Kirkintilloch Soroptimists Seek Restoration of Beatrice Clugston Memorial

That the Parliament congratulates the Soroptimists of Kirkintilloch and District; notes that 2021 is the centenary year of their international movement; delights in members' sustained commitment and dedication to advocacy and fundraising, with a focus on transforming the lives of women and girls through education, empowerment and enabling opportunities; supports the call by members of the Kirkintilloch and District club to recognise the lifetime achievements and outstanding fundraising skills of Beatrice Clugston through the restoration of her memorial gravestone in the Auld Aisle Cemetery, Kirkintilloch; understands that Miss Clugston was a compassionate, well-connected philanthropist; recognises that she founded the Glasgow Dorcas Society in the 1860s to provide pastoral and practical support to needy hospital patients and their families, while she cared for poor people, people encountering alcoholism and people finding themselves trapped in prostitution; welcomes that she later established the Glasgow Convalescent Home in Lenzie in 1873 and Broomhill House for Incurables in Kirkintilloch in 1876; recognises the importance and relevance of these early-stage developments in convalescent support and hospice care for people who did not have the means to pay; expresses concern that Miss Clugston's memorial gravestone has fallen into disrepair in recent years, and applauds the efforts of the Kirkintilloch Soroptimists and others to promote discussion around its restoration.