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Supporting the Community and Raising Money

Supporting the Community and Raising Money

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Once again members of Bridgend Soroptimists supported St David’s Church Fete in Laleston with a bric-a-brac stall. Although the weather was not the best, the stall raised £115 – all of which will go towards projects and charities supported by the Club. In addition, the remaining items were donated to the British Heart Foundation, making it a win-win for everyone. Many thanks to Carys, Sandra, Inez, Christine and Sue B who all helped on the day, and also to all those members who donated items for the stall.

Soroptimists Spreading the Word

Soroptimists Spreading the Word

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SI Bridgend was invited to put up a display in Cowbridge Library for the month of June to spread the word about Soroptimist International. This was an excellent opportunity to publicise Soroptimist International as well as highlight the many local, national and international service projects that the Bridgend members are involved in. Under the headings of ‘Educate, Empower, Enable’ a number of projects were highlighted including the Literacy Project with Barnardo’s at Parc Prison, our International Women’s Day walk, our Toilet Twinning activity – and sponsorship of a toilet block in Pakistan – the Knitting project for Mothers for Africa, our regular Teas for the Elderly and sponsorship of young girls’ education in Cape Verde. Fun and friendship was also conveyed with photos of members celebrating our 70th anniversary as a Club, visiting the annual SIGBI conference in Cardiff last October and our Christmas Tree

100 years of Votes for Women

100 years of Votes for Women

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Bridgend Soroptimists enjoyed an informative and amusing talk from Ceri Joseph of Porthcawl Museum about Women and the Vote. Ceri’s talk was wide-ranging, covering not only the history of what was happening over 100 years ago on the national scene, but also some of the lesser-know facts about how women made their voices heard across Wales and locally in the Bridgend and Porthcawl area. An excellent evening, topped off by an invitation from Ceri to join other women marching as part of the Porthcawl Carnival in July. Watch this space as members celebrate this milestone for women and acknowledge the sacrifices made by women on our behalf.

Meet our new President Elect

Meet our new President Elect

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President Helen was delighted to install Sharon Dixon as President Elect for 2018-2019. Sharon, a management consultant, is a fairly new member to the Club and has already served as Membership Officer. She is looking forward to taking on the role of President next year and taking the Club forward towards our centenary. President Helen presented Sharon with her badge of office together with a gold brooch, a replica of the Williamsburgh Mace. The brooch was bequeathed to SI Bridgend by a past member, Kathleen Snell. The brooch was given to Kathleen by members of SI Williamsburgh (in Virginia in the USA), one of Bridgend’s friendship links, when she visited the Club. President Helen explains, “Instead of letting the brooch hide away in its box, some years ago we decided to use it as the President Elect’s insignia – a lovely reminder of our friends

Welcoming new member Jan

Welcoming new member Jan

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Bridgend Soroptimist are delighted to welcome a new member, Jan Stoneman. Jan has recently moved to the area having spent recent years in Carmarthen. It was in Carmarthen that she became aware of Soroptimist International and admired the work they do. She promised herself that this was something she would find out more about when she retired. ON moving to the Bridgend area, Jan saw an article about the Bridgend Club in the local press. She joined us on our walk in Porthcawl on International Women’s Day. President Helen said, “It was lovely to meet Jan in March and I am so pleased that she is joining us. It is a particular delight to welcome a new member at my very first meeting as President – I hope this is a sign of things to come during the rest of this year!”

Soroptimists are part of the local community

Soroptimists are part of the local community

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SI Bridgend took part if the Awareness Day for local organisations in the Bridgend area on Saturday. This was an excellent opportunity to publicise Soroptimist International as well as highlight the many local, national and international service projects that the Bridgend members are involved in. Under the headings of ‘Educate, Empower, Enable’ a number of projects were highlighted including the Literacy project with Barnardo’s at Parc Prison, our International Women’s Day walk, the Knitting project for Mothers for Africa, our regular Teas for the Elderly, and sponsorship of young girls’ education in Cape Verde. Fun and friendship was also conveyed with photos of members enjoying our 70th anniversary celebrations, our Christmas Tree at the town’s Christmas Tree Festival and at the SIGBI Annual Conference in Cardiff. Unfortunately the event failed to attract a significant audience although members enjoyed the opportunity to spread the word about

A New President for Bridgend Soroptimists

A New President for Bridgend Soroptimists

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Following a very busy 70th anniversary year, during which the Presidential Chain was shared by three members, outgoing President Eurwen was delighted to install Helen Murdoch as Club President for 2018-2019. President Helen said she is looking forward to overseeing the numerous activities planned and emphasised the importance of “working together” as her theme. Partnerships, both developing new and reinforcing those already in place, as well as consolidating the many projects that the Club is involved in are a high priority for the coming year. Alongside the service provided by Club members, Helen says she is also looking forward to sharing friendship and having fun.

Supporting Ty Hafan

Supporting Ty Hafan

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Our Soroptimist year ended on a real high with President Eurwen’s presentation of a cheque to Emma Anthony of Ty Hafan, our chosen President’s charity for the year. Ty Hafan is one of the UK’s leading paediatric palliative care charities and offers care to children and support to their families throughout Wales. Emma did a wonderful job telling the story of Ty Hafan and explained that the cheque of £825 would cover the medication used there for a month. We were even more delighted when the presentation made front page news in the media – an unexpected bonus to a very uplifting 70th anniversary year.

Soroptimists walk through the cold

Soroptimists walk through the cold

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On 10 March, Bridgend Soroptimists marked International Women’s Day with a group walk along the seafront at Porthcawl. A rather wild and windy day meant that numbers were not as buoyant as they could have been. Nonetheless, members walked from Coney Beach to Rest Bay. They were joined by members of the public who had seen the advance publicity in the press, and were keen to give their support and showed an interest in the Soroptimist movement. Following a blustery walk, all participants enjoyed refreshments at The Atlantic Hotel.

New Year Lunch

New Year Lunch

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SI Bridgend kicked off 2018 with a New Year’s Lunch at The Heronston Hotel. The speaker, Mel Bastier, gave an interesting talk on willow weaving – with a number of members deciding that they would like to consider having a willow coffin! These photos show, in spite of a rather macabre discussion, a great time was had by all.