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St David’s Day Greetings from Canada

St David’s Day Greetings from Canada

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Soroptimist International is a global organisation of women working togetehr to transform the lives of women and girls. Bridgend Soroptimists sharing friendship and projects with their Friendship Link Clubs in Canada, USA, Pakistan, Australia and Finland. We were delighte dto receive these St David’s Day greetings from Margaret, a member of SI Courtenay in British Columbia, Canada: “Thinking of all members of SI Bridgend & District on your special national day.. Earliest Daffodils are blooming in nearby Filberg Lodge garden in Comox and were not affected by light snow here this weekend. Thank you to your three Bridgend members who attended the recent Western Canada Region chatline friendship webinar – it was lovely to share our Soroptimist projects and to see friends from far and wide. Darlene Jamieson who organizes these webinars has family in our area and planned to visit. President Jean, another member

Working Together in Friendship

Working Together in Friendship

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President Gaynor and members of SI Bridgend were joined by members from SI Port Talbot, SI Neath and SI Swansea at a lunch in support of the bereavement charity, Cruse Morgannwg. This was the fourth event in the collaboration between the four clubs to support this worthwhile charity. The guest speaker was Claire Horrex, Community Fundraising and Engagement Manager for Cruse for South Wales and the South West. Claire gave a very interesting talk explaining that Cruse is a national charity with support from local groups of volunteers. In the last year Cruse has reached over 100,000 people across the UK. Since the pandemic, support is now generally provided by phone or video call which means that those seeking help get a quicker response. The charity also supports families at major incidents, including Grenfell, and has a helpline run by volunteers. In 2022, Cruse Morgannwg

Bridgend Soroptimist on The Big Climb!

Bridgend Soroptimist on The Big Climb!

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This week at our Bridgend Soroptimist meeting we had the pleasure of hearing from one of our club members, Sue Jones, who gave a fascinating talk about her journey to Nepal and Everest Base Camp – My Big Climb. Sue was joined on this remarkable endeavour by her daughter Rhiannon and grandson Dafydd – Dafydd had chosen to undertake this adventure as part of his 18th birthday celebrations and was delighted his Mum and Grandma were going to join him. Unfortunately the trip was delayed by over two years due to the pandemic and finally took place in the autumn of 2022. Sue trained tirelessly to embark on this amazing adventure although nothing could have prepared her for the challenge she faced when she reached Nepal. Through a series of incredible photographs and heartfelt explanations, Sue took us on the journey with her. She was

A Cheese Experience for Bridgend Soroptimists

A Cheese Experience for Bridgend Soroptimists

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Let’s do something different, they said. So instead of the Club’s usual New Year’s Dinner, Bridgend Soroptimists and guests enjoyed A Cheese Experience! Peter and Sharon and their team joined us for an interesting evening of cheese tasting and wine drinking at Bryncethin Community Centre. The couple run a local company that specialises in artisan cheeses from small producers. And whilst their cheeses are mainly from Welsh producers, they also have a selection from other artisan producers throughout Britain. Peter proved to be very entertaining and extremely knowledgeable about the cheeses on offer during the evening. Bridgend Soroptimists agreed that this was certainly a great way to start the New Year! Soroptimists enjoy fun, friendship and fundraising (and doing service!) – join us! If you’d like to find out more, click here or call our secretary, Margaret, on 07791 989096 or mrg2anthony@gmail.com. And don’t forget to follow

What are Soroptimists?

What are Soroptimists?

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The townspeople of Cowbridge had an opportunity to find out more about Soroptimist International at a display mounted in Cowbridge Library over the last two weeks. The display featured a range of projects that Bridgend Soroptimists are involved in and visitors were invited to take a leaflet and find out more. The club which was founded in 1947 is part of a global volunteer movement of women working together to transform the lives of women and girls. Members are women from all walks of life who raise awareness of local, national and international issues, and support local charities. The Bridgend Club’s primary focus in the last 12 months has been on empowering women and girls. In particular we have been campaigning on domestic abuse, participated in the UN #OrangeTheWorld campaign providing knitted and crocheted orange flowers for a magnificent display in Llandaff Cathedral and supported

Soroptimists Decorate Christmas Tree

Soroptimists Decorate Christmas Tree

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Bridgend Soroptimists once again took part in the Porthcawl Christmas Tree Festival held at All Saints Church. The tree was beautifully decorated with decorations made by club members alongside traditional baubles and lights. 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 tree will be on display for two weeks.  

Let’s Orange the World!

Let’s Orange the World!

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Several members of Bridgend Soroptimists provided knitted, crocheted or fabric orange flowers for a display at Llandaff Cathedral on 25th November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The flowers will be on display in the cathedral from 25th November as SI Glamorgan’s contribution to the UN #OrangetheWorld campaign (Campaign to eliminate domestic violence) 30th Anniversary. This is running for 16 days from 25th November to 10th December. Over 3500 flowers have been crocheted, knitted or made from fabric scraps and represent the 3500 women in England and Wales who report an incidence of domestic abuse to the police. A magnificent display helping to raise awareness and work towards the ending violence against women. Two members of SI Bridgend were delighted to have witnessed this magnificent display when they attended the Light a Candle event in Llandaff Cathedral on 25th November.

Inspiring Speaker on Domestic Abuse

Inspiring Speaker on Domestic Abuse

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Last night, SI Bridgend President Gaynor presented Ruth Dodsworth with a poinsettia as a thank you for her inspiring talk about domestic violence. SI Bridgend had the pleasure of welcoming Ruth Dodsworth, broadcaster, journalist and weather girl, to our meeting last night. Ruth shared her story of being in an abusive marriage for 20 years. Coercive Control is very real. Her husband was sent to prison after she finally found the courage to call the police. This was an excellent talk by a domestic abuse survivor and provided a great deal of food-for-thought for members. Ruth is now working with the Criminal Justice Board to bring about change.

Soroptimists Introduce Easy Cooking on a Budget

Soroptimists Introduce Easy Cooking on a Budget

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Bridgend Soroptimists continued their project with Llamau and supporting women in the Refuge in Bridgend with a session on Easy Cooking on a Budget. Three Soroptimists, Judith, Margaret and Joyce, visited the refuge and met with 2 young women to demonstrate how easy and cost effective it can be to cook meals from scratch. Judith showed the ladies how to prepare and cook a chicken and vegetable soup. She explained that by cutting the vegetables into small pieces, there was no need for a blender or other gadget. Judith also said that it can be a very cost effective way to have a nutritious and filling meal if you buy veg that is on offer because it is near its sell-by date. It’s also a great way of using up left-over or limp vegetables! Joyce showed the ladies how to make a simple Bolognese sauce

A Successful Conference in Belfast

A Successful Conference in Belfast

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Six members of SI Bridgend attended the SIGBI 88th Federation Conference held in Belfast at the end of October. In her report following conference, Rayner Rees confirmed that over £600 was raised for Lily’s Leaves through the sale of silver jewellery and the raffle of Barbara Dixon’s embroidered picture on our stall at Conference. This will be match funded and used for the education and empowerment of girls in Nepal – a charity that was very close to Barbara Dixon’s heart. Helen said that Barbara Dixon’s widower, Alan Dixon, drew the raffle at Conference for the embroidered picture which was won by Sue Bennett of our own club! Rayner and Helen finally had the opportunity to present Sue Bennett with her beautiful tiger at the club meeting on 23 November. Sue was delighted to win the tiger, which was beautifully embroidered by the late Barbara