An example of the work of the project that can be see along the waterfront in Ipswich

Members of Soroptimist International were also part of the opening of the project, held on the Waterfront in July.

In conjunction with Ipswich Hospital the club has been raising awareness of the importance of earlier detection of cancer with the Be Clear on Cancer campaign.

Throught 2011 Soroptimist International – Ipswich and District have been working with a range of schools in the area.

If you know of any schools that could benefit from any of projects or involvements, please get in touch.

We will be discussing plans for our Silent Auction being held on the 2nd November at Belstead Brook Hotel, to raise funds to sponsor Zoe Newson. Zoe is a local athlete who currently holds the Commonwealth Gold medal for powerlifting and is tipped for a medal at the 2012 paralympics.

During part of our meeting we will also be discussing the book “Three Cups of Tea”.

If you are interested in coming along to find out more, please contact us via the website.

Ipswich and District was proud to celebrate its 59^th year as a club with a meal at the Ipswich and Suffolk Club in May.

 A supper was held to mark the occassion and attended by many members and visitors.

In March, similar to previous years, we were invited to help mark International Women’s Day at Suffolk County Council, Endeavour House, Ipswich. The Club had a stand at the event and some members were able to attend talks.

The day included a welcome and introduction by

Andrea Hill – Chief Executive of Suffolk County Council as well as aspirational talks from:

§         Raegan Delaney – Headteacher, Nayland Primary School
§         Assis Carreiro – Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Dance East
§         Bridget Taylor – Chief Executive, Customer Service Direct
§         Sue Lowndes – Head of Fostering and Adoption, Suffolk County Council
§         Hilda Turner – Chairperson, ACE.

We were delighted to meet so many interesting men and women on the day and also to raise our profile as a vibrant and active club in the region.

February also brought with it the return of an evening of entertainment and cerebral challenge in the form of a women’s themed quiz night at the Ipswich and Suffolk Club, Northgate Street. The quiz raised nearly £800 towards our quadrennial project – Project Sierra and was attended by 60 women from a variety of businesses and professions. In fact, the event proved so successful, we have been asked when we will be running an event of its kind again ….. Watch this space! 

We have strong and long established friendship links with other clubs around the world:

Arras, France.  Members have visited Arras on many occassions and in February 2011 a significant number of Arras members joined Ipswich and District Soroptimists for the weekend in Ipswich, enjoying a range cultural events and entertainment.

Naestved, Denmark.  In October 2008, eight members visited Naestved to celebrate their 50^th Anniversary of their Club. Ipswich Club donated 1000 krona towards their ongoing projects.  A wonderful time was had by all members and the hospitality received was overwhelming. We look forward to returning the warm welcome to the Naestved club when they next visit.  

Detmold, Germany.

To celebrate our 60th Anniversary as a club we are sponsoring an outstanding local Paralympic athlete by the name of Zoe Newson.

Zoe Newson

Zoe is 19 years old and already a world champion powerlifter. Join us at the

Belstead Brook Manor Hotel in Ipswich at 7pm – 9pm for cocktails and canapes and a whole host of auction prizes. It promises to be a special evening dusted with a good helping of inspiration!

Suffragettes’ 1911 census boycott celebrated in Ipswich with members of the Ipswich and District Soroptimist International

Members wearing Suffragette colours

A celebration of the centenary of a suffragette boycott of the census was held 10th April 2010 in Ipswich.

100 years ago around 30 votes-for-women campaigners spent the night of 2 April 1911 in an office at the Old Museum Rooms to avoid filling in the forms.

Their slogan was “If I am intelligent enough to fill in this form, I can surely put an X on a ballot paper”.

It is believed some of the protesters’ husbands guarded the door while the women had supper, sang protest songs and talked about the movement until dawn.

A night marking the protest was held at Arlington’s in the same building in Museum Street, which is now a restaurant. Soroptimist International were invited to join and enjoyed a splendid evening.

Silent Auction:

Make a date in your diary for 2nd November 2011. We are holding a fantastic silent auction to raise funds in order to sponsor one of our local paralympians by the name of Zoe Newson. If you would like to know more or book tickets, please contact us.

Zoe Newson at the Dubai World Championships 2011