On Sunday 23rd February, members from SI Bristol joined SI Weston-super-Mare for their Friendship Lunch at the delightful Batch Country Hotel. We welcomed and were addressed by SIGBI President Elect Johanna Raffan and South West and Channel Islands President Margaret Parkinson.  There were also members from other clubs in the region there in addition to Soroptimisters. We were made to feel very welcome and there was plenty of time to relax and exchange ideas. Shown in the photograph are SI Bristol members, Lizzie and Sue P

President Denise organised a lovely Garden Party at her home on Saturday 29 June in aid of Lifeskills – Learning for Living and The National Centre for Integrative Medicine our two charities this year (see other posts for more information  about our charities). There were several tents with stalls set out in Denise’s beautiful and colourful garden.  They were very well supplied with books, paintings, jewellery, woodwork, other creative donations, greeting cards, plants and garden produce, cakes, sandwiches, tea and coffee, a raffle and many other donations to raise funds for the charities. There were also several information leaflets about Soroptimist International, the Bristol Club and our two charities. We had a beautiful sunny day, the hottest this year for the event. Many thanks  to friends and Club members who supported us in many ways and a big thank you to President Denise and her

A group of our Bristol Soroptimists visited the Lifeskills charity centre based at the Create Centre, Bristol, on 3rd June. Lifeskills is one of our chosen charities for the year. The visit was organised by President Denise and the team at the centre gave us a very warm welcome. Members of S.I. Bristol are active in the local community both individually and collectively. Lifeskills aims to show pupils that they should be taking personal responsibility for their own safety. Children learn how to assess risk and cope with difficult situations by taking part in realistic, interactive activities distributed over 19 different rooms which include houses, a road, shop, dark alleyway, a river and a railway line. Visitors can actually experience difficult or dangerous situations, learn from their mistakes in a safe environment and how to deal with them. Volunteer Guides take small groups of children

Lifeskills-Learning for Living Lifeskills-Learning for Living is a permanent regional safety education and training centre built as a realistic village and housed in the Create Centre close to Bristol City Centre. Andy Townsend , Manager of the Centre for the last 18 years, attended S.I. Bristol’s business meeting on 25th February 2019 to inform club members about Lifeskills which has been chosen as one of two Club charities for the next two years. The Centre relies on 100 trained volunteers to deliver its core programmes to year 6 children ( in small groups), special educational needs, adults with learning difficulties, older people and early years. The Centre relies heavily on fundraising and the support of local organisations and businesses.  Andy outlined ways for S.I.Bristol to support Lifeskills by fundraising, volunteering ( or encouraging others to do so ), joining the board of directors, networking, providing