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A huge “Thank You” to our Sponsors:  Rathbone Greenbank Investments and Kellands Chartered Financial Planners and Renshaw

A huge “Thank You” to our Sponsors:  Rathbone Greenbank Investments and Kellands Chartered Financial Planners and Renshaw

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On behalf of SI Bristol President Marion is thanking our sponsors. We had planned to hold our Friendship Weekend in September to celebrate its Centenary.  For obvious reasons, everything was cancelled.  The first event was going to be Alice Roberts talking to Sixth Formers from schools across Bristol (State and Private) in the afternoon and to the General Public in the early evening. We had secured sponsorships from Rathbone Greenbank Investments, Kellands (Bristol) Ltd Chartered Financial Planners and Renshaw .  SI Bristol is delighted to report that both generously agreed to have the funds forwarded directly to our two current charities:  Lifeskills Learning for Living (lifeskills-bristol.org.uk) and National Centre for Integrative Medicine (www.ncim.org.uk). SI Bristol thanks Rathbones, Kellands  and Renshaw for their generosity.  We are grateful for this marvellous boost to our charity contributions during this, our centenary year.  

AGM April 27th 2020

AGM April 27th 2020

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On April 27th we held our first Club Meeting and our AGM since the lockdown due to Coronavirus. President Denise and incoming President Marion ran the meeting.   We started with 19 club members and after exchanging pleasantries and then President Denise called us to order.  As usual Secretary Lucy had circulated everything in advance and so there were no surprises.  We were able to vote on all the necessary items and President Denise had circulated her speech in advance.  Of course we were unable to see the exchange of insignia and badges but we still enjoyed the event.   Incoming President Marion told us about  her challenge to walk 100 miles a month during her year to raise funds for our two Club charities during our 100th  year.  This is the second year of our  two charities:  National Centre for Integrated Medicine and Lifeskills

Treefest December 2019

Treefest December 2019

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Again in December we we joined many others at St Mary Redcliffe Church who again hosted another Treefest.    Our Christmas tree was decorated with items all made by club  members.   They limit the number of trees for Health and  Safety reasons and time taken to put up the trees and to take them down, whilst maintaining the Christmas services. There were 84 trees on display that were made by local charities and organizations and again the trees were available for viewing.   In total there were 5,019 visitors and so great exposure for SI Bristol.

Sue P is Awarded the Lord Mayor’s Medal

Sue P is Awarded the Lord Mayor’s Medal

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We are proud to announce that another of our Soroptimists Sue P has been presented with one of the Lord Mayor of Bristol’s prestigious medals at a ceremony held at the Mansion House.  Medals are awarded to people who have been instrumental in improving lives of people in Bristol.  Sue P was awarded her medal for her work as a Soroptimist, Age UK Bristol, Abbeyfield Bristol Society, Young Bristol, All Saints Church and  Redlend/Redmaids’ High Schools.  

Act of Remembrance 11th November 2019

Act of Remembrance 11th November 2019

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Act of Remembrance 11th November 2019: Organised by Churches Together in Clifton, Cotham and Redland On a sunny but very cold and windy morning, we were proud to join so many at St John’s War Memorial in Whiteladies Road to mark Armistice Day.  There was singing by St John and SS Peter and Paul school children (“Wherever you Are” by Military Wives), music by Redmaids’ High School Brass Ensemble and there were prayers and the observance of one minute’s silence in honour of those who served and fought to ensure our freedom over so many wars. Maureen presented a wreath on behalf of SI Bristol. We are proud to be Soroptimists as we remember the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in the wars and those who gave their support.

Trauma Teddy Transfer October 15th 2019

Trauma Teddy Transfer October 15th 2019

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As part of its Centenary year celebrations, SI Bristol made a target to knit 100 teddy bears to be given to the Motorway Police for children involved in traffic accidents. On 15th October, five SI Bristol members (Maureen [originator], Patti [knitter], Marion [President Elect], Denise [President], Anita [Organiser]) visited the Police Head Quarters in Portishead. They were met by the Chief Constable Marshall and Sergeant Sales, who made it clear that Teddies were a valuable tool for comforting a child involved in an accident. Interestingly, we learnt that the Teddies are not given to children involved in serious accidents, especially those involving fatalities, because of the risk of a long-term association of the teddy with the incident. However, they will be distributed between the Almondsbury, Bridgwater and Portishead police stations and the Avon Fire and Rescue Service. The Teddy bears were placed on the windscreen

SIGBI Conference Bournemouth 24th-26th October 2019

SIGBI Conference Bournemouth 24th-26th October 2019

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Five members of SI Bristol travelled to Bournemouth for the annual conference with over 800 other delegates. The South West and Channel Islands Region was well represented, three members were chair people including our Sue P. On day one the conference opened with two inspirational speakers. Baroness Susan Greenfield spoke about her work on dementia and hopes to revolutionise diagnosis and treatment. George Anderson spoke about leading ourselves and others to better wellbeing mentally and physically. Penny Mallory an inspirational speaker, currently a performance coach, told us of her ambition, from the age of 6years old, to be a successful rally driver. She had a difficult childhood and then tried various adventure activities. She said that mental toughness is an important part of development and challenge, confidence, control and commitment is part of this. Communication is fundamental to performance and that we need to be

October 14th 2019: Worshipful Society of Apothecaries – Dr Tim Chambers OBE, JP, FRCP

October 14th 2019: Worshipful Society of Apothecaries – Dr Tim Chambers OBE, JP, FRCP

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On Monday 14th October SI Bristol heard a most interesting and informative talk by Dr Tim Chambers, Vice Lord Lieutenant of Bristol, is a member, as well as past Master and Examiner of the prestigious Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London. Tim told us about the founding of the Society which was given its charter in 1672 and celebrating its 300 year a few years ago. In addition the Society has close connections with the Physic Garden in Chelsea. They have a large collection of documents and other memorabilia celebrating their history from their origins as practitioners in herbal medicine to developing skills in diagnostic techniques and are involved in the examination of potential medical practitioners. It has interesting associations with the ancient royal church of St Andrew by the Wardrobe and with the royal palace nearby. Tim also told us a little about his

September 2019 Marion President Elect SI Bristol Visits SI Oakland

September 2019 Marion President Elect SI Bristol Visits SI Oakland

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On 26th September 2019, Marion, President Elect from SI Bristol (the first Classification Club for Women) attended the Business Meeting of SI Oakland (The Soroptimist Founder Club) at Z’s Café in Oakland, California. She was warmly welcomed by enthusiastic, interactive and diverse (in terms of both ethnicity and age) Club members. The meeting commenced with welcomes, introductions and a fundraiser ‘Sunshine’. An envelope was handed around so each member had an opportunity to brag or say something about what was going on in her life. The amount of the donation (from $1 to $20) was stated before the brag. Marion gave a short talk about the first two decades of SI Bristol’s history, which was well received and generated much friendly discussion. This was followed by a talk about St Mary’s Center (www.stmarycenter.org) in Oakland. This centre provides breakfast, lunch, a shower and a bed