Learn more about Soroptimist International in Chester Chester Soroptimists are looking for new members to join their vibrant club. We invite you to learn more about Soroptimist International in Chester at an upcoming Zoom event. Women with enthusiasm and energy, who are interested in friendship to take the work of Soroptimist International forward. We are holding a ‘Get to Know Chester Soroptimist International’ evening on 17 May 2021 (on Zoom of course!) at 7.30pm, for women to find out about our local club. Members enjoy affiliation to a 100-year-old international organisation that stands up for women and girls, in local communities. Members meet and collaborate with women from varied backgrounds to weave a common purpose. One of our club members said: “Through becoming a member not only have I made friends with likeminded women, I have also been actively involved in some really exciting projects

Planting Trees for a Brilliant Future Members of SI Chester are supporting the Soroptimist Campaign to #PlantTrees for a Brilliant Future.  Members recently planted a number of very young trees in King George V Field, Christleton, and at the Playing Field in Great Barrow to mark the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the first Soroptimist Club, in 1921, in Oakland California, USA.  One of their first activities was to successfully campaign for the protection of the local Giant Redwood trees.  In 2021, members of SI Chester are joining clubs from around the world to plant trees to mitigate the effects of Climate Change and commemorate our 100 years of service to support women and girls.  It has been identified that the effects of climate change disproportionately affect women and girls in climate-sensitive regions, so working towards carbon dioxide reduction was an obvious project to

As part of the celebration of the first centenary of Soroptimist International in 2021, more than 100 Soroptimists have been selected to be commemorated as part of the #WhoIsShe? Campaign. These #WhoIsShe? campaign members have all been nominated by Soroptimist Clubs for their noteworthy contribution to society in the furtherance of the aims and objects of the organisation. Anne MacDonald OBE was Director of Nursing in a Children’s Hospital, and later an Independent Consultant in Children’s Nursing. She won a Health Service Journal award and was joint winner of a Calouste-Gulbenkian award, both for introducing innovative ways of improving quality of hospital child care.  She has written and lectured extensively about raising standards of care, and spoke at home and abroad about her work on the Allitt Inquiry Team. She was awarded an OBE in the 1995 New Year’s Honours for services to Paediatric Nursing. For more

A number of club members got together on Zoom to discuss the latest book Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owen.  The prose and descriptions of the wildlife were beautiful. Although it could have been a harrowing read, considering the storyline, it didn’t feel too grim. It was an easy read, with some twists and turns. and we all gave it a thumbs up. Club members continue to get together for socials and project work. See out Events page for more details of upcoming activities and events. Our next book club read is I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban, by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb. We will meet on Monday 21 September 2020 at 8pm. Contact us at soroptimistsinchester@gmail.com if you would like to join in on Zoom.

Soroptimists are all about actions – we are ‘Women inspiring action, transforming lives”, and each year we celebrate with a Day of Action, where we reflect on what we are doing to help and transform the lives of women and girls. This year we are reflecting on how Soroptimists are staying connected with each other and with our communities during this global pandemic. Here are some examples: Staying Connected with each other: We have been staying connected with each other through video calls – meeting socially and to discuss ongoing projects. We use Zoom, and we also made sure we had the facility to allow telephone dial-in for people who didn’t want to use a video-calling service. Staying Connected with our partners: Many of the charities and projects we support have been significantly impacted by the global pandemic, with fundraising opportunities disappearing. We have continued to

On the 12th June several club members made a visit to Stockport for a tour of Smartworks.  This is a charity with six UK offices that aims to help long term unemployed women to get a job.    Assistance may be offered to any woman who has a confirmed job interview for a paid position.  Women are often referred via a Job Centre or a charity that supports women trying to get back into employment. The Charity offers not only clothes but confidence building in the run up to the interview. SI Chester members have agreed to adopt this as one of their projects for 2019 – 2020 and will be donating suitable clothes, as well as organising collections of clothes locally.

Storyhouse Women Weekend is a celebration of what it means to be a women or a girl in the world today, and a chance to explore and discuss topics that affect anyone who identifies as a woman or a girl. A safe space to discuss and tackle these issues together. There was a line-up of incredible women who shared their stories and experiences with Chester, and events to inspire and enable everyone to create change. On Friday, 26th April, Club Member, Jane, gave a short presentation on the Purple Community Fund (PCF) to 70 children from three local High Schools. Jane described how the schools could assist us by collecting ring pulls from drinks cans and Anne modelled some of the fabulous handbags made by the women in the Philippines. For more information about the clubs involvement click here. On Saturday Wendy gave another talk