A COMMUNITY group which gave Kirkby women the chance to socialise and raise cash for charity has folded because of lack of support.
The Kirkby Townswomen’s Guild was once a thriving organisation, but over the years the numbers had dwindled and it finally closed because there was no-one to take over the officers’ roles.
Member and former chairman Joan Mattley said: “Of course, the older ones have gone and younger people don’t seem to want to do what we do.
“Most of them go to WI (Women’s Institute) - they do a lot more than we used to do.”
She also said that no-one wanted to take on the roles of chairman and vice-chairman
The guild, which met at Community CentrePoint in Kirkby and held its final meeting at the beginning of the month, was set up in 1965 and it’s thought that many of the original members were shopkeepers from the town.
In the 1970s the group attracted more than 80 members but these numbers have steadily declined.
“When I was chairman we had got 86 members. It’s gone down until the other week we’d only got 11. They just don’t want it.”
Over the years, the guild, which was part of a national network, has organised a host of activities which were regularly reported in Chad’s Community News pages.
Each year members supported charities in the area such as King’s Mill Hospital and the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance, and they raised funds through coffee mornings and other events.
They also welcomed a host of guest speakers.
“We did all sorts of things,” Joan says.
“We did arts and crafts, knitting - whatever people wanted to do we did.
“We did fashion shows bazaars and Christmas stalls.”
Now members of the guild are looking forward to a farewell dinner at the Hostess restaurant in Sookholme on 7th March.
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