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A Gift of Slow Cookers to Make the Pennies Go Further

A Gift of Slow Cookers to Make the Pennies Go Further

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On Wednesday 28th June, SI Bridgend made a wonderful donation of 12 Slow Cookers to the Women’s Refuge, Llamau, in Bridgend.The club organises easy cooking sessions with the women at Llamau’s refuge in Bridgend and recognised the need for equipment to encourage healthy eating. Hannah Jones, who has worked with Welsh Women’s Aid for 15 years was delighted to accept the cookers. We also welcomed Katie from Welsh Women’s Aid. Katie was so passionate about her role and it was a joy to hear her share many of the wonderful things that Welsh Women’s Aid are achieving and working on, one of which is “Live fear free” ; thank you Katie. We are looking forward to the ‘Ask Me’ Training in the coming weeks.

Soroptimists pledge support to BAWSO

Soroptimists pledge support to BAWSO

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Bridgend Soroptimists were delighted to welcome Nancy Lidubwi, the policy manager at BAWSO, to a recent meeting as our guest speaker. Nancy explained the work that BAWSO do and spoke about issues concerning violence against women, trafficking, FGM and modern day slavery victims. BAWSO has offices in Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and Wrexham to cover all of Wales. Demand for its services continues to increase and in spite of funding from Welsh Government and Social Services, also depends on charitable donations. Housing for refugees features heavily on its workload, which includes meeting educational and social needs. BAWSO is President Lesley’s chosen charity for 2023-2024. President Lesley thanked Nancy for her very interesting presentation and pledged our support for the coming year.

Membership Month with Friendship and Fun

Membership Month with Friendship and Fun

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Members of SI Bridgend gathered in friendship and fun to highlight Membership Month. Starting with a great walk in Cowbridge, a small group of members then gathered for coffee and chat. It was a great opportunity to display our leaflets and orange shoe, raising awareness of Domestic Violence alongside what it is to be a Soroptimist and our own club, SI Bridgend. We demonstrated Soroptimists Taking Action and asked David Barnes (local dry cleaners) to display the poster and orange shoe, which they did without hesitation. Remember, membership month is not just May.

Celebrating 40 years as a Soroptimist

Celebrating 40 years as a Soroptimist

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We were delighted to welcome Lesley Davies as our President at SI Bridgend and wish her every success for the coming year. Lesley takes over from Gaynor Hoare. Thank you and well done to Gaynor for leading the Club over the past 2 years. Ruth Davies Kemp stepped up as President Elect and is proud to wear the Williamsburg mace brooch as the President Elect insignia. We also celebrated Jean Thomas receiving her long service award for 40 years’ service as a Bridgend Soroptimist. Well done and congratulations Jean! We are looking forward to the next 12 months, where we will enjoy Fun and Friendship whilst supporting women and girls in our local community as well as internationally.

Bridgend welcomes new Soroptimist President

Bridgend welcomes new Soroptimist President

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Bridgend Soroptimists held their AGM at the Heronston Hotel last night and welcomed their new President, Lesley Davies. Although outgoing president Gaynor Hoare was unable to attend, she expressed her thanks to members for their support and commitment over the previous two years. Eileen Bayley stood in for Gaynor and presented Lesley with the chain of office. President Lesley said it was an honour to be taking up this role and she looked forward to continuing to promote Soroptimism with a busy programme. Her theme for the year is the Safety of Women and Girls with a focus on modern slavery and trafficking. Find out more about President Lesley here.   President Lesley then welcomed Ruth Davies-Kemp as President Elect giving her the President Elect insignia of the Williamsburg brooch. The gold brooch is a replica of the Mace of the Colonial City of Williamsburg

Celebrating 75 years of service

Celebrating 75 years of service

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Bridgend Soroptimists were delighted to be celebrating 75 years of giving service as members of SIGBI (Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland). All agreed that this is an amazing achievement for the Club and its members. Supper, a celebration cake and a glass of fizz helped the evening go with a swing. Long-standing member Anne Morgan shared fond memories of days gone by, noting the incredible impact the club has had on the lives of women and girls, not just in the Bridgend area but also internationally through projects such as Education in Cape Verde and Empowering Girls in Nepal. One project that Anne highlighted is the support the club has given to victims of domestic abuse through the women’s refuges in Bridgend. Members were instrumental in ensuring support programmes were available locally and expanding the facilities available for women affected by domestic abuse, in

Protect women’s rights in the workplace

Protect women’s rights in the workplace

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Standing up for women is at the heart of being a Soroptimist. Following an alert from WEN (Women’s Equality Network Wales), a number of Bridgend Soroptimists added their names to the letter sent to the House of Lords regarding the proposed changes to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. At the WEN Gender Network meeting in March, members discussed the enormous risk that this bill poses to women’s employment rights – protections around equal pay, family-friendly policies, pregnancy and part-time working could be lost overnight on 31 December 2023. WEN then drafted the open letter to peers in the House of Lords, who will consider the bill for report stage on 19 April, urging them to protect women worker’s rights and asking for amendments to the Bill to achieve that. Bridgend Soroptimists will be monitoring the progress of this Bill and intend to do

Brownies show they’ve got talent!

Brownies show they’ve got talent!

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In the last 2 months 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 over 100 Brownies from 5 different Brownie groups in Newton, Kenfig Hill, Llangynwyd, Coity and Litchard. Each of the girls performed in front of an audience and the acts included singing and dancing, playing an instrument, doing magic, gymnastics, dog obedience, story-telling and even whistling! Every participant gained their Performing badge and also received a Brownies Got Talent certificate. Nine 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 100 people. The three ladies set the difficult task of judging the final were Gaynor Hoare, President of Bridgend Soroptimists, Donna

Fashion, Fun and Friendship

Fashion, Fun and Friendship

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Once again Bridgend Soroptimists hosted a very successful fundraising Fashion Show at the Heronston Hotel. A sell-out event with over 100 guests, there was something for everyone and for every event.From casual to formal, we were treated to a range of beautiful outfits from Samantha B in Ewenny, Bridgend. Several members of SI Bridgend stepped ably into the role of models bringing a mix of elegance, sophistication and glamour to the proceedings. As well as bringing along the fabulous fashions, Samantha compered the evening with great humour and also generously offered a significant discount on clothes bought from her in the 2 weeks following the event. The fashion show, an excellent raffle with prizes generously donated by Club members and local businesses, and the contribution from Samantha B is expected to raise a significant sum for the bereavement charity, Cruse Morgannwg, as well as other