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Supporting a prestigious event for Women in Wales

Supporting a prestigious event for Women in Wales

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Congratulations to Felicity Ladbroke, a long-standing member of SI Bridgend, for her work on the organizing committee for the 27th Save the Children Women in Wales Annual Charity Luncheon. The prestigious event was held at the Sophia Gardens Cricket Stadium in Cardiff where over 400 guests had a wonderful afternoon with a champagne reception, a delicious 3-course lunch, fundraising activities and entertainment. The guest speaker was Kathryn Austin, People and Marketing Director of Pizza Hut UK. Recognised for her leadership in the hospitality and leisure industry, Kath lives in Cardigan where she mentors local women in business and encourages them with her attitude of give it a go! Chair of the event, Jayne James, said, “The Women in Wales lunch has become a firm fixture in the social calendar of so many women in business. The event’s success is down to a hardworking committee and

Fantastic Fashion Show

Fantastic Fashion Show

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Bridgend Soroptimists welcomed 100 guests to a Charity Fashion Show held at the Heronston Hotel in Bridgend. With something for everyone, from casual to formal, several Bridgend Soroptimists were models for the evening and treated the audience to a feast of elegance and sophistication. The fashion show, which was to raise funds for Ty Hafan Children’s Hospice in Wales and ChoraChori, a charity supporting vulnerable and trafficked girls in Nepal, was supported by Samantha B Ladies Fashions in Ewenny, Bridgend. As well as bringing along some fabulous fashions and compering the evening with great humour, Samantha generously offered a significant donation on clothes bought in the 2 weeks after the event. There was also entertainment during a short interlude from Rhiannon Skilton (the daughter of one of our members) who shared her beautiful voice with some popular operatic songs. to sing during interludes; raffle to

Soroptimist enjoy a Fairtrade Breakfast

Soroptimist enjoy a Fairtrade Breakfast

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Bridgend Soroptimist Rayner Rees hosted a breakfast at her home on 7th March to support Fairtrade Fortnight. Rayner explains, “I am a keen supporter of the Fairtrade Campaign and this was a great way to gather Soroptimists and friends together and spread the word. This year’s theme was She Deserves a Living Income and focuses on the chocolate farmers. Everything we have at the breakfast is Fairtrade which shows that we can be responsible about the food we eat and drink.”

Soroptimists celebrate serving others

Soroptimists celebrate serving others

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A fundamental part of being a Soroptimist is giving service to others. Bridgend President Helen Murdoch chose this as the theme for a Service of Thanksgiving held in the chapel at the Princess of Wales Hospital. The service was led by the Reverend Hilary Jardine, Acting Head of Spiritual Care at the hospital and a good friend of the Bridgend Soroptimist Club. President Helen opened the service by lighting our Soroptimist Candle – this was given to the Bridgend Club by their friendship link club SI Uusikaupunki in Finland and is lit at the start of all business and action meetings. This was followed by short prayers, readings and some very joyful hymns. President Elect Sharon closed the service with a reading entitled ‘Serving Others’ which reminds us that we are making a difference, even if sometimes we don’t think we are! Members returned to

Books to Papua New Guinea

Books to Papua New Guinea

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Following a request from Chris Knight, a member of our Friendship Link club, Soroptimist International of Moreton North in Queensland, Australia, Bridgend members have agreed to provide books for a new school in Papua New Guinea. This project aims to put books on the shelves of a school for 6 to 16 years olds. Bridgend member Carys Brown explains, “We selected several books that we felt would be of interest to children in Papua New Guinea and that also reflected the importance of women in society. We also included a book about Wales, with lovely pictures and simple descriptions.

Christmas Presents add Christmas cheer

Christmas Presents add Christmas cheer

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It isn’t an easy time if you aren’t at home for Christmas and that is certainly true for the children who find themselves in the Women’s Refuge at this time of year. To help ease things for them, Bridgend Soroptimist members bought and wrapped small gifts for the eleven children aged between one and 14. On behalf of Bridgend Soroptimists Past President Sue Davies was delighted to present Katie Davies, regional manager of CALAN DVS, with the gifts and a selection of goodies for distribution to residents at the Bridgend Refuge. Katie thanked the club for their donation and said such generosity means so much to the women and children who have fled domestic violence, as they will be able to celebrate the season and have some fun. She emphasised that being in an unfamiliar place with strangers is incredibly stressful for children and CALAN

Supporting ChoraChori

Supporting ChoraChori

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Following the excitement of having won the next Federation Project with Empowering Girls in Nepal, SI Bridgend is keen to continue supporting ChoraChori before the SIGBI project is officially launched in October 2019. Several members had unwanted jewellery and handbags and decided to have a stall selling these items at the SI Wales South Regional meeting in December. We were delighted to raise over £150. Club President Helen Murdoch said, “Together with a further £500 from the Club’s Charity account, we were able to make a significant donation – this was made even more significant as the sum was doubled through the Christmas Big Give Appeal. This will certainly go a long way to helping ChoraChori in their work with vulnerable and trafficked girls in Nepal.”