Due to Coronavirus our meetings are currently being held via Zoom. Our next meeting is on Saturday 30th May.

Dr. Richard Bates from the University of Nottingham came to talk to us about the ‘Florence Nightingale Comes Home 2020’ project. Dr. Bates is an expert in the political, social and intellectual history of France in the twentieth century and the history of childhood and the family. He is currently a research fellow working on the Nightingale project. We found the talk fascinating and will be following progress of the project.

At our last meeting we had an inspirational talk from Georgia Vicars. Georgia graduated in ICT from Derby University and shared with us her experiences working in the predominantly male world of IT.

A tombola at Carsington Water on Sunday 28th April raised 108GBP for Toilet Twinning. Although it seemed quiet for a Sunday the tombola attracted the children! We gave out several leaflets on Toilet Twinning and as usual had to explain who the Soroptimists are.

At our AGM on April 4th 2019 we were very pleased to welcome Frances Rothwell as our new president.Frances made the following statement: As president I have put together a programme of events for the coming year. My theme is ‘Women’s Lives’ and I hope that this will be stimulating and informative and I am pleased to have a good selection of speakers from various fields. I have also tried to incorporate regular opportunities for social events as I think that this is an important part of any club and helps to reinforce friendships and retain members. Rather than having large fundraisers I have opted for smaller events but again regularly throughout the year so that members can have the opportunity of enjoying at least some of them. I also hope that events can be used to raise our profile within the community and possibly

Nine members of SI Derby visited the Mayor and Lady Mayoress at the Mayor’s Parlour to invite them to support our efforts to make Derby a Toilet Twinned City. We were very pleased that they agreed to our request. We are working with https//www.toilettwinning.org to achieve our aim. If you would like your business, school or other organisation to be part of making Derby a Toilet Twinned City, at a cost of £60, please contact us.

We are currently raising funds for Toilet Twinning and for the Women’s Refuge in Derby. You can help us by registering with easyfundraising.com to make a donation to SI Derby every time you shop online. Over 3300 retailers are part of the scheme. Register at http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/soroptimistderby

The Federation Conference was held in Liverpool this year and 8 SI Derby members attended. The Conference runs from Thursday evening to Saturday evening. There were 1200 members from around the world in Liverpool, who heard inspiring and informative speakers, including Terry Waite, Professor Helen Pankhurst and Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Other speakers without headline names updated us on access and inclusion for those with disabilities and the fight against FGM, whilst others inspired us by describing their adventures and achievements. We also learnt about club projects, all aimed at improving life for women and girls and were introduced to the 5P’s, People, Prosperity, Prevention, Partnership and Planet, which cover the Sustainable Development Goals. Here are some of our members enjoying an evening together.  

in July 2018 we packed 18 Welcome Bags for the Refuge. 12 were for women and 6 for men, who also need support following domestic violence.