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Remarkable women – Petticoats of Power

Remarkable women – Petticoats of Power

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Members of Bridgend Soroptimists have continued to meet throughout the pandemic, albeit virtually. At the end of June, we were delighted to welcome Heddwen Cadwallader as our guest speaker. Heddwen is no stranger to Soroptimists – as the daughter of one of our members, Cherry, she has fond memories of, as a youngster, serving coffee at committee meetings when Cherry was Club President. Heddwen is now National Trust Collections and House Manager (Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion portfolio) based a Llanerchaeron in West Wales. Together with colleagues, she developed an exhibition called “Petticoats of Power” – a celebration of the women who have shaped the Llanerchaeron estate over the years. As she explained, “For generations, women played a critical part in the social and cultural life of Wales’ landed estates. Through their familial roles and networks, and as landowners in their own right, heiresses, cultural patrons, domestic

Staying Connected – A Welcome Afternoon Tea

Staying Connected – A Welcome Afternoon Tea

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It has been a long 16 months since Bridgend Soroptimists hosted a ReEngage afternoon tea, but at last, we were able to welcome our lovely ladies. It was a wonderful afternoon catching up with the ladies we’ve hosted teas for over many years. All live alone and they were happy to come along and see familiar faces and chat and share experiences. Thank you to our hostess Joyce – such a beautiful garden. Thanks also to our club members who picked up, drove, baked cakes and made coffees. A great team effort. Staying connected. Well done SI Bridgend

Bridgend Soroptimists Celebrate Long Service Awards

Bridgend Soroptimists Celebrate Long Service Awards

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President Sharon was very pleased to present the following long service certificates to members of Soroptimist International Bridgend. 25 years                        Eileen Bayley 25 years                        Christine Phillips 30 years                        Jean Davies 30 years                        Helen Murdoch 35 years                        Joyce Chatterton 35 years                        Ann Hughes 35 years                        Lily Laesser 35 years                        Anne Morgan 35 years                        Frances Rees 35 years                        Jean Thomas 40 years                        Felicity Ladbroke 45 years                        Lynda Edwards 45 years                        Jean Roderick 45 years                        Shan Walsh 50 years                        Eurwen Richards President Sharon thanked all the ladies for the service they had given to the club – between the 15 ladies, they have accrued a phenomenal 545 years service to the community!. They all commented that they had been involved in many interesting projects, made wonderful friends and had lots of fun. They all agreed that they couldn’t believe where all the time had gone! Eurwen received a

A New President for Bridgend Soroptimists

A New President for Bridgend Soroptimists

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Bridgend Soroptimists held a virtual AGM last night and welcomed their new President, Gaynor Hoare. Outgoing president Sharon Dixon expressed her thanks to members for their support and efforts throughout her two years as President of the Club. She said that although it had been the most difficult of circumstances, Club members had pulled together and thrived over that time. Our last face-to-face meeting had been in March 2020 and by the beginning of April we were already dipping our toes in the electronic world and started meeting via Zoom. Sharon was delighted to say that the Club had met every two weeks since April 2020, with a range of speakers, discussion sessions and interactive meetings. We had shared fun and friendship with virtual morning coffee, afternoon tea and cakes, and the occasional gin! Several members had also joined in a Saturday morning Well-being session.

Working From Home Throughout The Pandemic

Working From Home Throughout The Pandemic

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Whilst all of our members have remained very active over the last year, for many the pandemic has meant adjusting to working from home. In April, President Sharon led a discussion in which members shared their experiences of working from home during a pandemic. Everyone agreed that the pandemic has had a major impact on the way in which we undertook our business roles and at the start of the lockdown in March 2020, there was a very sudden change from the usual face-to-face operation to a mix of telephone and online meetings. This brought with it a number of challenges, primarily around the technology – this included having to get to grips with new software and programmes very quickly and often manage multiple screens simultaneously. There was also the concern over having a reliable and adequate internet connection. On the whole, our members were

Sharing friendship at Easter

Sharing friendship at Easter

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Bridgend Soroptimists were delighted to welcome members of SI Uusikaupunki, their Finnish Friendship link club, to an Easter Bonnet Parade over Zoom. Bridgend President Sharon and 25 members from Bridgend welcomed 8 Finnish members – all adorned with impressive Easter bonnets. Uusikaupunki President Paula explained that SI Uusikaupunki was formed in 1955 and now has 15 members. The friendship link was initiated in the 1950s and has been particularly active in recent years with visits in both directions of members of both clubs. President Paula expressed how much their members had been looking forward to this meeting and hoped that this could become a twice a year event. The meeting opened with the reading of the Soroptimist International Vision and Mission – in English by Lynda Edwards, in Welsh by Eurwen Richards and in Finnish by Susanna Rosendahl. President Sharon lit the candle of friendship

Virtual Dog Show fundraising success

Virtual Dog Show fundraising success

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UPDATE: Our Virtual Dog Show is now closed. A huge thank-you to everyone who took part and supported us. With over 100 entries and many individual donations, we raised over £800 for local mental health and Sorotpimist charities. Here are the winners – all entrants can be viewed here. A key theme for Bridgend Soroptimists, even before the pandemic, was Mental Health Awareness and Wellbeing. Club President, Sharon Dixon, explains, “This is an area that has always interested me and I wanted us as a Club to understand more about it. When I say wellbeing, it’s not just the wellbeing of others, it’s also about self-care and looking after ourselves. We need to take care of ourselves so that we can help others.” During this pandemic, being mindful of our mental health and wellbeing has been more important than ever. “Walking has been a key part

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Celebrating International Women’s Day

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Today we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) and the achievements of women everywhere. It is also a day to raise awareness about women’s equality and to take stock of what still needs to be done to enable us to reach true gender equality. Soroptimists Stand Up For Women As Soroptimists We Stand Up For Women – we are a vibrant and dynamic organisation of almost 72,000 women across the world working together to transform the lives of women and girls. I joined the Chepstow Soroptimists just over 30 years ago having heard about some of the projects they were involved with. There were some quite formidable ladies there, but I was warmly welcomed to their meetings and encouraged to participate in local, national and international activities. I was particularly fascinated by the fact that Soroptimist International had (and still has) consultative status at the Economic