SI Canterbury held their annual AGM on Thursday April 27th at the Kent and Canterbury Club. The meeting began with new member Dawn Ryder being inducted into the club by President Yvonne. Dawn has attended several meetings and club lunches and members were delighted to welcome her. This induction brought the number of members in SI Canterbury to twenty two, a significant rise over the last club year.           Following the formal AGM and election of officers, Yvonne then handed over the chain of office to new President, Carol Townsend, who presented her programme and vision for the year. Carol’s first task as President was to welcome Suganya Smith as President Elect and lead the club meeting that followed.               Members are looking forward to an interesting range of speakers such as Michelle Owens – Women’s

SI Canterbury celebrated President Yvonne’s successful year with a dinner at Howfield Manor Hotel. Members and partners enjoyed good food and great conversation and friendship. Yvonne thanked members for celebrating with her at her President’s Dinner and for their support over the last year. We would all like to thank Yvonne for her leadership, support, encouragement and hard work.  

Club President, Yvonne, presented a cheque for £500 to Vicky Adley, Fundraising and Development Officer of East Kent Hospitals Charity, at our March club meeting. The cheque was in aid of their Dementia Appeal which will support patients with dementia when they are admitted to hospital. The appeal aims to raise £500,000 to spend across the five hospitals of East Kent. It aims to fund multiple projects to make the time spent in hospital by patients with dementia, more successful and enjoyable.   SI Canterbury raised the funds at a very successful Well-Being Day held at Kent and Canterbury hospital in March and members were delighted to support such a worthwhile appeal.

  On 12th March, SI Canterbury held a ‘Day of Reflection and Refreshment’ at Chartham village hall. The objectives of the day were: • to help new members gain a wider knowledge of Soroptimist International, our federation and our club • to review the club’s achievements both past and present • to get to know each other better • to develop a vision for SI Canterbury moving forwards • to formulate a club development programme                   The day was very well attended, with members sharing their skills and experience, reflecting on and discussing our practice and putting forward ideas for our Programme Action work.   We also enjoyed a delicious bring and share lunch in true Soroptimist style.

A very informative talk about Women’s Wellbeing was presented  to our February club meeting by club member Suganya, a physiotherapist in the NHS. Members found the talk interesting and useful, all agreeing that they had learnt many tips which would help them in the future.

SI Canterbury President Yvonne, formally welcomed a new member to our club at our February meeting. Tricia Emlyn-Williams has attended meetings and social events over several months and this completed her induction as a Soroptimist. Club members are looking forward to working with her and have no doubt that she will make a positive and enthusiastic contribution to our programme action work and club activities.

Soroptimists of Canterbury held a very successful Well-Being Day in February with the help of East Kent Hospital Trust. Members and friends joined together for fun, friendship and relaxation. Treatments on offer included various massages, reflexology, Reiki, yoga and a healthy lunch. A real air of well being ensued with members assisting together with Vicky Adley, the Fundraising and Development Manager of the East Kent Hospital Charity.     £1000 was raised on the day which is a fantastic achievement. This will be split equally between the Dementia Appeal for the hospital charity and the Meru Women’s Garden Project supported by SI Canterbury and SIGBI. We thank everyone for their support, especially our wonderful therapists who donated their time and talents for these good causes.    

We were delighted to formally induct three new members into our club at our January 2017 meeting. Lyn Quine, Jo Cope and Susan Booth have been attending meetings and social events for several months and we are thrilled that they have now decided to join the club. Lyn learned about Soroptimist International from our website, Jo learned about us from one of our members and Susan came to us as a guest speaker and stayed! We are looking forward to working with all three on our various programme action activities and know that they will bring many talents and skills to the club. Welcome to SI Canterbury Lyn, Jo and Susan.