019. Being a member of the WI has brought so many wonderful things - laughter, friendships, new skills and so many experiences. I am known as the Jam Queen!
I have recently (July 2022) completed the 7 month training course to become a WI Adviser and am very much looking forward to getting to know many of the Lancashire WIs better and being of support to them.
Keen to know more about the history of tHE WI?
Suggested reading list:
A Force to be Reckoned With – Jane Robinson
Bows of Burning Gold – Helen Carey
Jam and Jerusalem – Simon Goodenough
The WI A Century In The Making – Mavis Curtis
Ever considered training to be a w.I. adviser?
Helen Aldcroft's experience - 2022
Federations are always looking out for women who are enthusiastic about ensuring that all members can access a full and rewarding WI experience and who can offer some extra time to supporting this. That was me, 12 months ago when, having seen an advert on the NFWI Facebook page, I sent Heather Williams a message asking her “so, what’s the ‘craic’ with this WI Adviser malarkey?”
Very soon I found myself welcomed to attend Membership Support team meetings at Croston House as an observer and encouraged to get involved in Federation activities. Getting to know more about the role and getting to know the other advisers was hugely important before committing myself to a 7 month course. Equally, it was right that the team and LF board of Trustees felt that I was a worthwhile investment! Adviser training is funded jointly by your own Federation and by National.
My application went in before Christmas 2021 and training started with a Zoom introductory webinar in January. On that first zoom call I met the other 16 trainees in my cohort and our 2 tutors from the National Training Team. The training leads to a recognised level 3 Leadership qualification and has been a blended learning programme of Zoom webinars, residentials and lots of assignments! The course covers 4 modules: Communication Skills; Understanding the WI; Money Matters and WI Activities. At the same time, I have also tried to gain as much other experience as possible through LF Adviser led activities.
It has been great! What have I gained? So much - a feeling of reward and achievement; new learning and understanding; new challenges and skills; new opportunities; the chance to help and support others; and even better, 16 new friends who came with me on the journey from Federations stretching from Kent to the Isle of Mann and Tyne and Wear. And come September, after our cohort’s success has officially been ratified by National Board of Trustees, I will get a certificate and a shiny new badge!
I am truly looking forward to meeting, getting to know and supporting more of our wonderful WIs and their members.
If anyone is considering this role, I am always happy to chat about my experiences!
(with kind permission from all, the photo shows my cohort of trainees at the end of our second residential weekend with our two national trainers, Tracy Baker and Sharon Anthony)