Social and Fundraising

Open Gardens. One of our members opened her garden as part of the village open gardens event.  Hundreds of people visited the garden and we raised funds by selling homemade preserves, cards and plants.

Open Evening. This was a chance for people to come along and learn all about Soroptimisim and whether it might be for them. This included members’ partners who were interested in knowing what their wives/girlfriends got up to.

Ploughmans Supper. This was hosted by a member in her home to raise money for the Region Project: Cameroons.

Quiz Night. This was held in a local village hall. The money was donated to the international project: Project Sierra (http://sigbi.org/our-charities/project-sierra-quadrennial-project-2007-2011/)supported by Soroptimists all over the world.

World Water Day Tea Party. This was a fund raiser for Water Aid with the proceeds going direct to this charity. The party was held at a member’s house and was open to friends and relatives. To mark Soroptimist International of Great Britain & Irelands 75th year, the President launched a £75.00 for 75 years Appeal. Every club in the Federation was challenged to raise a mininum of £75.00 to fund Water and Sanitation Projects in Bangladesh.

National War Memorial Aboreutum. This was a very moving and enjoyable day out. The weather was fantastic and it gave members a chance to chat and socialize. 

Tolthorpe Hall. This was another social visit to an outdoor theatre to see Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Ragdale Hall Spa. This was to raise funds for the British Red Cross. It included a Clarins Beauty Demonstration and a tour of the premises. Members had the opportunity to purchase some beauty products at a discount and all left with a goodies bag!

Swaminarayan Hindu Temple Visit -The President attended this local woman’s group as part of International Women’s Day to learn more about them and to give a talk on what Soroptimism is about. The women at the temple spoke about people who had influenced their lives including Mother Theresa and Indira Ghandi. We were entertained with singing and dancing and ended with a supper of Asian food. Their involvement with charities reflects our work and ideals and we hope to invite them to join us at one of our meetings.

Members meet local MP

Houses of Parliament and St Pancras Hotel. A coachload of members, family and friends travelled to Westminster for a tour around Parliament and a meeting with the local MP in her office. Afterwards several members visited the newly furbished St Pancras Hotel, were shown around the luxurious facilites and treated to tea on St Pancras Station.

Speakers

 3M Healthcare. A representative of the company 3M came and gave us a very interesting and informative talk on the company and the products it produces. A generous raffle prize was donated by the company containing a variety of goods manufactered by 3M.

Beijing ParaOlympics. This was a very interesting talk on the planning and organization of the ParaOlympics. It was illustrated well by the use of slides. The speaker himself was wheelchair bound and was able to give a unique insight into the common difficulties encoutered by athletes and also how important it is to have events of this kind.

Fitness is Fun. One of our members was put through her paces by the personal trainer. A lot of useful tips were gained to try and alay existing problems and prevent others from occuring.

Beads for Sale.

Bead Project. We were given a fascinating presentation on how, whilst teaching in Uganda, our speaker had become involved in a jewellery making project. The Acholi people had been taught how to make jewellery from rolled up paper by an Icelandic woman.

Alison explained that by setting the whole enterprise on a more efficient business footing, the workers could spend more time out of the stone quarries and earn money on a regular basis in a cleaner and healthier environment.

Asylum Aid.The Policy and Research Manager for Asylum Aid came to speak to us about a)how women seeking aid can get protection from human rights abuses, and b)the notable absence of specific references to women asylum seekers in the Charter of Rights. The London based organization works closely with British Red Cross and Refugee Action and were foremost in campaigning and lobbying to make a change in policies dealing with women seeking asylum.

International Literacy Day. The club made a donation of over £50 to Book Aid for purchasing sets of class books for school children in sub Saharan Africa. The money was raised primarily through the reading diaries members had kept and from the sale of donated books at the Clubs’s Literacy Evening.