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Building confidence as Brownies show they’ve got talent!

Building confidence as Brownies show they’ve got talent!

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Since the early part of this year Brownies across Bridgend and Porthcawl have been honing their performance skills to take part in a Brownies Got Talent competition. The competition which is sponsored by Bridgend Soroptimists involved almost 100 Brownies from 5 different Brownie groups in Newton, Kenfig Hill, Llangynwyd, Coity and Litchard. Each of the girls, aged between 7 and 10 years old, performed in front of an audience and the acts included singing and dancing, playing an instrument, gymnastics, skipping, reciting poetry and even doing magic! Every participant gained their Brownie Performing badge and also received a Brownies Got Talent certificate.     Eight girls won through the unit and division heats to take part in the Grand Final and competed for the Brownies Got Talent trophy in front of an audience of around 60 people. The three ladies set the difficult task of

Soroptimists learn about Rwandan project

Soroptimists learn about Rwandan project

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At our March meeting, Bridgend Soroptimists welcomed VSO volunteer Mary Watkins to talk about her life as a volunteer in Rwanda. Mary, a teacher, first visited Rusizi in Rwanda with her husband in 2013 for a one-year adventure. They fell in love with the country, which they compared to Wales for its scenery, and set about helping to develop educational support for children with special needs. Since that first experience in the country, they have continued to travel back regularly becoming involved with training student teachers, as well as pupils in the 6th Form college. Fundraising has enabled the establishment of suitable classrooms, furniture and books and through Mary’s ingenuity, she had been able to teach students to recycle local items to make resources for the local schools. Mary also works with the Isooko Women’s Cooperative. The cooperative started when a Soroptimist club in Gwent

Supporting the Little Princess Trust

Supporting the Little Princess Trust

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Bridgend Soroptimists were delighted to support one of their own with a donation of £50 to the Little Princess Trust. Club secretary Margaret Anthony’s granddaughter Verity cut her long hair off to donate to the Little Princess Trust. The Trust uses donated hair to make wigs for children and young people, primarily girls, who have lost their hair through cancer or other illnesses. Quite a number of members added to the donation to support Verity and this excellent cause. Well done, Verity! Click here for more information about Little Princess Trust.

Bridgend Soroptimists raise £2,400 for Emmaus South Wales

Bridgend Soroptimists raise £2,400 for Emmaus South Wales

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Last week staff and trustees were invited along to Bridgend Soroptimists New Year dinner, where President Ruth Davies-Kemp, presented Emmaus South Wales a cheque for £2,400 following a successful fundraising raffle. The raffle was drawn at our Christmas meeting on 11th December and featured some fantastic prizes. Some examples include a £100 jewellery voucher from D & M Davies Jewellers, a luxury Christmas hamper, and a £50 John Lewis voucher donated by Qualia Law. Bridgend Soroptimists decided to organise the raffle after a visit from Chair of Trustees, Julie Raikes, and Companion Dean last year. Julie and Dean visited a couple of club meetings and spoke to the Soroptimists about the work Emmaus South Wales do to support people overcoming homelessness and social exclusion. Julie Raikes, Chair of Trustees at Emmaus South Wales said, “On behalf of everyone at Emmaus South Wales, we would like

Bridgend Soroptimists New Year Dinner

Bridgend Soroptimists New Year Dinner

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Bridgend Soroptimists were delighted to invite friends and guests to their New Year Celebration Dinner held at the Bridgend Masonic Hall. Amongst our guests were The High Sheriff of Mid Glamorgan, Dr. Richard Lewis, Deputy Mayor for Bridgend County Borough Council, Cllr Huw David, friends from Bridgend Rotary, including Acting President John McCarthy and President Elect Paul Cheadle, and staff and trustees from Emmaus South Wales. Members of other local Soroptimists clubs were also welcomed to the event, including several members from the newly formed SI Minerva. As well as an excellent meal and convivial company, guests were wowed by the feats of a close-up magician both at their tables and during a performance from the stage. The evening ended with the presentation of a cheque for £2,400 to Emmaus South Wales to support people overcoming homelessness and social exclusion.

Successful Fundraising Raffle

Successful Fundraising Raffle

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We are delighted to announce the results of our Grand Prize Draw for 2024. The raffle was drawn at our Christmas meeting on 11th December. We had a variety of fantastic prizes, including a £100 jewellery voucher from D & M Davies Jewellers, a fabulous Christmas Food Hamper worth £75, a voucher for £50 from John Lewis, donated by Qualia Law, a bottle of single malt whiskey, and many more! We are delighted to say that we raised £2387.70 for Emmaus South Wales! Thank you to all who supported us. And a HUGE THANK YOU to all who donated prizes, it is much appreciated. Full details of the prizes and prize winners are available here.

Soroptimists Decorate Christmas Tree

Soroptimists Decorate Christmas Tree

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Bridgend Soroptimists were pleased to take part in the Christmas Tree Festival held at Nolton Church in Bridgend. As well as the traditional baubles and lights, the tree was beautifully decorated with decorations made by club members at a craft evening in October. A poster reminded visitors to the festival what Soroptimist International is all about and encouraged them to find out more by contacting SI Bridgend. The Soroptimists also donated prizes to the raffle held throughout the festival. One of the Festival organisers, Mandy Buckley, said, “Thank you for entering a tree into our festival. There were so many fantastic trees and lots of very positive comments from our visitors about your creativity and ingenuity. The raffle raised £1885.15 for SPLICE Child and Family Project, a very worthwhile project helping families with young children across the Bridgend Borough.”

Bridgend Soroptimists ‘Orange the World’

Bridgend Soroptimists ‘Orange the World’

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Bridgend Soroptimists took part in the UN campaign of 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence. The campaign ran from 25 November until 10 December and included a range of activity. A number of displays were mounted throughout Bridgend and the district, including Cowbridge Library, the Heronston Hotel in Bridgend, Bridgend Leisure Centre and the Princess of Wales hospital. Each of these displays contained information about Soroptimist International, the projects SI Bridgend are involved in and an orange wreath. The orange wreaths were made from knitted, crocheted and fabric flowers, each one representing women affected by domestic violence every day. Each wreath also contained two purple flowers which symbolised the number of women killed in the UK every month through domestic violence. The displays generated a great deal of interest as did the ongoing social media campaign during the 16 days of activism.

Christmas Gifts from Bridgend Soroptimists

Christmas Gifts from Bridgend Soroptimists

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This year Bridgend Soroptimists have once again acted as Father Christmas for a number of organisations. To begin with, a selection of luxury toiletry items were carefully chosen and popped into pretty washbags to create beautiful pamper bags for the ladies in the Bridgend Women’s Refuge. The children in the refuge were given selection boxes and other Christmas gifts. Members also wrapped Christmas goodies for the companions at Emmaus South Wales, some of whom have not received any Christmas gifts for quite some time. And last but not least, children’s toys and books were collected for SPLICE Child and Family Project to be distributed amongst families in the area who are struggling at this expensive time of year. We’d also like to thank Liam Dixon, a generous friend and supporter of Bridgend Soroptimists, who added a large number of Selection boxes to our donation to