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Pantoland – Oh Yes It Is!

Pantoland – Oh Yes It Is!

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Members and their friends were not to be deterred by a COVID restricted Christmas meeting in 2020 but instead they celebrated with two quizzes and the panto Aladdin! Past Club President, Catherine Beal,  organized the panto with willing volunteers taking on roles with enthusiasm (well mostly) and the rest ‘booing’ with appropriate timing as is always the case in pantoland! A hamper produced by member, Jane Hume, was raffled raising £245 towards Soroptimist International President, Sharon Fisher’s Appeal, ‘Road to Equality’. The meeting was closed with a rendition of ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’. SI BOURNEMOUTH MEMBERS WISH ALL THEIR FRIENDS, PARTNERS AND THE WIDER COMMUNITY A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HEALTHY, HAPPY 2021.    

Nathalie Sherring is Programme Action Officer at SI Bournemouth club
Grabbing Exciting Opportunities as a Soroptimist Volunteer

Grabbing Exciting Opportunities as a Soroptimist Volunteer

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Bournemouth Soroptimist, Nathalie Sherring, is the Chief Officer of a local charity called Dorset Race Equality Council. She loves her volunteering role within soroptimists and explains her most recent role here……………. “I joined in 2016 and have had various roles within the club. This year, I have volunteered to be the Programme Action Group Officer for the club and to co-ordinate all the projects that the club do. Our main project headings are International projects, Violence Against Women, Planet/Environment. Within those main groups, there are several projects that the club members undertake. We also have a very strong Lobbying, Advocacy and Research co-ordinator who is very active: currently we are lobbying for the Istanbul Convention to be ratified by the UK and for the Domestic Abuse Bill to become a law.

Trustees Bobbie & Jean
Cultural Dress and Cementing Futures

Cultural Dress and Cementing Futures

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Trustees Bobbie & Jean inform members about the work of Cementing Futures  Trustees of the club charity, Cementing Futures, updated members and visitors on its work at their recent meeting. Not only that, Bobbie and Jean dressed accordingly for the occasion impressing members and visitors including the Mayor of Bournemouth, Cllr Susan Phillips! Cementing Futures, provides nursery and primary education in Bangladesh by securing premises, trained teachers and equipment along with a daily nutritional snack for the children.

Toilet Twinning Triumph
Mayor of Bournemouth Receives Toilet Twinning Status on Behalf of the Town

Mayor of Bournemouth Receives Toilet Twinning Status on Behalf of the Town

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  Cllr Susan Phillips, Mayor of Bournemouth, proudly received Toilet Twinned status on behalf of the town at the club’s February meeting. Soroptimist International of Bournemouth began to raise funds for the Toilet Twinning charity to celebrate the club’s 80th anniversary in 2018. Since then, they have twinned more than 90 toilets in eleven countries across Africa and Asia, and have encouraged many others to twin too. Bournemouth town now joins an elite group of 35 other UK towns and cities to receive the award. Teaming up with Toilet Twinning to mark the anniversary was an obvious project because a common approach is shared to eradicate poverty and all Soroptimist International’s work is linked to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and both share a mission to work at a local, national and international level to educate, empower and create opportunities for women and girls. Toilet

True Story True Honour

True Story True Honour

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True Story, True HonourIn recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, SI Bournemouth #orangedtheworld and partnered Bournemouth University and Dorset Police to host an ‘Honour Based Violence’ presentation by Sarbjit Kaur Athwal and Dr Clive Driscoll from the charity, True Honour. The True Honour charity campaigns to raise awareness of honour based violence, forced marriage and Female Genital Mutilation. Sarbjit’s sister-In-law was the victim of an honour based killing and she gave a very personal testimony at the event which was heartbreaking. She strived for years to convince police and social services that her sister -in-law had been taken to India and murdered. Eventually Dr Clive Driscoll who at the time was a DCI with the Metropolitan Police took up her case and obtained the first conviction for an honour based murder. Sarbjit tells the story in her book –

A Milestone Birthday

A Milestone Birthday

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Long standing member of Bournemouth Soroptimists, Pam Baker, had a surprise at the recent club meeting when members gave her a birthday cake to celebrate reaching 90 years of age! Pam had already been spoilt by family and friends who took her for a birthday lunch and a theatre visit to see Madame Butterfly, her first theatre outing since recovering from a long term illness.  Pam thanked members for the lovely flowers which were sent to her too.

Fun and Laughter at the SIGBI Conference in Bournemouth 2019

Fun and Laughter at the SIGBI Conference in Bournemouth 2019

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Bournemouth Soroptimists were out in force at the recent federation conference held locally at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC). Understandably it was ‘all hands on deck’ to support the Executive Board of Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) at this annual extravaganza when women from 29 countries met and celebrated all things mental health which they had been promoting since they last met in Liverpool in 2018. The strapline #thinkonit was used throughout the year as requested by outgoing President Sue Williams. Many inspiring speakers motivated delegates to continue their work on mental health issues which focus on educating, empowering and enabling women and girls to face challenges in their lives. This is a theme which soroptimists adhere to in all their work whether it is in the realms of Economic Empowerment, Education, Environmental Sustainability, Food Security and Healthcare or Violence and Conflict

Very Strong Leaves Supporting The Flower – The Water Lily Project

Very Strong Leaves Supporting The Flower – The Water Lily Project

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  SI Bournemouth members welcomed Liz Carter, Project Manager at the Water Lily Project to their September meeting.  The Project provides support and empower vulnerable women in Christchurch and surrounding areas and help them back to independent living, a service which soroptimists are enthusiastic about locally, nationally and internationally. It predominantly supports vulnerable women in crisis. This may be a temporary crisis such as an acrimonious divorce, bereavement, illness etc or it could be something more long term such as mental health issues, self-harming, domestic violence and abuse, addiction or financial difficulties. The aims for all of the beneficiaries is to: provide a friendly and loving environment where women feel safe and protected give women the freedom to be themselves give women space to heal and grow give FREE support in a non-judgmental surrounding On a secondary level the project supports the local community at a cafe which they